Chenhao LU, Zisheng YANG

Targeted Poverty Alleviation and Development Institute, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Kunming 650021, China

Abstract The transfer of rural population to urban areas is the inevitable result of China’s economic development, and going out to work is an important poverty alleviation model for poor areas to adapt to this historical trend. Studying its typical practices not only has practical guidance and reference for targeted poverty alleviation and poverty alleviation work, but also has important implications for how to rationally allocate regional population, resources, environment and economy. This paper investigates and explores the labor migration-promoting poverty alleviation model in Xundian Hui and Yi Autonomous County in the Wumeng mountainous area, a national concentrated and contiguous poverty-stricken area. On the basis of sorting out the leadership system, training methods, assistance ideas, working mechanism and poverty alleviation achievements, the income of 50 poverty-free households in 2018 was investigated and analyzed specifically. The results show that the poverty alleviation in Xundian County has achieved significant achievements both in macro and individual farmers, and it has played a decisive role in getting rid of poverty for households with migrant workers. In addition, the successful experience of Xundian County to increase income and get rid of poverty is sorted out, and the problems existing in this model are analyzed. It is believed that attention should be paid to the impact of labor migration on rural land use and citizenization of migrant workers.

Key words Targeted poverty alleviation, Going out to work for increasing income, Rural land use, Citizenization of migrant workers, Xundian Hui and Yi Autonomous County

1 Introduction

With the continuous advancement of China’s industrialization process, more land demand has been created by urban development. In rural areas, especially in rural mountainous areas, there are serious conflicts between people and land, that is, the existing productivity of the land cannot meet the needs of the peasants for a better place to live. Therefore, from the perspective of urban and rural areas, China’s rural population has been continuing to transfer from rural to urban areas. "The basic mechanism of rural surplus labor transfer is the allocation of resources (elements) in the market economy, the fundamental motivation is the income gap between urban and rural areas (or agriculture and non-agriculture), and the fundamental obstacle is the lack of human capital accumulation and institutional constraints"[1]. In poor areas, a large number of farmers have potential labor, but due to various factors, they are unable to play their role, leading to poverty. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the farmers have certain physical fitness but lack of skills and the other is that they have skills but lack of employment opportunities. Therefore, in the fight against poverty, it is urgent to train farmers and help them to get rid of poverty. In this respects, the Xundian Hui and Yi Autonomous County (referred to as Xundian County) in the northeastern part of Yunnan Province and the northern part of Kunming City has strong strategic considerations for the practice of poverty alleviation by promoting labor migration, including skills training and helping to find employment opportunities. The achievements are very significant and sustainable.

The county covers an area of 3 588 km2and has jurisdiction over 16 townships (streets) and 175 village committees (communities) with a total population of 563 000. There are 25 ethnic groups such as Han, Hui, Yi and Miao in the territory. The minority population is 133 000, accounting for 23.6% of the total population. It is one of the three minority autonomous counties in Kunming city, one of the 59 revolutionary old districts and counties in Yunnan province, and one of the 592 key poverty alleviation and development counties in China. The mountainous and alpine mountainous areas account for 87.5% of the total land area of the county. Thus, the county integrates minority, poverty, mountainous area and revolutionary old district. The county has a total agricultural population of 507 000 and a rural eligible labor force of 297 377, including 28 149 eligible registered poor persons. The number of potential labor is large.

In order to improve the employment skills and wealth of poor families, promote the increase in farmers’ incomes and help them to get rid of poverty, since the beginning of poverty alleviation, Xundian County has been centered on the goal of "ensuring the person trained to be employed and playing the driving role of the household that first gets rid of poverty", formulated a special work plan for poverty alleviation by supporting skills training, and grasped the training and employment work, thus promoting targeted poverty alleviation. On April 17, 2017, the Committee Office of Xundian Hui and Yi Autonomous County and the Office of the People’s Government of Xundian Hui and Yi Autonomous County issued a notice on theImplementationPlanfortheWorkofPovertyAlleviationbyPromotingLaborMigrationinXundianHuiandYiAutonomousCountyin2017(Xun Ban Tong[2017]26), which requires the party committees and governments of various townships (streets) and the county-related units to perform their duties in line with the plan. The introduction of this plan has played an important role in the successful poverty alleviation of Xundian County in 2017, and also laid a foundation for subsequent enhancing the effectiveness and practice of poverty alleviation by promoting labor migration.

