What are farmers' new needs? Let's hear what farming households have to say

College graduates who go to the countryside to serve as village officials generally have a fire burning inside, but at first they may not be clear about what they can do at the grassroots level, because we are neither civil servants nor rural cadres.

In July 2009, when I first heard the title "college student village official," I plunged straight into grassroots work. Over the past 6 years, I have been trying to change the local situation. But the question I often ask myself is: what do farmers need most?

Undoubtedly, rural areas need young blood and the infusion of advanced technology, culture and ideas. But what this land lacks most is still systematic security and development. At present, there are fewer and fewer young people in rural areas, and arable land faces the crisis of becoming barren. Those still working the front lines of farming are mainly people born in the 1960s and 1970s. In recent years, although the state has also encouraged the development of specialized cooperatives and encouraged entrepreneurship in rural areas, and e-commerce platforms for agricultural products have gradually shown promise, there is still a greater need to encourage enterprises, schools and grassroots development to connect with one another, ensuring that new forces keep entering rural areas, so that rural areas can be revitalized.

In terms of people's livelihoods, as the problem of food and clothing has been solved, establishing a complete pension and medical security system has become a prominent new demand in rural areas. When I returned to the countryside in 2009, the first thing I did was promote farmers' pension insurance locally. I found that with free compulsory education fully achieved, the main cause of poverty is no longer education spending, but medical costs. Although rural security levels have made considerable progress in recent years, how to reduce the impact of major diseases remains a severe problem.

Another system that needs repair in grassroots development is environmental protection. I grew up in the countryside and watched the river go from clear to polluted. After treatment there was partial improvement, but it was basically impossible to restore it to its pre-pollution state. There are two reasons for this. Some places are eager for development and spare no cost, even openly moving eliminated industries and polluting enterprises from cities to rural areas. Pollution happens quickly, but treatment is extremely difficult. This is especially true for rivers that cross regions; they cannot be treated by one place alone and require clear arrangements and strong cooperation. In rural areas, these resources and mechanisms are undoubtedly scarce.

Relatively speaking, the internal deliberation mechanism in rural areas is actually the most mature, but the issue of succession is a problem. Rural cadres are replaced every 3 years. As long as someone is not open and transparent enough when handling collective assets and collective funds, the seeds of conflict will be sown, leading to a continuous stream of petitions. After several terms, this becomes a legacy issue, and later generations find it even harder to clarify or resolve. However, rural areas are also very simple places, and communication between people is very plain. In the past two years, Xiawei Village in Shitan Town, where we are, has promoted a model of "democratic consultation, one matter one discussion," basically avoiding this conflict. Every matter involving village interests is voted on, the whole process is open and transparent, records and materials are kept, and timely publicity is made to the whole village. By eliminating false rumors and hearsay, we gained the understanding and trust of the masses. Stability is the prerequisite for development; this is an unchanging truth! At the grassroots level, acting from public interest in all matters, putting the interests of the masses first, and promptly keeping the masses informed are the only reliable ways to ensure stability.

During my school years, my favorite line of verse was from "Man Jiang Hong": "Do not idle away your time, until your youthful head turns white, and you lament in vain." In these years at the grassroots level, I have experienced a lot and thought a lot, and I have always carefully guarded my dream. I believe that as a person, one should hold a kind heart, keep one's promises, and do everything steadily and well; as an official, one should uphold public interest, value practical work, and put the interests of the masses first. Life is only a few decades long, and fame, gain, rank and salary are ultimately like floating clouds. Only by returning to simplicity and truly doing some practical things for what farmers need can one find one's original aspiration and not betray it.