Research On Property Right Arrangement Of Rural Homestead And Protection Of Farmers’ Rights

The property right arrangement of rural homestead lands is the core content of rural homestead system,which is directly related to the vital interests of farmers and the development of rural economy and society,and is also the key and difficult point of grass-roots land management.The paper,based on a longitudinal exploration of the evolution process of the rural homestead system and an evaluation of its performance,finds that the inadequate protection of farmers’ rights and interests has been mainly caused by the issues concerning ownership arrangements such as the improper structure of homestead property rights,the unclear definition of rights,the inappropriate relationship between rights and so on.Taking "Three Rights Separation" of rural homestead property rights as the theoretical framework,this paper analyzes relationships between the homestead property rights arrangement and the protection of farmers’ rights and interests by defining and clarifying connotations and scales of the "three rights." The realization of homestead ownership refers to the right of possessing and allocating house sites,the right of controlling value-added income,the right of participating in the planning,construction and management of villages,etc.,which are gained and performed by the subjects of ownership according to quota allocation,paid use and planning.The qualification of homestead lands is defined as the right of farmers to obtain the collective membership,to gain the quota of construction,and to use the house site in accordance with the law,etc.The rural homestead usufruct is divided into the indirect right to get a mortgage with the Usufruct Certificate,the indirect use of the house site and the real estate on the land for residence or business,and the right to return the idle house base back voluntarily and get compensation for it,etc.The research,based on an exploration of connotations of the homestead policy,holds that village planning is an important measure to safeguard the common rights and interests of farmers’collective homestead,by analyzing the functions and roles of such grassroots organizations as the grass-roots government,the villagers’ committee,villages and villagers’ groups in the realization of the homestead ownership.The empirical research,by the means of the analytic hierarchy process,finds that in those villages which have been designed well,and the policy of "one household,one house site" have been implemented strictly,farmers’ homestead rights and interests are protected fairly and effectively,and further shows that a scientific and intensive village planning is "the Greatest Common Factor" guaranteeing and protecting farmers’ homestead rights and interests.Thus,homestead ownership can be realized smoothly by optimizing village planning and strengthening construction management.Also,the efficiency of protecting farmers’ homestead rights and interests can be greatly improved.Collective membership is the institutional basis of getting homestead land qualification.The current homestead policy fails to clearly define the concepts of "household" and " homestead" based on the collective membership rights,resulting in the problems of "insufficient" or "excessive"protection of the farmers’ rights and interests,such as "one household with a larger house site,""one household with a smaller house site," "one household with more than one house sites,""several households sharing one house site," "one household with no house site " and so on.Feasible standards of distributing homestead lands can be made all over the country with the guidance of the combination of "local norms and villagers’ autonomy." In addition,the ways to categorize "homestead" as the land which can meet farmers’ basic needs of the production and life will be feasible and acceptable.The paper studies the different uses of house sites in Yinqiao town,Dali City.The cost method is applied to calculate the qualification value of house sites for living as means of livelihood;the index model is employed to calculate the qualification value of house sites as source of production used for developing business and service industry.The result shows that there exist differences in qualification values of house sites used for different functions in different regions,and differences in values influence farmers’ willingness to exercise homestead qualification right.The greater the potential economic value is,the greater willingness farmers may have to realize their homestead qualification right;conversely,farmers are less willing to realize their homestead qualification right.Through an analysis of farmers’ right to use homesteads,the paper points out the core content of protecting famers’ right to use homestead lands is to protect their residence right and ownership.Furthermore,as a vital link in managing farmers’ right of using the residential land,the homestead exit is also one of the paths to realize their property right to homestead lands.The paper,from the perspective of property rights,analyzes the reasons for the unsmooth homestead exit,and points out it is essential to further improve the current system of homestead property rights,establish a punishment mechanism to discipline those who illegally use residence lands,and formulate an incentive mechanism to encourage farmers to return back idle house sites according to the law.Also,the study puts forward a mechanism of compensation to urge farmers to exit idle house sites by the means of combining dredging with blocking.Besides,the study draws on logistic regression analysis model to examine farmers’ rights and interests of exiting the right to use house bases.The result shows:those rural households with higher family income,especially those with more migrant workers and a higher proportion of non-agricultural income,are more willing to return back the idle residence lands,which proves that non-agricultural employment and income growth contribute to deepening the system reform of exiting the use right of house bases in rural areas.In order to fully protect farmers’ rights and interests,a series of suggestions are proposed.First of all,we should pay attention to the basic leading role of village planning and management,promote an orderly development of village scale layout and the effective improvement of village appearance,and make sure the construction of villages can be affordable with beautiful landscapes,and conform to the standard with distinctive characteristics.Secondly,we should build a"household-based" mechanism to protect farmers ’residential rights and interests,and make an exploration of constructing the effective management mode and paid-use mechanism which can ensure rural villagers can get,efficiently use,reasonably circulate and smoothly exit residence lands,with the aim at a legal and fair acquisition,intensive and economical use,and voluntary and paid exit.Thirdly,we need to fully protect farmers’ homestead property rights and interests in various ways,including promoting the registration and grant of Homestead Right Certificate,expanding the usufruct of mortgage,and constructing the paid mechanism to encourage farmers to return back idle house bases voluntarily.In addition,we should promote the rural homestead reform of "Three Rights Separation," explore the paths to activate the use right of homesteads under the guidance of the strategy of rural revitalization,extend the functions of residence lands from means of subsistence to sources of production.To conclude,it is necessary to guide and support farmers to participate in the development of non-agricultural economy,and to establish a same housing security system in rural areas as in urban area in the process of promoting the integration of urban and rural development,aiming at a fair protection of both urban and rural residents’ rights to residence and lands.