国务院令第257号
(Promulgated by Decree No. 257 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on December 27, 1998)
颁布日期：19981227 　实施日期：19990101 　颁布单位：国务院

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Agricultural Law of the People's Republic of China and the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China with a view to practising special protection of basic farmland and promoting sustainable development of agricultural production and social economy.

Article 2 The state practises the system of protection of basic farmland.

The basic farmland referred to in these Regulations means the designated cultivated land which shall not be occupied and utilized in pursuance of the demand for agricultural produce of the population and socioeconomic development at a given period and the overall planning for land utilization.

The basic farmland protection zones referred to in these Regulations mean the specific protection zones determined in accordance with the overall planning for land utilization and in pursuance of the legal procedures for the purpose of practising special protection of basic farmland.

Article 3 The policy of overall planning, rational utilization, combination of utilization and nurturing and strict protection shall be adhered to in the protection of basic farmland.

Article 4 Local people's governments at all levels above the county level should include the work of protection of basic farmland in the national economic and social development plan as one of the contents of the goals of the government leadership responsibility system during the term of office and the implementation of which shall be supervised by the people's government at the next higher level.

Article 5 All units and individuals have the obligation to protect the basic farmland and have the right to report or file a charge against acts of infringement on and occupation of and destruction of basic farmland and other acts in violation of these Regulations.

Article 6 The competent department of land administration and the competent department of agriculture administration under the State Council shall be responsible for the work of administering the protection of basic farmland nationwide in accordance with the division of functions and responsibilities prescribed by the State Council and in pursuance of these Regulations.

Competent departments of land administration and competent departments of agriculture administration of local people's governments at all levels above the county level shall be responsible for the work of administering the protection of basic farmland within their respective administrative areas in accordance with the division of functions and responsibilities prescribed by the people's government at the corresponding level and in pursuance of these Regulations.

The village(township) people's governments shall be responsible for the work of administering the protection of basic farmland within their respective administrative areas.

Article 7 The state shall reward the units and individuals having made remarkable achievements in the work of basic farmland protection.

Chapter II Delimitation

Article 8 People's governments at all levels should, in the process of compiling the overall planning for land utilization, list basic farmland protection as one of the contents of the planning, expressly defining the arrangement for the layout, quantum targets and quality requirements of basic farmland protection.

County-level and village(township) overall planning for land utilization should determine the basic farmland protection zones.

Article 9 The basic farmland delimited by the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government should account for more than 80% of the total area of cultivated land within their respective administrative areas. Specific quantum targets shall be broken down and transmitted level by level in accordance with the overall national planning for land utilization.

Article 10 The following cultivated land should be delimited as basic farmland protection zones and put under strict administration:

(1)cultivated land in foodgrains, cotton and oils production bases determined upon approval of the competent departments concerned under the State Council or local people's governments above the county level;

(2)cultivated land with good water conservancy and water and soil conservation works and median- or low-yield farmland under transformation plan as well as those that can be transformed;

(3)vegetables production bases;

(4)plots for agricultural scientific research and teaching experiments.

Cultivated land along such lines of communications as railways and highways and on the periphery of land for construction in municipalities and villages and townships should be delimited as basic farmland protection zones on a priority basis in accordance with the overall planning for land utilization; cultivated land that needs to be returned to forestry, grazing and lakes should not be delimited as basic farmland protection zones.

Article 11 Zoning and demarcation of basic farmland protection zones shall be carried out with the village(township) as the unit, organization for the implementation of which shall be conducted by the competent department of land administration of the people's government at the county level in conjunction with the competent department of agriculture administration at the same level.

People's governments at the county level shall set up protection markers for the delimited basic farmland protection zones and make an announcement thereof, the competent departments of land administration of people's governments at the county level shall build files with copies sent to the competent departments of agriculture administration at the same level. No unit or individual shall destroy or alter without authorization protection markers of a basic farmland protection zone.

Upon zoning and demarcation of basic farmland, people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall organize the competent departments of land administration and the competent departments of agriculture administration in conducting acceptance checks for confirmation, or people's governments of municipalities with subordinate districts and autonomous prefectures shall, with the authorization of people's governments of the provinces and autonomous regions, organize the competent departments of land administration and the competent departments of agriculture administration in conducting acceptance checks for confirmation.

