An incident involving the forced imposition of fees on farmers in Linze County, Gansu Province, has been brought to light, prompting an immediate on-site investigation by provincial officials.

Linze County, located in Zhangye City, is one of China's largest corn seed production bases. Leveraging the unique natural advantages of the Hexi Corridor, the area has developed a modern corn seed industry chain integrating research, production, processing, and sales. On June 13, a report revealed that during the promotion of farmland construction initiatives, local farmers engaged in corn seed production were compelled to pay an annual construction fee of 200 yuan per mu, with deductions scheduled to continue for 15 years.

Following the broadcast of this report on the afternoon of June 13, An Guomin, Deputy Director of the Gansu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, led a team to the affected villages for a field investigation. An Guomin clarified that the actual project for which deductions were made is not the high-standard farmland construction initiative funded by central and provincial fiscal subsidies. Instead, it is a corn seed base improvement project initiated independently by Linze County and financed through bank loans. He stated that in advancing this corn seed base construction, the local authorities are suspected of misusing the name of the high-standard farmland project to forcibly impose fees on farmers. The provincial department will urge Zhangye City and Linze County to promptly formulate a rectification plan and swiftly implement corrective measures.

An Guomin further indicated that the investigation uncovered additional issues requiring attention. Based on the evidence gathered, relevant leads have been transferred to the disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities.

Key Issues Identified

The investigation identified three primary concerns: first, the use of bank loans for land leveling and construction against the will of the farmers; second, problems related to land transfers that also contravene public consent; and third, inadequate policy communication at the grassroots level, leading to the imposition of unreasonable loan principal and interest payments on farmers under the guise of high-standard farmland construction.

"Since 2024, the high-standard farmland construction projects we have implemented using national bonds, particularly the high-efficiency water-saving projects in the Hexi region, have their construction costs largely covered by central and provincial fiscal investments. There is no longer a need to solicit funds or labor contributions from farmers," An Guomin explained.

He added that the Gansu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will issue an urgent notice on June 14, directing all agricultural and rural departments across the province to learn profound lessons from the Linze County incident. A comprehensive inspection for similar issues will be launched province-wide to draw broader inferences and strictly prevent the forced imposition of unreasonable fees on farmers under the pretext of high-standard farmland construction.