Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs: The New “Measures for Completion and Acceptance of High-Standard Farmland Construction Projects (Trial)” for 2025

To thoroughly implement the Party Central Committee and the State Council’s decisions and arrangements on strengthening the construction of high-standard farmland and ensuring national food security, and to further standardize and enhance the management of completion acceptance for high-standard farmland construction projects, thereby ensuring the quality and effectiveness of these projects, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has... Officially issued on September 3, 2021 Measures for the Completion and Acceptance of High-Standard Farmland Construction Projects (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”), which shall take effect from the date of their promulgation.

Strengthen the implementation of responsibilities. Clearly define tiered management responsibilities.

The Measures strictly adhere to Adhering to the fundamental principle of “whoever approves is responsible for acceptance,” clearly define the division of responsibilities among agricultural and rural departments at all levels in the completion and acceptance of projects, and establish an acceptance mechanism characterized by clear rights and responsibilities and efficient collaboration.

• Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Provide guidance and supervision for the completion acceptance of high-standard farmland construction projects nationwide, organize spot checks, and conduct comprehensive evaluations of implementation results in various regions.
• Provincial agricultural and rural affairs department Undertake the important responsibility of formulating detailed rules for acceptance work in this region and overseeing their implementation; each year, at least— 10% of the projects that have been completed and accepted in the current year will be subject to spot checks; for projects whose preliminary designs were approved by them, they will directly organize the completion acceptance.
• City-level agricultural and rural affairs departments Be responsible for the completion acceptance of projects within the jurisdiction and related organizational and coordination efforts. For projects that have been delegated approval authority from the provincial level, promptly carry out acceptance inspections and report the results accordingly. For projects not assigned approval responsibilities, actively cooperate with the acceptance authorities and ensure that any necessary corrective actions are implemented.
• County-level agricultural and rural affairs department As the primary management entity, you are responsible for organizing the preliminary acceptance of the project. After passing the preliminary acceptance, you will submit a request for final acceptance to the approving authority and take the lead in addressing any identified issues and compiling the relevant documentation.

This tiered management system reflects the regulatory requirements for oversight throughout the entire process and across the entire supply chain, and reinforces local management and principal responsibility.

Strict acceptance criteria Ensure that construction quality meets the standards.

Chapter 2 of the Measures clearly stipulates the six core conditions that must be met to apply for completion acceptance:

1. Complete all construction activities according to the approved preliminary design or change documents, ensure that the project quality meets the standards, and finalize the as-built drawings.
2. The major engineering equipment and supporting facilities have been commissioned and are operating normally, meeting the design objectives.
3. Each individual project has passed the joint acceptance inspection conducted by the four parties—construction, design, construction contractor, and supervision—and has been found to be qualified.
4. Complete the project completion settlement and obtain an audit report issued by a qualified intermediary agency or auditing authority.
5. The technical documentation is complete and comprehensive, including preliminary procedures, bidding documents, contracts, supervision records, construction data, and more; all documents have been categorized and filed.
6. The preliminary county-level acceptance has been completed.

The above-mentioned conditions set stringent thresholds from multiple dimensions, including engineering construction, fund utilization, procedural compliance, and technical documentation, ensuring that the project is truly implemented. “Meets standards upon completion, ready for use upon delivery.”

Standardize the acceptance procedure Enhance the scientific rigor and transparency of work.

Chapter 3 of the Measures systematically outlines the specific procedures for completion acceptance, which are divided into four key stages:

1. County-level preliminary acceptance After the project is completed, the county-level agricultural and rural affairs department, together with relevant departments, will promptly organize a preliminary inspection to verify the quantity and quality of the construction and prepare preliminary inspection opinions and a report.
2. Submit a completion acceptance application. After passing the preliminary inspection, the county-level department shall submit a formal application to the project approval authority, attaching supporting documents such as the final accounting audit report and the preliminary inspection materials.
3. Conduct on-site acceptance. The approving authority shall, upon receipt of the application, ... The acceptance inspection shall be organized within 60 days. An acceptance team can be formed by assembling a panel of experts or by entrusting a third-party professional technical institution. The inspection shall involve comprehensive evaluation through methods such as listening to reports, reviewing archives, conducting on-site verification, performing operational tests, and visiting local residents, ultimately resulting in a written acceptance report.
4. Issue acceptance opinion Based on the acceptance report, the approving authority shall decide whether to pass the acceptance. For projects that meet the requirements, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will issue a "Certificate of Completion and Acceptance for High-Standard Farmland Construction Projects" in a standardized format. For projects that do not meet the requirements, the authority will order rectification within a specified time limit and require a reapplication for acceptance upon completion of the rectification.

In addition, the Measures emphasize the need to make full use of modern information technology tools to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of acceptance inspections. They also require that, after a project passes acceptance, its information be registered and spatial coordinates be mapped and entered into the National Comprehensive Monitoring and Supervision Platform for Farmland Construction.

Strengthen supervision and management Maintain the seriousness and credibility of the project.

To ensure the fairness and integrity of the acceptance process, the Measures include a special provision. The “Supervision and Management” chapter sets forth clear requirements:

• During the acceptance process, we should proactively listen to the opinions and suggestions of village committees, collective economic organizations, and farmer communities, and consciously accept social supervision.
• Members of the acceptance team must abide by regulations on integrity and self-discipline, perform their duties objectively and impartially, and recuse themselves from any situation involving conflicts of interest.
• For any illegal or non-compliant activities discovered, the agriculture and rural affairs authorities shall handle them in accordance with laws and regulations within their jurisdiction and, if necessary, request relevant departments to pursue accountability.

Meanwhile, after the project passes acceptance inspection, the county-level agricultural and rural affairs department should set up standardized information display boards in the project area to publicly disclose information such as the name of the project construction unit, the design unit, the construction contractor, the supervision unit, the year the project was approved, the construction area, and the scale of investment, thereby enhancing the project’s transparency.

The supplementary provisions clearly define the scope of application. Promote a smooth transition of policies.

These Measures apply to new construction and renovation and upgrading projects for high-standard farmland funded by the central government finance and local governments at all levels. For projects independently implemented by new types of agricultural business entities or rural collective economic organizations, these Measures may be applied by reference. Regarding... For existing projects approved in 2018 and earlier, implementation will follow the relevant regulations of the original competent authorities, reflecting an orderly transition between the old and new policies.

Conclusion

The issuance of the "Measures for Completion and Acceptance of High-Standard Farmland Construction Projects" represents a crucial step in perfecting the management system for farmland construction, marking the beginning of a new stage in China’s high-standard farmland construction management—characterized by greater standardization, institutionalization, and precision.