Three million Chinese farmers are likely to lose their land every year for the next five years as the country speeds towards urbanization, according to sources with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Over the last ten years, about 40 million farmers have lost their land, the sources said.

The Ministry proposed to solve the inevitable disputes caused by land requisition by offering employment training and social security benefits to farmers left landless. It also expects that many farmers who lose their land will be forced to join the growing population of migrant workers trying to earn a living in the cities.

The training will mainly target young and middle aged farmers and social benefits will be provided to the older folk, who are likely to receive medical care, pension as well as cash handouts.

The government's land requisition scheme makes it hard for landless farmers to survive, so training and social security benefits are very important, the sources said.

Local governments should ensure funds are used to implement these measures. No other company or individual should use the money for any other purpose.

Farmers who've had their land requisitioned for urban planning would also be eligible for small loans at preferential interest rates.

In the past, compensation for farmers was not well managed and was too low, the sources said, adding that if the total compensation for their land cannot provide the farmers with a standard equal to their original living conditions, the government should offer more.

Auditor-General of the National Audit Office Li Jinhua, explaining how bad some land deals can be, cited the example of farmers in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province. They received compensation of only 4,800 yuan (US$600) per mu (0.067 hectares) when they were actually entitled to receive 18,900 yuan (US$2,363) per mu.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2006)