2 Specific practice of promoting labor migration in Xundian County

2.1 Establishing a strong leadership teamA leading group, led by the county party committee secretary and the county head has been established for poverty alleviation by promoting labor migration, responsible for the organization, leadership, supervision, inspection, coordination and services of the poverty alleviation work. The policies and measures have been formulated and implemented to promote the employment of farmers and achieve sustainable income growth for farmers. Relevant target tasks have been decomposed and released, and inspection and assessment have been carried out. Meetings of member units are organized regularly to coordinate and resolve difficulties and problems in the work. All townships (streets) are guided to do a good job in peasant training and transfer of employment. Publicity and education have improved. As a result, a good social atmosphere that promotes farmers’ employment and entrepreneurship and helps to increase the income of farmers is created together.

At the same time, labor migration-promoting poverty alleviation work leading groups at the township (street) level have been established. The leading groups are led by the poverty alleviation headquarters at the township (street) level. Each labor migration-promoting poverty alleviation work leading group sets up an office in the township (street) social security service center, responsible for the investigation of rural labor resources in its jurisdiction. Employment skills trainings have been carried out. A list of people who have the willingness to work outside has been developed. Transfer of labor has been organized. The follow-up services for migrant workers are carried out.

2.2 Developing a variety of work measures that can be performed(i) The situation is investigated. The employment situation of the labor force in the jurisdiction was investigated to grasp the status of eligible labor resources and their employment status, the number of people who are willing to participate in training, and the number of people who have the willingness to work outside the home, laying a solid foundation for doing a good job in increase income by promoting employment and getting rid of poverty.

(ii) Publicity is strengthened. The role of the peasant employment information team is fully displayed. The propaganda of the rural labor transfer employment training policy is increased. The surplus laborers in the jurisdiction have been mobilized actively to go out to work. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and the Meteorological Bureau of the county have strengthened their communication and cooperation. The employment information released by the meteorological information platform has been fully utilized to realize the delivery of posts to the villages.

(iii) Labor cooperation is carried out. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of the county has taken full advantage of the employment resources of chambers of commerce and third-party labor intermediaries and selected a group of enterprises with high salary and good working and living conditions to carry out labor cooperation. Through the introduction of a competitive mechanism, the targeted labor output is carried out.

(iv) Order-based training is conducted. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of the county is responsible for collecting the employment needs of labor cooperative enterprises. In various types of vocational skills training of each assistance unit, the training target should focus on the registered poor households. Order-based and orientation-based training based on the employment needs of enterprises is carried out to ensure that employment rate has been increasing steadily. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of the county has adopted various methods to conduct rural labor transfer employment guidance training to enhance the overall quality of migrant workers from the common sense of working outside, laws and regulations, migrant workers’ rights safeguarding, language and habits, ensuring the laborers transferrable, stable and excellent.

(v) An employment platform is established. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of the county has led the townships (streets) to actively build a platform for both the labor supply and demand sides and carry out various recruitment activities such as "One Hundred Days of Rural Labor Transfer Employment Action", "Spring Breeze Action", "Sending Posts to Countryside", "Private Enterprise Recruitment Week" and "College Graduates Employment Service Month". The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of the county organizes a large-scale job fair every year. Each township (street) conducts at least one recruitment activity individually or jointly (the Labor and Employment Service Bureau of the county is responsible for collecting and providing employment posts and organizing the companies to recruit, and the village committees are responsible for organizing personnel to participate in the job fair). Through the cooperation at the county, township and village levels, the full employment of the labor force is actively promoted.

