“Agricultural conservation easement” or “easement” means an interest in land, less than fee simple, which represents the right to prevent the development or improvement of the land, as specified in Section 815.1 of the Civil Code, for any purpose other than agricultural production. The easement shall be granted for the California Farmland Conservancy Program by the owner of a fee simple interest in land to a local government, nonprofit organization, resource conservation district, or to a regional park or open-space district or regional park or open-space authority that has the conservation of farmland among its stated purposes, as prescribed by statute, or as expressed in the entity’s locally adopted policies. It shall be granted in perpetuity as the equivalent of covenants running with the land.