The US$5 million project will include research on a new procedure concerning land rights and land policy, Malik said.

Based on regional disparity, economic and urbanization conditions, pilot projects will be carried out in eight provinces.

CIRD President Gao Shangquan said it was imperative to have a clear understanding of farmers' rights to solve the problems.

"Some local governments acquire farmland in the name of building public projects which end up as commercial ones," he said, "that brings harm to farmers in a disguised way."

Gao also suggested exploring new ways to compensate farmers who have lost their land.

"We are thinking of a way to let farmers buy shares in their land, which can benefit them in a long term," he said.

The MLR also issued a notice yesterday to press local branches to strengthen their supervision of local governments' work to re-cultivate the same amount of arable land approved for other uses.

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