The problem of "who will farm the land" is being solved, and can agricultural successors appear in large numbers?
Through the sustained efforts of all parties, a new type of agricultural operation system characterized by intensification, specialization, organization and socialization is advancing rapidly, and new-type professional farmers are beginning to emerge in large numbers. Although their overall numbers are not yet dominant, the role and influence they play in agricultural operations are becoming increasingly prominent. In particular, family farms, specialized large-scale farmers, farmer professional cooperatives and leading agricultural enterprises established with them as the main body have already formed the basic pattern of China's new agricultural operation system. The formation of this pattern indicates that modern agriculture is advancing rapidly.
⟦NL> Spring contends for the day, summer contends for the hour. The first major event of early spring, spring plowing, is advancing vigorously from south to north. What is the same as in previous years is that seizing the farming season remains the unchanging rhythm under the feet of grain growers; what is different from previous years is that the spring plowing people in the fields are increasingly changing from old farmers to more confident, younger new farmers.
The accelerated growth of new farmers is rewriting China's traditional farming pattern, and also marks that the new agricultural operation system vigorously promoted in recent years has begun to gradually take shape. The worrisome problem of "who will farm the land" is being solved at an accelerated pace.
New farmers include both old faces and new faces
As the farming situation gradually improves, local capable people are gradually joining the ranks of family farms, specialized large-scale farmers and professional cooperatives, becoming the main force of new farmers
Who are the new farmers? In Pingtou Village, Yong'an Town, Liuyang City, Hunan, 53-year-old Chen Genhua is an old farmer who has farmed all his life. But he says he is also a new farmer. Chen Genhua is an old agricultural machinery operator. Last year he rented 180 mu of farmland from villagers to cultivate, and this year he rented another 120 mu, becoming the village's largest grain grower. "By any measure, I am a new farmer now," he said.
New farmers like Chen Genhua, a "machinery operator + farmer," belong to the category of local capable people. In rural areas, local capable people mostly possess a professional skill, or have held posts in townships or village committees, and are capable, far-sighted and good at making money. As agricultural support policies continue to strengthen and the farming situation gradually improves, local capable people are gradually joining the ranks of family farms, specialized large-scale farmers and professional cooperatives, becoming the main force of new farmers and displaying their talents in their respective fields. Cao Xiudao, a large-scale grower neighboring Chen Genhua, was once a famous agricultural machinery operator; now his family farm has more than 800 mu of land. Hua Fuchang of Erdun Village, Tianchang City, Anhui, once served as village committee director and in 2009 established the Sangbohu Rice Cooperative, transferring more than 3,000 mu of land.
Another main body of new farmers is returning capable people. Returning capable people have mostly worked as migrant workers, done business, or even run factories. Under the influence of policies and driven by profits, they return to their hometowns to engage in large-scale planting and breeding or agricultural product processing. Because they understand the market, know how to operate and have courage, returning capable people bring new business concepts and technical methods. Ling Jihe, a large-scale grower in Xilu Village, Anyi County, Jiangxi, returned to the village in 2009 and saw that much land could not be rented out, so he decided not to go out anymore and to focus on being a farmer. Now his planting cooperative has transferred a total of 18,000 mu of cultivated land. Liu Donghua, chairman of Donghua Farm in the High-tech Zone of Feicheng City, Shandong, is the same. In 2007 he gave up doing business and returned home to farm. Today his farm has reached a scale of more than 1,500 mu, and he is busy beyond measure.
Compared with the capable people, most of whom are old faces, another group of new farmers are truly new faces. They are young and inexperienced, but knowledgeable and courageous, and are growing new-type professional farmers. Yao Zhihui, chairman of Zhaofeng Plant Protection Service Professional Cooperative in Hongze County, Jiangsu, became a village official after graduating from university in 2007 and later stayed in the countryside. Now her cooperative has more than 120 members and serves nearly 20,000 mu of farmland. Zhang Chao, a graduate student at Sichuan Agricultural University, is 30 this year. Four years ago he contracted 200 mu of land in Zhujia Township, Renshou County, to carry out cultivation experiments. His experimental field yields more than the surrounding fields and is very popular with farmers. Zeng Fangui, chairman of Songmuping Grain and Oil Professional Cooperative in Yidu City, Hubei, directly made his two sons successors, one managing farming and one managing administration; the whole family are new farmers.
"Old farmers" are continuously withdrawing, and the coexistence of old and new will last a fairly long process
Relying on moderate scale, new farmers are resolving the contradictions of "how to farm" and "who will farm." With the help of new technologies, for old farmers, farming is no longer hard and exhausting work
The rapid growth of new farmers means that old farmers are gradually withdrawing. However, the circumstances of old farmers' withdrawal differ. Zhu Xingren, a villager in Zhufang Village, Nanchang County, Jiangxi, is 52 this year and has 5 mu of contracted land. In the past he worked away from home while his wife farmed at home. In 2012 he took the initiative to rent out the land, and both husband and wife worked as migrant workers. Zhu Xingren is a fairly typical old farmer today. Such old farmers are not yet very old and have always been professional migrant workers. The possibility of settling in the city is very small, but they also have no willingness or ability to return to the village to farm. Therefore they take the initiative to rent out the land, first for an income, and second to leave a way out for their old age.
