Agricultural Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised in 2002)
Agricultural Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised in 2002)
Agricultural Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised in 2002)
Order of the President [2002] No. 81
December 28, 2002
(Adopted at the 2nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on July 2, 1993, amended at the 31st Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress and promulgated by Order of the President [2002] No. 81 on December 28, 2002)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II System of Agricultural Production and Operation
Chapter III Agricultural Production
Chapter IV Circulation and Processing of Agricultural Products
Chapter V Grain Safety
Chapter VI Input to and Support and Protection of Agriculture
Chapter VII Agricultural Science and Technology and Education in Agriculture
Chapter VIII Agricultural Resources and Protection of Agricultural Environment
Chapter IX Protection of the Rights and Interests of Farmers
Chapter X Development of the Rural Economy
Chapter XI Law Enforcement and Supervision
Chapter XII Legal Responsibility
Chapter XIII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted with a view to consolidating and strengthening the position of agriculture as the foundation of the national economy, deepening the reform in rural areas, developing the productive forces of agriculture, pushing forward the modernization of agriculture, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of farmers and agricultural production and operation organizations, increasing the income of farmers, enhancing their scientific and cultural qualification, promoting the sustained, steady and sound growth of agriculture and the rural economy, and attaining the objectives of building a well-off society in an all-round way.
Article 2 For the purpose of this Law, agriculture consists of the industries of crop-planting, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, including the services before, during and after the production process directly related with the above.
The agricultural production and operation organizations as mentioned in this Law include the rural collective economic organizations, specialized cooperative economic organizations of farmers, agricultural enterprises and other organizations engaged in agricultural production and operation.
Article 3 The State gives first priority to agriculture in the development of the national economy. The main objectives in developing agriculture and the rural economy are to establish a rural economic system that meets the demand for the development of the socialist market economy, to continuously emancipate and develop the productive forces in the countryside, to enhance the quality and efficiency of agriculture as a whole, to ensure the supply and quality of agricultural products, to satisfy the need of developing the national economy, of an increased population and of enhancing people's lives, to increase the income of farmers and raise their living standards, to promote the transfer of the surplus rural labor to non-agricultural industries and to cities and towns, to narrow the difference between town and country and between regions, to build a prosperous, democratic and culturally advanced new socialist countryside, and to gradually bring about the modernization of agriculture and the countryside.
Article 4 The State adopts measures to ensure that agriculture plays a better role in many fields such as in the supply of food, industrial raw materials and other farm products, in the maintenance and improvement of the ecological environment and in the promotion of the rural economic and social development.
Article 5 The State upholds and improves the basic economic system under which public ownership is the mainstay of the economy, while the economic sectors of diversified ownerships develop jointly, in order to invigorate the rural economy. The State, for a long time to come, within a long period, stabilizes the two-tier management system that combines unified with separate management on the basis of household contractual management, develop systems for commercialized services, expand the actual strength of collective economy, and guide the farmers onto the road of common prosperity. The State upholds and improves the distribution system under which to each according to his work is the predominant mode of distribution, while diversified modes of distribution coexist.
Article 6 The State upholds the principles of invigoration of agriculture through science and education and of sustainable development of agriculture. The State takes measures to strengthen agriculture and the construction of infrastructure in rural areas, to readjust and optimize agriculture and the rural economic structure, to push forward the industrialized operation of agriculture, to develop the undertakings of agricultural science, technology and education, to protect the agricultural ecological environment, to promote mechanization of agriculture and application of the technology information and to raise the comprehensive production capacity of agriculture.
Article 7 The State protects the property and other legitimate rights and interests of farmers and agricultural production and operation organizations from infringement. People's governments at all levels and the relevant departments under them shall take measures to increase the income of farmers and effectively reduce the burdens on them.
Article 8 All sectors of society shall attach great importance to agriculture and support agricultural development. The State awards the units and individuals that have made remarkable achievements in the development of agriculture and the rural economy.
Article 9 People's governments at all levels shall assume unified responsibility for work in respect of agriculture and development of the rural economy and make arrangements for the relevant departments and all sectors of society to do a good job in all fields of endeavor for the development of agriculture and for provision of services to the development of agriculture. The competent administrative department for agriculture under the State Council shall be in charge of work of agriculture and economic development in the rural areas throughout the country. The competent administrative department for forestry under the State Council and relevant departments shall, within the scope of their respective duties, be in charge of work related to agriculture and development of the rural economy. The competent administrative department for agriculture under the local people's governments at or above the county level shall be in charge of work related to agriculture and development of the rural economy including crop-planting, animal husbandry and fishery, within their own administrative regions, while the competent administrative departments for forestry shall be in charge of forest work within their own administrative regions. The relevant departments under the local people's governments at or above the county level shall, within the scope of their respective duties, be responsible for work related to services for agricultural production and operation within their own administrative regions.
