11. Agricultural legislation

 

Since 1978, along with development of agriculture and rural economy as well as the deepening of rural reforms, China has made great progress in agricultural legislation. Up to now, the Chinese government has promulgated more than 20 important laws for regulating affairs agriculture and rural areas, including the Law on Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, the Rural Land Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Law of the People’s Republic of China Concerning the Popularization of Agro-Technology, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Township Enterprises, the Fishery Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Grassland Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Wild Animals, the Quarantine Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Entry and Exit of Animals and Plants, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Animal Epidemic Prevention, the Land Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Organic Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Villagers’ Committees and the Seed Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Agricultural Mechanization Promotion, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Farmers’ Specialized Cooperatives. The government has also promulgated over 50 regulations on agricultural administration, such as the Basic Farmland Protection Regulations, the Regulations on the Protection of Wild Plants for Agriculture, the Plant Quarantine Regulations, the Regulations on the Administration of Pesticides, the Regulations on the Administration of Breeding Stocks and Breeder Birds, the Regulation on the Administration of Feeds and Feed Additives, the Regulations on the Administration of the Safety of Agricultural Genetically-Modified Organisms, the Regulations on Fishing Vessels Inspection, the Regulations on the Administration of the Biological Safety of Pathogenic Microorganism Laboratory, and the Regulations on Emergency Response to Major Animal Epidemics. Together with many local regulations concerning agricultural and rural affairs, all these laws and regulations have made important contribution to establishment of an agricultural legal system with the Chinese characteristics, and produced significant effects on agricultural and rural development. On 29 December, 2005, the 192 Session of the Tenth Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) examined and approved the Animal Husbandry Law of the People’s Republic of China, which offers legal guarantee for regularizing the production and management behaviours of animal husbandry, safeguarding the quality and safety of livestock and poultry products, preserving and making rational use of livestock and poultry genetic resources, and promoting sustainable development of animal husbandry. On April 29, 2006, the Twenty First Session of the NPC examined and approved the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products, which has filled in a legal gap in control of agricultural products’ quality and safety, and kept up the international trend of legislation in this field. Implementation of the Law on the Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products shall ensure the consumption safety and the fundamental interests of the public, and reinforce the international competitiveness of our farm produce.