(vi) Labor transfer employment is classified. According to the actual situation of the county’s poor labor skill level and cultural level, labor transfer employment classification is carried out. A laborer with high cultural level, high labor skill level and a desire to go out to work will be transferred to other places for employment; and a laborer with relatively low education level and labor skill level or unable to go out to work because of the need to take care of family will be resettled nearby. In the implementation of poverty alleviation projects and infrastructure construction, selection of staff in various industries, promotion of "four districts and one city" and urbanization, industrialization, agricultural modernization and "five networks" construction, priority is given to registered poor people who have the need to work. Each township (street) and introduced enterprises have established a labor information exchange mechanism to coordinate the provision of labor by the village committee. The Investment Promotion Bureau of the county coordinates the investment enterprises to give priority to the registered labor force. The Investment Promotion Assessment Office of the county strictly evaluates the contribution of the introduced projects to labor employment. Each assistance unit actively guides the poverty-stricken households to go out to work to increase their income and recommends jobs suitable to poor households. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of the county actively collects and publishes employment information to promote the employment of poor laborers, contracts labor employment enterprises inside and outside the county to carry out labor cooperation, establishes a labor export organization mechanism with administrative villages at the main unit, townships as the main body and county-level coordination to implement the export of labor in batches, and organizes the registered personnel to work in coastal developed areas to increase income, learn knowledge, technology and management to promote the improvement of the overall quality of the workforce.

(vii) The service mechanism is improved. All townships (streets) set up mobile party branches in enterprises with more concentrated migrant workers in their respective jurisdictions to do a good job in party building and poverty alleviation. The tracking services for migrant workers in their respective jurisdictions are strengthened. The households with migrant workers are visited once a month, and the situation of the left-behind personnel is fed back to the migrant workers. A field visit is conducted to migrant workers every six months to ask about the working and living conditions of migrant workers and timely help to coordinate and solve difficult problems for migrant workers. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of the county relies on the provincial and municipal labor service platforms to establish mobile labor workstations to strengthen the tracking service for migrant workers. The work leading groups in the county carry out care activities for migrant workers at least once a year to visit the migrant workers. Labor transfer employment service contract cards are issued to provide a strong guarantee for the rights of migrant workers.

(viii) The progress of the work is coordinated. The work leading groups hold regular or irregular work promotion meetings to listen to reports on the work of various towns (streets) and timely research and solve the difficulties and problems in the work, thereby ensuring the successful completion of the work objectives and tasks.

(ix) The features are highlighted. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of the county fully taps the characteristic highlights and advanced typical figures in the work of transferring labor to urban areas, and pays attention to establishing a labor service brand. The Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of the county has invited the mainstream media of the province to conduct propaganda and reporting. It is necessary to convene a returning hometown symposium to invite representatives of migrant workers to make suggestions on how to do a good job in labor training to promote the increase in income of migrant workers. The advanced persons are invited to conduct preaches to drive more poor laborers to go out to work to increase the income, thereby getting rid of poverty. A strong atmosphere for poverty alleviation by promoting labor migration is created.

(x) The experience is summarize and promoted. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of the county should strengthen the vertical guidance and horizontal communication of labor migration-promoting poverty alleviation work in the county. Conclusions are made, and good experience is sorted out and promoted timely, thereby accelerating the expansion of the scale of the county’s labor economy.

2.3 Establishing a comprehensive security system(i) The subsidies for skills training are implemented. In the skills training activities such as "Cultivation Project for New Type of Skilled Farmers", "Dewdrop Project", "Yunling Professional Quality Improvement Project", "Spark Program", "Migrant Workers’ Skills Improvement Plan" and "Youth Leader Project", relevant departments provide corresponding subsidies according to the policy.

(ii) Subsidies for academic education are provided. For registered poor students in technical schools and secondary vocational schools, living allowances are provided from the training funds of the "Dewdrop Project" in addition to exempting tuition fees and granting bursaries. For the poor students who are learning in the senior and preparatory technician classes in the technical colleges, tuition subsidies are granted in accordance with relevant regulations.

(iii) Entrepreneurship is supported to drive employment. The provincial and municipal loan supports are actively applied for. For entrepreneurs who meet the conditions of "loan support, tax reduction, entrepreneurial services and financial assistance" and business guarantee loan, a loan of 100 000 yuan will be given to each of them. Entrepreneurs who meet the loan conditions for labor-intensive small enterprises shall be granted no more than 2 million yuan of loans. For entrepreneurs who meet the requirements of the "two 100 000 yuan", a loan for micro-enterprise fostering projects, no more than 100 000 yuan of loan and 30 000 yuan of one-time support subsidy will be granted to each of them.

