Study on the Montgomery County Farmland Preservation Program and Its Enlightenment for China

摘要

Montgomery County has been home to a strong agricultural industry, and the Farmland Preservation Program has contributed a lot. The two parts of the Program-the Transfer of Development Rights Program and the Purchase of Development Rights Program have preserved a great amount of farmland for the county and keep the development and prosperity of the agriculture. Nowadays, the recession of agriculture and the decrease of farmland are serious in China, so it is urgent to find solutions to those problems. The experiences from the Montgomery County has a certain sense of enlightenment for China to deal with the situation, such as 1) convert the development views and response to urban sprawl, 2) using economic means to solve the problems of farmland preservation, 3) establishing the development rights to guarantee the benefits and interests of farmers, 4) developing more scientific and reasonable land evaluation methods for the compensation.