VietNamNet Bridge – Following a rumour that the State was considering reallocating agricultural land to farmers in 2013, experts and ordinary people talked with Khoa hoc & Doi song (Science&Life) newspaper about efforts to ensure enough land for farming

* Tran Van Lam, member of Viet Nam Farmers' Association's standing committee: Land Law needs to be amended

It is also irrational that many agricultural land plots which were due compensation have been changed to residential use. By this sleight of hand their value is markedly different as a matter of course. We must revise the Land Law with a view to not only re-allocating agricultural land for farmers but also to making it tune with the present situation as the law was issued nearly 20 years ago. But I have encountered many objections and disagreements among farmers when discussing agricultural land reallocation.

* Le Si Hai, HCM City's Van Hien University's social studies faculty: There will be problems with the procedures

From a sociological point of view, I think reallocating agricultural land will cause a major disturbance among farmers, as agricultural land is their flesh and blood. More is needed to be done to reclaim uncultivated land area and rent it to farmers who are in need for a certain period of time. Many procedures will arise if agricultural land is reallocated. Farmers will have to spend time on completing these procedures, not to mention the possibility of negative outcomes leading to unnecessary costs.

* Farmer Nguyen Hung Ap Rang in HCM City's Trung Lap Thuong Commune: The State should continue to allot available land funds

My family has been living here for nearly 30 years. In the past, our five-member family had only one hectare of land to do farming. Then, we bought more land from farmers who were no longer interested in doing farming. We have had about three hectares of land at present and I will re-allocate them to my children after they get married. I wonder if agricultural land will be reallocated evenly to farmers or distributed to co-operatives as it was in the past. I myself do not want to re-distribute my land on which I have planted rice, corn, beans and my family's lifestyle has been fairly stable. I also wonder whether compensation will be appropriate, a farmer who has no land is like having a plough without a buffalo.

As far as I know the State allocates land to organisations, family households and individuals for long-term use. Land use rights for aquaculture are 20 years and 50 years for cash crops plantations. I think the most effective thing to do so is for the State to continue to allocate land to land users who obey the rules.

* Farmer Nguyen Van Mao in HCM City's Dong Lan hamlet: Will lazy, landless farmers be re-allocated land despite having sold their original land?

I have been living here for decades and possess two hectares of land which I inherited from my parents. I know many families whose members inherited land, but they were lazy so as they sold it all.

They are getting poorer and will they be reallocated land only to sell it again? Like other farmers, my land area may be less or may be more if the State implements land reallocation. The move will cause disputes, unfairness and negative results.

* Phan Phung Sanh, standing committee member of HCM City's Union of Science and Technology Associations: Agricultural land area has decreased

Viet Nam is second largest rice exporter in the world. This is a great success. But it is also worrying in the long run because of climate change, sea water infiltration; the use of agricultural land for industrial development purposes is reducing available land.

It is already clear that the aftermath of using agricultural land to build golfentertainment projects has adversely affected farmers. courses and

Many do not know what to do with the compensation money after they sell their land to project investors. It is a must to help people stabilise their lives after they've had their land taken to build projects.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News