BEIJING — Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua said that the country's reform of the rural homestead system should be piloted steadily and prudently.

Hu, also head of the central leading group of rural work, made the remarks while delivering a speech during a video teleconference on Sept 29.

The reform, concerning the vital interests of hundreds of millions of farmers and the overall situation of social stability, requires long-term exploration to establish a new institutional framework, Hu noted.

Hu stressed that work should be done in the registration and certification of homestead ownership and to improve homestead management to lay a solid foundation for steadily and prudently advancing reform.

Efforts must be made to protect the legitimate rights and interests of farmers, he said.

Local departments must attach great importance to and deliver meticulous planning of the pilot project of deepening the reform of the rural homestead system, according to Hu.