Cultivating prosperity

Enhancing the lure of the land creates new opportunities in agricultural areas, and more efficient farms are taking root

China's farmlands and small towns are luring small businesses and professional farmers, after lagging behind urban areas during the decades of high-growth-rate industrialization. New legal structures, institutions and policies are designed to raise rural incomes and encourage returned city migrants to use their savings and talents to start businesses in their home areas.

By the end of this year, the central government plans to complete the process of giving farmers certificates that delineate their plots. They will not be able to sell their property rights, but they will be able to lease the land to bigger or more efficient farmers for long periods. This protects a rural safety net, while See allowing the creation of larger, more efficient farms.

In a discussion with lawmakers from Southwest China's Sichuan province on March 8 during the annual session of the National People's Congress, President Xi Jinping reiterated the need to raise rural incomes in order to keep the country's promise to meet the goal of eradicating poverty, defined as incomes below 2,300 yuan ($333; 313 euros; ￡273) per year, by 2020. Chinese rural incomes have been rising faster than urban average incomes for the past five years, but still remain at only 37 percent of the urban level, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The 2017 No 1 Central Document, issued in February by the State Council, China's Cabinet, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, focuses on "deepening supply-side reform in agriculture and accelerating the cultivation of new growth engines in agriculture and rural areas" by offering favorable taxation policies for business start-ups in rural areas, stepping up training of professional managers, and providing technical and financial support.

"We will incubate new industries, new formats and new models in rural areas. We will push to integrate the industries of recreational farming, rural tourism, e-commerce and the From page 1 food industry to bring more benefits to farmers," said Tang Renjian, deputy head of China's Central Rural Work Leading Group, at a news conference following the release of the document.

Regions that can provide high-value-added, safe, high-quality products to middle-class urban consumers are making rapid strides in building a new agricultural economy based on e-commerce and entrepreneurship.

Starting new businesses

The country has seen more than 5.7 million people, including 4.5 million migrant workers, move to rural areas to start new businesses in recent years, according to Chen Xiaohua, vice-minister of agriculture.

"This new document recognizes returning entrepreneurs as a resource. We have seen it happening for the past two to three years in our rural development project areas," says Paavo Eliste, lead agriculture economist at the World Bank office in Beijing. "This will give it more impetus and resources."

He adds: "We are seeing lots of apps developed in the food and local tourism sector. Technology makes direct two-way contracting possible. For example, a city business can contract with farmers to produce green and pollution-free specialty products."

Vegetable and fruit farmers in coastal Shandong province are able to take advantage of easy access to consumers in both Shanghai and Beijing. And, walnut growers in Central China's Shanxi province now have the infrastructure and technology needed to make higher incomes by selling throughout the country, says Suzanne Robertson, a natural resources and agriculture specialist with the Asian Development Bank.

Some farmers in Southwest China's Yunnan province have started to use e-commerce to sell flowers, specialty meats and vegetables to major cities - though only a small portion have now started such businesses.

A group of farmers in a village near the city of Yuxi, who preferred not to be named, say they have developed outside businesses, mostly in construction or logistics, and raised their incomes dramatically. In 2010, the collective decided to lease out its land to a big commercial operator, so they have already implemented many of the goals of the reform. They say the combined land is more productive than the earlier individual plots.

In the village, the certification is just getting started and will be implemented this year, so there is uncertainty about the process. However, they would prefer that they be allowed to convert the land to nonagricultural uses.

They are very pleased with the new health insurance plans available for farmers. They pay 150 yuan ($21; 20 euros; ￡17) per year and receive 95 percent coverage for healthcare. Some poor families receive 100 percent. Since 2011, they have also been covered by old age insurance.