Overcoming the "disease" of superficiality.
(Baonghean) - In the 1960s, production groups of cadres from the South who had relocated to the North came to Western Nghe An to clear the wilderness and build state-owned agricultural and forestry farms, enriching the vast land of the province.
Prior to the reform period, due to the centralized, subsidized management mechanism, the production and business efficiency of state-owned agricultural and forestry farms was very limited, despite having a large workforce and land resources. In the transition to a market economy, state-owned agricultural and forestry farms were reorganized according to government decrees and provincial People's Committee decisions.
After several restructurings, as of June 30, 2014, Nghe An province had 12 limited liability companies specializing in agriculture and forestry (converted from state-owned agricultural and forestry farms); 11 protective forest management boards, and 3 special-use forest management boards (of which 9 were converted from state-owned forestry companies and farms). Through restructuring, the organizational structure of the agricultural and forestry farms was reformed to better suit market mechanisms, resulting in more efficient operations, but land management became more difficult. Before restructuring, the total land area managed by the agricultural and forestry farms was 223,733.14 hectares; after restructuring, it increased to 504,883.30 hectares, a rise of 281,150.16 hectares. The area of land still under dispute and encroachment before the reorganization (2005) was 3,301.04 hectares; after reorganization, it remained at 1,853.64 hectares. The area of land transferred to local authorities for management from 2005 to December 31, 2012 was 89,184.13 hectares (reaching 117.07% of the planned target). However, the shortage of production land (and even housing land) among local people remains severe, further complicating land disputes and encroachment. Production land from agricultural and forestry farms is leased to individual worker families, resulting in higher efficiency than before. However, after many workers retire, the companies do not reclaim the land to allocate to other worker families and newly recruited workers, causing difficulties in land management and the companies' land allocation work. The illegal leasing, lending, transfer, and conversion of land use has been ongoing for a long time but has not been definitively resolved. The review of allocated land, the issuance of land use right certificates under Decree 181/2004/ND-CP, and the demarcation of land boundaries have not yet been completed.
The above situation raises an urgent issue: It is necessary to replan and implement land allocation procedures for companies and management boards in accordance with the Land Law. Land allocation must be rational, ensuring sufficient land for companies and management boards to develop production while also providing land for production and housing for local people. For households receiving land under contract in agricultural and forestry farms, the land use rights must be granted in accordance with the Land Law. A current difficulty is that the land areas of companies and management boards have not yet been surveyed and marked with boundary markers on the ground. The land fund review of agricultural and forestry farms in previous years was based on records and contract documents, which are inaccurate and lack cadastral records. Due to a lack of funding for surveying and marking boundaries, all agricultural and forestry companies; and management boards of protective and special-use forests lack the basis to allocate land in accordance with the Land Law. The Provincial People's Committee has recently allocated funds to three units (Nghe An 19/5 Fruit and Vegetable Company, Tan Ky Protective Forest Management Board, Con Cuong) to organize surveying and demarcation, but the process is incomplete, so land titles cannot yet be issued or land lease procedures can not be carried out according to regulations.
As long as land allocation is based on records and not on actual land use, land management will remain largely superficial. A fundamental solution, stemming from the "on-site" reality of land use, is needed to address the complex issues currently facing land management. Managing agricultural and forestry land is not only related to the economic development of the province and each locality, but also to the production and livelihoods of the people. Therefore, all levels, sectors, and local governments need to coordinate closely to effectively resolve this issue.
Tran Hong Co