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Grads grabbing bull by horns in countryside
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AS rapid urbanization continues, some youngsters are bucking this trend and pursuing better career prospects in the countryside.
Yan Qiang, born in Chongqing in southwestern China, rented a plot of land in the suburbs of Changsha, capital city of central Hunan Province, after graduating from college last year and started a community-supported agriculture (CSA) company.
His customers want to support local farms and do so by paying for a share of the expected harvest at the start of each growing season.
“Many of my peers are passionate about starting their own business and some have discovered opportunities in the countryside,” he says.
Born in a small village in Hainan, a southern Chinese island province, Chen Tongkui was the first in his village to go to college. After graduating, he worked as a journalist in Shanghai for seven years before returning in 2009 to his hometown to become a farmer.
Since then, he has championed ecological agriculture and agricultural tourism to his fellow farmers. Chen also organizes a forum for college graduates interested in working in the countryside. The event, which has been held for three years, attracts hundreds of participants each year.
Youths are choosing to go back to the countryside because of the government’s emphasis on agriculture along with the entrepreneurial opportunities afford by the Internet.
China released its annual “No. 1 Central Document,” the first major policy document of 2015, on February 1, pledging further coordinated development of cities and villages. This is the 12th consecutive year that the document has focused on agriculture.
In February 2014, a Ministry of Agriculture guidance suggestion asked local governments to issue policies that would encourage graduates to establish farms.
Meanwhile, the boom of China’s e-commerce sector, combined with the development of transportation and logistics, supports rural entrepreneurs, who depend on computers and mobile devices to carry out their daily tasks.
Three years ago, Liu Jingwen launched an e-commerce company for local farmers in Xinjiang’s Kashgar Prefecture. Recalling his first visit to Kashgar three years ago, Liu says: “Their agriculture and traditional businesses were well established, but they knew nothing about e-commerce. So, I jumped at this opportunity.”
According to Liu, his website has really improved the farmer’s incomes.
“Uncle Murtal only made 6,000 yuan (US$960) during his first year of selling online, but this soared to 25,000 yuan in the second year,” he says.
Urban residents exceeded 54 percent of China’s population in 2014, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, meaning that society has become increasingly polarized.
“Rural areas lack talent, which is impeding development. This reverse trend will inject vitality into the countryside economy,” says Yang Tuan, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The young are not only bridging the development gap between rural and urban areas, but are also promoting mutual understanding and trust through business connections.
However, starting a business in the countryside is no easy task.
In a poll of over 4,000 college graduates majoring in agriculture-related subjects, two-thirds were interested in starting businesses in the countryside, but less than 7 percent actually took action.
A report on those results, published by Shandong Jianzhu University last August, found that underdeveloped infrastructure, financing difficulties and lack of experience were the major obstacles.
It suggested that governments further promote preferential policies for countryside entrepreneurs, and that colleges offer relevant courses to better prepare students.
Moreover, attitudes toward farming must change. When Yan Qiang told his parents that he was going to start a farming business in the suburbs, his parents were embarrassed about his chosen career path.
“You have to be courageous and must stand firm, even when faced with stereotypical opinions,” Yan says.
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