In addition to professional migrant workers, most part-time farmers also take the initiative to transfer their contracted land. They usually work nearby and return home for a few busy days during the farming season. But as time goes on, more and more people choose to transfer their land. Ji Changfeng of Fuhu Village, Huigu Town, Suzhou City, Anhui, has 10 mu of land at home, usually farmed by his wife and the elderly, with him helping during busy times. In 2012 he rented the land to a local cooperative, with a rent of 900 jin of wheat per mu. In their village, almost all the villagers' farmland has been rented out.
Among other farmers who take the initiative to transfer their land, some move the whole family to the city, some live with their children in old age, some no longer need to farm because their conditions have improved, and some are unwilling to farm. However, on the whole, farmers who stay on the cultivated land are still the majority. Due to the widespread use of agricultural machinery and the expansion of agricultural social services, farmers no longer need to toil and drudge to farm, and it has become easier. In Shandong, Henan, Hebei and other major agricultural provinces, local officials say that transferred land area can account for more than one-third of contracted land area, and other provinces and regions are basically the same; "owner-farmers" are still the bulk.
The circumstances of "owner-farmers" vary greatly. In some agricultural areas with relatively good economic returns, farming income is relatively high, and farmers are willing to keep their own contracted land. Jining in Shandong has good returns from growing garlic, and the vast majority of farming households are willing to farm their own land. Honghuatao Town in Yidu, Hubei, has good returns from growing citrus; although most citrus farmers are over 50, they still enjoy it tirelessly. Even in grain-producing areas such as Shandong, Anhui and Hubei, self-farming households are not few. Jia Weitao, a large-scale farmer in Hutun Town, Feicheng City, Shandong, told reporters that there are many large-scale farmers who want to rent land, but even more villagers are willing to farm themselves. In addition, some farming households lack technology and, apart from doing odd jobs, rely on farming to increase income; some farming households rely on contracted land to supply the whole family with grain and vegetables; some farming households treat farming as a way of life.
This coexistence of new farmers and old farmers constitutes the basic pattern of China's agricultural production. Relying on moderate scale and new technologies, new farmers are resolving the contradictions of "how to farm" and "who will farm." With the help of new technologies, for old farmers, farming is no longer hard and exhausting work. Liao Xinghua, chairman of Huimin Agricultural Machinery Professional Cooperative in Guanghan City, Sichuan, said that most cultivated land will gradually be transferred to "new-type professional farmers," but the coexistence of new and old farmers will last a fairly long process.
Whether "successors" can appear in large numbers depends on factors such as farming returns
There are many factors determining whether the "second generation of farmers" will take over, but the primary factor is farming returns. The agricultural environment also affects how quickly and how many "new farmers" enter
In Xuwu Township, Huaiyuan County, Anhui, 50-year-old Shang Yue is the largest farm owner in the whole county. The agricultural machinery professional cooperative he leads has transferred more than 10,000 mu of land, and villagers all follow him in farming. Shang Yue's elder son is pursuing a graduate degree, and his younger son, after graduating from junior college, followed him in farming and is now proficient in everything from computers to agricultural machinery. "In a few more years I can hand over completely," Shang Yue said.
In rural areas, father-son partnerships like Shang Yue's are already very common. Most specialized large-scale farmers have chosen to let their sons "inherit the father's business," and some large-scale farmers even specifically send their children to learn modern management at enterprises first. In Tianchang City, Anhui, Hua Fuchang's son has always worked in a factory, and now Old Hua is preparing to have him come back to be a farm owner. Among new-type professional farmers, old faces dominated by capable people occupy an important position; they largely resolve today's problem of "who will farm the land," while the return of the "second generation of farmers" will continue to resolve, or even thoroughly solve, the problem of "who will farm the land."
There are many factors determining whether the "second generation of farmers" will take over, but the primary factor is farming returns. Some ordinary farming households say that the main reason the "second generation of farmers" jump out of the "farm gate" is that farming cannot make money. But a large-scale grower, even calculated at a scale of 200 mu, has an annual income no lower than 100,000 yuan. "For such a 'farm gate,' young people are all willing to come back." Liu Furui, chairman of the flue-cured tobacco cooperative in Yonghe Village, Liuyang City, Hunan, put it even more directly: "There is no question of whether there are people to do agriculture, only the question of whether it makes money. If returns are good, master's and doctoral graduates will all come."
Farming returns have not only attracted the "second generation of farmers," but also attracted more newcomers to join. You Qiang, chairman of Gongfa Cooperative in Yidu City, Hubei, had the opportunity to become a civil servant after graduating from university, but he liked farming, and the old chairman, seeing his ability, gave up his position to him in advance. A network research expert said that "new farmers" entering rural areas under "agriculture, rural areas and farmers + internet" now number at least more than one million.
In addition to economic returns, the agricultural environment also affects how quickly and how many "new farmers" enter. Xiong Moxiang, Party branch secretary of Cao Village, Anyi County, Jiangxi, said that nowadays when farming, the fear is uneven cultivated land and blocked water channels. As long as the basic conditions are good, mechanized and information-based methods can be used, and farming becomes easier, then people will come to farm. A few years ago Cao Village brought in a large-scale grower, but later the large-scale grower found that the cultivated land was only level on the surface, with different heights below, so machines could not be used effectively, and he did not rent it. Wen Zhengyuan, a villager in Shuishan Village, Liuyang City, Hunan, once rented land, but suffering from uneven cultivated land, he gave it back. "Without fundamental improvement in basic agricultural conditions, there will be no large-scale farmers, let alone one's own children taking over." He sighed with emotion.