By Qiao Jinliang

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From Migrant Workers to New Rural Entrepreneurs

By Qiao Jinliang

Former migrant workers drawing on the umbrella surface at a village traditional paper umbrella factory of Wuyuan County， Jiangxi Province

The 2016 Spring Festival holiday ended on Feb 13， when many migrant farmer workers began to return to cities and towns for odd jobs for cash. However， many of such workers have decided to start their own businesses in their hometown.

According to statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture， entrepreneurial farmers have started 237，000 small， and micro businesses along with 455，000 agricultural products processing enterprises. Some 1.8 million leisure agriculture entities of various types and 1.48 million farmers' cooperatives have also got started， a trend that continues to flourish.

Smart Decision

Xie Gaoying， 38， from Yongfeng County，Jiangxi Province， is a contracted worker of the Liwu Food Company. “My monthly salary is 3，600 yuan （$555），” said the woman，whose husband is a migrant worker in a city.

“I am satisfied with my salary，” she said，adding： “What is most important is the chance I can take care of the family.”

The food company where Xie works employs more than 60 workers， with some 50 hailing from local villages. They earn an annual pay of about 2.35 million yuan （$361，540）.the company needs roughly a million ducks a year， which is a boon for over 100 local farmer households engaged in raising them.

Yang Xiaojin， who set up the food company in 2009， used to be a migrant worker for 16 years， including eight years working in the catering industry. Through repeated research into the market for Chicken's Feet with Pickled Peppers， he developed a unique recipe. When his product was launched in December 2011， it quickly created daily sales of tens of thousands yuan.

With his appetite whetted， he developed recipes for other products including Roasted Duck with Orange Sauce， which all enjoyed good sales.

Yang's food company now has a total payroll of some 60 workers and seven technicians， with an annual sales of over 30 million yuan （$4，615，385）. It processes more than 2，000 ducks a day， meaning a big job market for the local farmers.

According to the Yongfeng County authorities， the county government provided farmer-turned entrepreneurs with about 100 million yuan （$15，384，615） of small loans in 2015alone， from which some 720 farmer entrepreneurs benefited. Their success attracted 3，300 former migrant workers to follow suit， and made it possible for more than 4，900 locally employed farmers to transfer to work in new fields.

The Yongfeng County Government's policies support local people in their efforts to start businesses and work locally. All former migrant workers who return to start their own businesses enjoy the same preferential treatment for foreign-invested ventures. The local government also offers those who intend to set up their own businesses with free training and small loan guarantees.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security， labor transfers in rural areas have presented two trends in 2015： an increasing number of people involved in the transfer， and an increasing number of people who chose to work locally. In 2015， those who returned to start businesses in their hometown registered a 3.1 percent increase year-on-year， higher than the overall job transfer growth.

Cui Chuanyi， a researcher with the Rural Department of the State Council Development Research Center of the State Council， believes that millions of small and micro businesses started by former migrant workers have made it possible for local people to work in their home community， which in turn helps address an imbalance between large businesses and small and micro ones， a boon for achieving better economic resilience.

Boon for Structural Adjustment

What is noteworthy is that this trend is motivating China's ongoing industrial structure adjustment. Many of the new rural entrepreneurs worked in labor intensive enterprises in developed regions， where they accumulated rich business experience. Some of them replant businesses in their native place or induced businesses where they used to work to set up branches in their hometown， with they themselves as managers.

When Liu Shuhai， a former migrant worker， returned to Suoyifan Village，Gaoqing County， Shandong Province， he set up a company manufacturing medical adhesive tapes with the most advanced equipment in China that he purchased from Beijing with his own money. When he found his product was of a somewhat inferior quality， Liu and his technicians studied the core technology for three months until his medical adhesive tapes were up to standard in technical terms. Now their tapes enjoy good sales in China. To promote the business， Liu couples traditional market sales with online ordering. Liu is an undoubted success story.

Many former migrant workers， with their minds opened by working in cities， are also seeking breakthroughs in sideline occupations through scientific and technological innovation. One example is Cao Jianping in Longhua County， Hebei Province. In 2012，with technology he had mastered while working as a migrant worker， he established his Fengyuan Edible Fungi Breeding Cooperative， and managed to develop cooperation with a scientific research institute. On this basis， he introduced black fungus rod production equipment and hired technical personnel. Nowadays， the economic benefits of his company top 1.5 million yuan（$230，770） a year. On the basis of his success，he also seeks cooperation with many others in the form of “cooperative + production base + farmer households”. All those cooperating with him enjoy free training and supply of free rod bacteria.

While working for successful manufacturing and sales of his medical equipment，Liu Shuhai has joined hands with local villagers in co-funding special farms and a cultural tourism company. He organized farmers to breed crabs in paddy fields that have a ready market far and wide. On this basis， he organizes crab and fish catching competitions and other tourist activities.

Former migrant workers exploit what they have acquired from working in cities and towns for the development of non-farming industries. thanks to the funds，marketing concept， technology and managerial expertise they have obtained， small and macro businesses are mushrooming， paving the way for industrial development of their hometown. Some of these small and macro businesses have grown into key business in the counties where they are located.

‘Left-Behind' Problems Alleviated

In the past， when large numbers of farmers went to cities and towns in search of a better job， many of them left behind their wives， children and parents. As many of them choose to work locally，these problems are alleviated to a certain degree.

Yang Wuyuan and his wife worked in Zhejiang and Guangdong for seven years， leaving behind their child and elderly parents at home in a poverty-stricken mountainous village in Tianzhu County，Guizhou Province. When their three-yearold child was ready to enter kindergarten，the couple planned to return home but worried about their economic future. In early 2015， they learned t h e c o u n t y government encouraged migrant workers to work locally with preferential policies，and Yang joined hands with his brother to run a paper mill. With income guaranteed， they are having time to take care of their child and parents， too.

The “l(fā)eft-behind”problems are on the top of Tianzhu County Government's agenda. It works hard to organize training for migrant workers and introduces policies in support of the establishment of small and micro businesses. As a result， many migrant workers have returned to work in their hometown. According to incomplete statistics， the number of leth-behind children was reduced by 4，370 in 2015.

As a matter of fact， the loss of village population， the aging of farmers， and the three leth-behind problems combine to show the rural areas are losing talents. To rejuvenate the rural economy， there is indeed the need to attract people who work in cities and towns to work in their hometown. Many of them have become the new professional farmers， entrepreneurs， and fresh blood and even backbone for the fresh development of rural educational， cultural， healthcare and other social undertakings. they support the development of rural education， culture，health， as the backbones of the development of social undertakings in rural areas.