CHINESE farmers will be allowed to transfer or rent out their land, the State Council, the nation’s Cabinet, said late Thursday, in a move that will give them greater ability to benefit from rising land prices.

    The move was signaled at a key Communist Party meeting in 2013, but the Central Government’s statement gives it additional weight.

    The Cabinet said that farmers can use land as collateral on loans, though farmland can’t be used for nonagricultural use.

    It also said that the Central Government would need five years to establish a thorough registry of landholdings, a key foundation to clarify the rights of farmers over the land.

    A similar program has been in effect on a trial basis in Guangdong Province.

    In China, land is owned by the State and rural residents can’t sell land freely.

    Some analysts have said the failure of China to allow a rural property market — similar to one in place in its cities — is holding back efforts to develop a consumer economy as about half of the nation’s 1.3 billion people live in the countryside, typically spending less and saving more.

    The Central Government also said it wants to prevent local officials from using land transfers for their own benefit.

    Land grabs by local officials have sparked frequent protests by farmers in recent years. Local governments have been relying on rezoning rural land and selling it to property developers to finance their operations. The practice provides widespread opportunities for corruption.(SD-Agencies)