Although farmers have the right to transfer their land rights to others, there has been an unspoken rule discouraging this practice. As a result, arable land is divided into small plots and farmed by individuals.

Many argue that this has a negative impact on efficiency and makes it difficult to modernize agricultural processes.

Lyu suggested that these barriers should be lifted so farms can expand, thus, increasing output and profitability.

The government should also encourage farmers to form shareholding cooperatives, he said.

Other lawmakers concurred that bigger farms and cooperatives could help with the adoption of new technology and modernization of processes as well as support farmers amid tougher market competition.

In response to the lawmakers, Vice Agriculture Minister Chen Xiaohua said rural land use reform was a priority for his ministry.

The government has, and will continue to, adopt measures that ease contract transfer and encourage farmers to set up cooperatives to ease the transition of individual plots of land into cooperatives, Chen said.