The number of disputes over farmland in China's countryside is falling, but the government still needs to better protect farmers' rights, a senior Agricultural Ministry official said on Monday.

Farmers lease their land under 30-year contracts with local governments and China's Property Rights Law, passed last year, guarantees farmers ownership of their housing on that land.

Nevertheless, some government officials in rural areas have been reclaiming farmland for infrastructure and housing projects in hopes of cashing in on China's economic boom, often without giving much or any compensation and sometimes sparking farmers' protests.

China must strengthen farmers' leases, ensure they get proper compensation if their land is taken away, and improve the ability of farmers to sell or transfer their farmland leases in an open market, said Vice Agriculture Minister Wei Chao'an at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the 11th National People's Congress.

(Shanghai Daily March 11, 2008)