Chapter II System of Agricultural Production and Operation
Article 10 The State applies the contractual management system in respect of land in rural areas, protects, in accordance with law, the long-term stability of the relationship of land contract in rural areas, and protects the right of farmers to use their contracted land. The Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Land Contract in Rural Areas shall be applicable to matters such as the mode and term of contractual management of rural land, the rights and obligations of the party giving out the contract and the contractor, and protection and transfer of the right to land contractual management. The rural collective economic organizations shall, on the basis the household contractual management and in accordance with law, manage the collective assets, provide their members with services in respect of production, technology, information, etc., make arrangements for rational development and use of collective resources and build up the economic strength.
Article 11 The State encourages farmers to voluntarily organize themselves into various kinds of specialized cooperative economic organizations on the basis of household contractual management. Specialized cooperative economic organizations of farmers shall adhere to the aim of serving their members and in accordance with the principles of voluntary participation, free withdrawal, democratic management and return of the surplus and in accordance with law, engage in agricultural production and operation and provide services within the scope prescribed by their articles of association. Specialized cooperative economic organizations of farmers may take diversified forms and shall be established and registered in accordance with law. No organizations or individuals may infringe upon the property of such organizations or their right of decision-making in management.
Article 12 Farmers and agricultural production and operation organizations may, on a voluntary basis and in accordance with the principles of democratic management, and distribution according to work combined with dividends on shares, buy shares by pooling funds, technologies or material objects to establish different types of enterprises according to law.
Article 13 The State takes measures to develop industrial management of agriculture in various forms, and encourages and supports farmers and agricultural production and operation organizations in their efforts to develop integrated operation of production, processing and marketing. The State provides guidance and support to enterprises, scientific research institutions and other organizations which are in the service of production, processing and circulation of agricultural products through concluding contracts or establishing different kinds of enterprises with farmers or farmers' specialized cooperative economic organizations, in their efforts to form benefit communities that jointly share profits and undertake risks, in order to push forward the industrial management of agriculture and give impetus to the development of agriculture.
Article 14 Farmers and agricultural production and operation organizations may, in accordance with law and administrative regulations, establish trade associations of different kinds of agricultural products in order to provide their members with services related to production, marketing, information, technology, training, etc., to play the role of coordination and self-discipline, to submit applications for relief measures for trade in agricultural products and to safeguard the interests of their members and trade.
Chapter III Agricultural Production
Article 15 People's governments at or above the county level shall, on the basis of the medium and long-term national economic and social development plans, the basic objective for agriculture and rural economic development and the regional division of agricultural resources, work out their plans for agricultural development. The competent administrative department for agriculture under the people's governments at or above the provincial level shall, on the basis of their plans for agricultural development, take measures to give play to the advantages of their regions, in order to promote the formation of a rational regional distribution of agricultural production and to guide and coordinate the restructuring of agriculture and the rural economy.
Article 16 The State guides and supports farmers and agricultural production and operation organizations in their efforts to readjust and optimize the structure of agricultural production according to market demand and in light of the actual local conditions, to coordinate the development of crop-planting, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, and to develop an agriculture with high quality, yields and returns in order to enhance the competitiveness of agricultural products in the world. In crop-planting, the mix of crops, varieties and quality shall be readjusted, centering around the optimization of varieties, improvement of quality and increase of returns. Efforts shall be made to improve forest ecology, carry into execution the projects designed to protect natural forests, restore reclaimed land to forests and prevent and control sand encroachment, and shelter forests shall be expanded and the cultivation of fast-growing and high yielding timber forests, forests for industrial raw materials and charcoal forests shall be speeded up. Grasslands shall be better protected and cultivated, the development of animal husbandry speeded up, the rearing of livestock in pens and folds popularized, the breeds of livestock and poultry improved, and the feed industry and the processing industry of livestock and poultry products developed. In fisheries, attention shall be paid to protection and rational use of fishery resources, readjustment of the mix of fishing, and active development of aquatic farming, deep-sea fishing and the processing of aquatic products. People's governments at or above the county level shall frame their policies, allocate funds, guide and support the structural readjustment of agriculture.
Article 17 People's governments at all levels shall take measures to strengthen all-round agricultural development and the construction of infrastructures for agriculture and the rural areas, such as irrigation and water conservancy, protection of agricultural ecological environment, rural roads, rural energy and electric networks, storage and circulation of agricultural products, fishing ports, grassland enclosures and bases of original and fine breeds and improved strains of animals and plants, improve the conditions for agricultural production, and protect and increase the comprehensive production capacity of agriculture.
Article 18 The State supports the breeding, production and updating of animal breeds and plant varieties and the wide use of the improved strains and fine breeds, encourages the combination of variety breeding with production and operation, and sees that the seed project and the fine livestock and poultry breed project are carried into execution.
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