MSU Researchers: China Needs More Protection of Farmer Land Rights
EAST LANSING, Mich. — China should protect land rights of all farm families and restrict corporate farming, argues a Michigan State University researcher whose team found that secure farm land rights will be key to closing the income gap between Chinese cities and countryside.
The study was recently published in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ 2011 blue book, an annual report of China’s rule of law. It found only 44 percent of China’s 200 million farming families has been issued land-rights documents as required by law, said Jeff Riedinger, dean of MSU’s International Studies and Programs, and a co-author of the study. (more…)