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INTRO
China included farmers' property rights into its government report for the first time on Tuesday - which could give them more protection against land grabs in the countryside.
PKG
The report, delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao to the ongoing session of the national legislature, said guaranteeing farmers' property rights is "central to China's rural stability."
Experts say this suggests the central government will work harder, to protect farmers against illegal land grabs... In a bid to boost China's grain output.
China's rural land is collectively owned, giving farmers right of use over their homestead lots...
But the government still holds the power to reclaim that land - often for new infrastructure projects, like roads and rails.
But in recent years, power abuses and low compensation have fuelled farmer protests.
Experts say chaotic land management and unsettled claims have slowed China's rural development, by preventing cooperative farms from acquiring enough land, for efficient production.
The report marks the latest call to improve farmers' well-being.
At last year's National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Hu Jintao said farmers would gain more, when their land increases in value.
And China's first policy document for 2013, dubbed the No.1 central policy, said China would register and confirm farmers' rights over contracted land, in the next five years.