Article 12 No change shall be effected in contractual management rights of the land contractors in the delimitation of basic farmland protection zones.

Article 13 Technical rules for the delimitation of basic farmland protection zones shall be formulated by the competent department of land administration under the State Council in conjunction with the competent department of agriculture administration under the State Council.

Chapter III Protection

Article 14 Local people's governments at all levels should take measures to ensure that there is no reduction in the quantum of basic farmland within their respective administrative areas as determined by the overall planning for land utilization.

Article 15 No unit or individual shall change or occupy the basic farmland protection zone upon delimitation according to law. In the event of inability to move away from basic farmland protection zones in site selection for such major construction projects as state energy, communications, water conservancy and military installations that require occupation of basic farmland involving diversion to other use of agricultural land or land requisition, it must be subject to the approval of the State Council.

Article 16 Where occupation of basic farmland has been approved by the State Council, people's government of the locality should revise the overall planning for land utilization in accordance with the approval document of the State Council, and make up equivalent basic farmland in quantum and quality. The occupation unit should, in accordance with the principle of reclamation according to occupation, be responsible for the reclamation of cultivated land equivalent to the quantum and quality of the basic farmland occupied; where there are no conditions for reclamation or the reclaimed cultivated land fails to conform to requirements, payment of cultivated land reclamation fee should be effected in accordance with the provisions of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Basic farmland occupation units should, in accordance with the requirements of people's governments above the county level, apply the soil of the cultivated layer of the basic farmland occupied to soil improvement of the newly reclaimed cultivated land, inferior land or other cultivated land.

Article 17 Kiln building, house construction, tomb building, sand digging, quarrying, mining, earth gathering, piling up of solid wastes or other activities that destroy basic farmland by any unit or individual within basic farmland protection zones shall be prohibited.

Occupation of basic farmland by any unit or individual for the development of forestry industry, fruit industry and digging of ponds for fish farming shall be prohibited.

Article 18 Rendering basic farmland idle or barren by any unit or individual shall be prohibited. Where occupation of basic farmland for a major construction project approved by the State Council fails to be utilized on expiry of one year that can be cultivated and harvested, cultivation on the said plot of basic farmland should be resumed by the collective or individual(s) that previously cultivated it, or cultivation can be organized by the land use unit; where construction has not been started for more than one year, payment of idle fee should be effected in accordance with the provisions of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; where the land has not been utilized for two consecutive years, people's governments above the county level shall, subject to the approval of the State Council, withdraw the land use right of the land use unit without compensation; the said plot of land originally owned collectively by peasants should be handed over to the original rural collective economic organization for resumption of cultivation and included in the basic farmland protection zone again.

In respect of any unit or individual for contractual management of basic farmland that abandons cultivation and renders the land barren for two consecutive years, the original contract-issuing unit should terminate the contract and withdraw the contracted basic farmland.

Article 19 The state advocates and encourages agricultural producers in the application of organic fertilizers, rational application of chemical fertilizers and agricultural chemicals in the basic farmland under their management. Units and individuals using basic farmland for agricultural production should maintain and improve the fertility of land.

Article 20 People's governments at the county level should, in the light of the actual conditions of the localities, work out measures for the classification and grading of land fertility of basic farmland and the competent departments of agriculture shall, in conjunction with the competent departments of land administration, organize the implementation thereof, carry out classification and grading of land fertility of basic farmland and compile files.

Article 21 Rural collective economic organizations or villagers' committees should evaluate the grades of land fertility of basic farmland at regular intervals.

Article 22 Competent departments of agriculture administration of local people's governments at all levels above the county level should, step by step, establish long-range fixed-position monitoring networks and points for land fertility and performance in fertilizer application of basic farmland, submit reports on the change of land fertile of basic farmland and put forward corresponding protective measures for land fertility to people's governments at the corresponding level at regular intervals, and provide agricultural producers with guidance and services in fertilizer application.

Article 23 Competent departments of people's governments above the county level should, in conjunction with the competent departments of environmental protection administration at the same level, carry out monitoring and evaluation of environmental pollution in basic farmland, and submit reports on the quality of environment and trends to people's governments at the corresponding level at regular intervals.

