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Beijing uses American lawyers to track the need for reforms in agriculture and land management

When the central government wants to make sure the rights of the mainland's hundreds of millions of farmers are being respected by local cadres, it relies on an unusual ally: a group of foreign lawyers.

A team of attorneys from America's Rural Development Institute (RDI) has been acting as the central government's eyes and ears in the mainland countryside since 1987.

With the backing of the State Council's Development Research Council and the National People's Congress, the group  talks to farmers about their land rights.

Under the 1998 Land Management Law and the 2003 Rural Land Contracting Law, all local governments are required to give farmers written 30-year agreements to guarantee the use of land without interference.

Brian Schwarzwalder, the group's US-based China programme co-ordinator, said their goal was to help farmers understand their rights. 'We are here to make sure farmers' voices are heard,' he said.

Along with the group's Beijing-based representative, Li Ping, Mr Schwarzwalder ventures deep into the mainland countryside about four times a year. Occasionally, RDI founder Roy Prosterman comes along. All three men have American law degrees. Their findings are analysed and presented, along with policy recommendations, directly to the central government's top rural decision-makers and advisers, including Premier Wen Jiabao.

The group's efforts are part of the government's attempt to jump-start a rural economy that supports 800 million residents. The average rural annual income is only 2,500 yuan, and 30 million people live in poverty.

Rural experts say the nation's land-use system is to blame for the depressed rural sector.

After the communist revolution in 1949, all land came under state or collective ownership, with individuals awarded rights to use it. Farmers are allocated their entitlement by local cadres, but the system has fostered widespread abuse because cadres re-adjust plots when farmers  die, or seize land without proper compensation.

With the possibility of cadres confiscating land at any moment, farmers are unwilling to invest in long-term improvements and increased production: no wells are dug, no fertiliser is bought and no trees are planted.

Experts believe that protecting land rights is the key to raising rural incomes and living standards.

The central government shares this view, and has been strengthening farmers' land rights, such as passing the 1998 Land Management Law and 2003 Rural Land Contracting Law.

Despite these efforts and the potential benefits, farmers' rights continue to be abused. The land regulations are specifically aimed at transferring local cadres' powers to the farmers, but village and county authorities refuse to obey orders. Experts believe the only way to make the legal measures effective is to strictly monitor the local governments, and this is being done through the RDI's work.

When the Land Management Law was put into effect, provincial authorities claimed 99 per cent of farmers had received land contracts. But doubting the figures, the central government asked the group to investigate.

In 1999, the RDI and  People's University surveyed more than 1,700 farmers in 17 provinces and found the real figure was  only 38 per cent. Only 36 per cent of the farmers they interviewed expressed 'high confidence' that their rights would remain secure over the 30-year term. The RDI recommended  stronger measures to protect farmers' rights.

The government then implemented the Rural Land Contracting Law, which contained RDI recommendations such as stricter limitations on land readjustments and extending land rights to women.

Mr Schwarzwalder said these efforts had led to progress. According to the group's 2001 nationwide rural survey, the number of farmers receiving land contracts had jumped to 50 per cent, with 40 per cent having enough confidence to make long-term investments.

'There is a misconception that this is a closed-minded country and all the government does is cover up the problems. This is far from the truth,' Mr Schwarzwalder said. 'Officials here really want to solve the rural problems.'

Mr Prosterman met Mr Li in 1987 as a result of the sister-city programme between Seattle and Chongqing. Mr Li helped organise the group's first field research project in Sichuan province.

In 1988, Mr Li arranged a  meeting between Mr Prosterman and Du Runsheng,  China's top rural policy adviser at the time and a close confidant of  Deng Xiaoping.

Known as the father of China's rural reforms, Mr Du was instrumental in pushing the revolutionary household-responsibility system, which enabled farmers to sell surplus crops once they had met their government quotas.

Mr Du was particularly impressed with the group's track record in researching land rights in poor peasant economies, such as Egypt, Central America and the Philippines, he said. With Mr Du's backing, China opened its doors to the group, giving it unprecedented access to the nation's rural policy apparatus.

One reason the group is welcome is because 'we don't come to China and lecture the government on what to do', Mr Schwarzwalder said. 'We study the situation and then offer suggestions.'

The group  has gained a high level of trust with the government. When in the countryside, members are accompanied by only a single minder and there are no restrictions on what questions they can ask farmers.

Mr Schwarzwalder said the farmers had no problems  opening up to foreigners. 'They are so happy to have someone ask them about their feelings and grievances,' he said.



Foreign watchdogs on China's farms