Article 24 Where occupation of basic farmland has been approved by the State Council for the construction of major state construction projects, state provisions for environmental protection relating to construction projects must be adhered to. A proposal for the environmental protection of basic farmland should be included in the report on the environmental impact of the construction project.

Article 25 Fertilizers supplied to basic farmland protection zones and urban garbage and sludge used as fertilizer should conform to relevant state standards.

Article 26 In the event of occurrence of an accident or other emergencies resulting in or possible of resulting in environmental pollution of basic farmland, the party concerned must immediately take measures to handle the situation, and report to the competent department of environmental protection and the competent department of agriculture administration of the locality and accept investigation and handling.

Chapter IV Supervision and Administration

Article 27 In localities where there are establishment of basic farmland protection zones, local people's governments above the county level should conclude instruments of responsibility for the protection of basic farmland with the people's government at the next lower level; village(township) people's governments should, in accordance with the requirements of the instruments of responsibility for the protection of basic farmland signed with people's governments at the county level, conclude instruments of responsibility for the protection of basic farmland with rural collective economic organizations or villagers' committees.

Instruments of responsibility for the protection of basic farmland should contain the following contents:

(1)scope, area and number of plots of basic farmland;

(2)land fertility grades of basic farmland;

(3)protective measures;

(4)rights and obligations of the parties interested; and

(5)rewards and penalties.

Article 28 Local people's governments above the county level should establish the system of supervision and inspection of protection of basic farmland, organize at regular intervals the competent departments of land administration, the competent departments of agriculture administration as well as other departments concerned in conducting inspection of protection of basic farmland and submit a report in writing on the inspection to people's government at the next higher level. Units or individuals under inspection should truthfully provide relevant information and materials and must not refuse to do so.

Article 29 Competent departments of land administration and competent departments of agriculture administration of local people's governments above the county level have the power to order a rectification with respect to occurrences of acts of destroying basic farmland within their respective administrative areas.

Chapter V Legal Liability

Article 30 Whoever commits any of the following acts in violation of the provisions of these Regulations shall be imposed heavy penalties in pursuance of the relevant provisions of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China and Regulations for the Implementation of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China:

(1)illegal occupation of basic farmland without approval or winning of approval by deceitful means;

(2)illegal occupation of basic farmland exceeding the approved quantum;

(3)illegal approval for the occupation of basic farmland; and

(4)buying, selling or illegal transfer of basic farmland in other forms.

Article 31 Whoever is obliged to delimit the cultivated land in the basic farmland protection zone but fails to do so in violation of the provisions of these Regulations shall be ordered by the people's government at the next higher level to make a rectification within a given time period; where there is refusal to make a rectification, administrative sanctions or disciplinary sanctions shall be imposed on the person-in-charge held directly responsible and other personnel directly responsible according to law.

Article 32 Whoever destroys or alters basic farmland protection zone markers without authorization in violation of the provisions of these Regulations shall be ordered by the competent department of land administration or the competent department of agriculture administration of local people's government above the county level to restore the original state and may be imposed a fine of less than RMB 1000 Yuan.

Article 33 Whoever engages in kiln building, house construction, tomb building, sand digging, quarrying, mining, earth gathering, piling up of solid wastes or other activities that destroy basic farmland and damage cultivation conditions in violation of the provisions of these Regulations shall be ordered by the competent department of land administration of people's government above the county level to make a rectification or effect treatment, restore the original cultivation conditions and be imposed a fine of more than 100% less than 200% of the amount of cultivated land reclamation fee for the occupation of basic farmland; where a crime has been constituted, criminal liability shall be investigated according to law.

Article 34 Whoever converts and embezzles the cultivated land reclamation fee for basic farmland that constitutes a crime shall be investigated of the criminal liability according to law; where a crime has not been constituted, administrative sanctions or disciplinary sanctions shall be imposed according to law.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 35 People's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, in the light of actual local conditions, delimit other land for agricultural production as protection zones. Reference to these Regulations may be made in effecting protection and administration of other land for agricultural production in the protection zones.

Article 36 These Regulations come into force as of January 1, 1999. The Regulations on the Protection of Basic Farmland promulgated by the State Council on August 18, 1994 is simultaneously superseded.