(iv) Enterprises are encouraged to absorb employment. The park and introduced enterprises are encouraged to absorb employment. For the enterprise that hires urban and rural workers at the same year of its introduction and signs contracts with them with a term longer than one year, a one-time employment subsidy of 400 yuan will be given to the enterprise for hiring one person; and for the enterprise that hires males older than 45 years or females older than 35 years and signs contracts with them with a term longer than one year (including one year), a one-time employment subsidy of 1 000 yuan will be given to the enterprise for hiring one person. Subsidy funds shall be declared to the municipal finance according to relevant regulations.

(v) The construction of demonstration bases is promoted. The construction of "agricultural entrepreneurship demonstration villages" is further promoted. In 2017, two "agricultural entrepreneurship demonstration villages" were constructed, and one business incubator base or demonstration park with outstanding features, perfect functions, strong carrying capacity and demonstration effect was established. For qualified "agricultural entrepreneurship demonstration village", a one-time subsidy of 50 000 yuan is granted to it after applying to the municipal finance; and for qualified "excellent farmers’ entrepreneurship incubator base and agricultural entrepreneurship demonstration park", a one-time subsidy of 200 000 yuan is granted to it after applying to the municipal finance.

(vi) Entrepreneurship subsidies are implemented. Focusing on the main goals of "getting rid of poverty and increasing income", in line with the requirements of targeted poverty alleviation, through project development and introduction, companies and other economic entities are supported. For companies and entrepreneurs who are devoted to "one product for village" and "one product for one park" and hire 2-10 poor persons, a one-time subsidy of 20 000 yuan is granted to each of them after applying to the municipal finance; for those who hire 10-30 local poor persons, a one-time subsidy of 30 000 yuan is given to each of them after applying to the municipal finance according to relevant regulations; and for those who hire more than 30 local poor persons, a one-time subsidy of 50 000 yuan is granted to each of them after applying to the municipal finance according to relevant regulations.

(vii) The entrepreneurial rent subsidies are implemented. For returning migrant workers who have established economic entities in the township (street) and the village, applied for business licenses, operated stably for more than six months, and hired more than three (including three) local persons with whom contracts longer than one year have been signed, a one-time subsidy of 10 000 yuan is granted to each of them after applying to the municipal finance according to relevant regulations.

Eighth, timely adjustment is performed. All relevant departments promptly supervise and guide the implementation of new policies benefiting the people to ensure that the masses enjoy the policy dividends and share the achievements of reforms and development to the maximum extent.

3 Main achievements of promoting labor migration

3.1 Overall achievementsSince 2014, the employment of rural labor in Xundian County has achieved great results in both transfer employment and transfer training. Over the past five years, the task has been exceeded, providing a strong guarantee for the victory of the fight against poverty. In general, Xundian County has remained stable in terms of completing labor employment or transfer training. From 2014 to 2018, the cumulative number of employed rural laborers was 125 611, 21.7% more than the target task of 100 700 persons; and the cumulative number of transferred rural laborers for training was 133 554 persons, 12.4% more than the target task of 118 830 people (Fig.1 and Fig.2).

Fig.1 Employment status of rural laborers in Xundian County in 2014-2018

Fig.2 Transfer training status of rural laborers in Xundian County in 2014-2018

In 2018, 1 100 people (registered) were trained in new skills excluded in the national vocational qualifications, 10% more than the target task. As of May 2019, a total of 17 706 rural laborers were employed, completing 73.7% of the target task (24 000 people). It was estimated that the transfer income was 183 million yuan, including 7 466 poverty-stricken households with transfer income of 38.45 million yuan. A total of 767 people had been transferred to the main urban area of Kunming (including 665 registered people), completing 54.7% of the target task (1 400 people). Among them, 638 people had been transferred to the Xishan District (including 541 registered persons), completing 63.8% of the target task (1 000 people); and 129 people had been transferred to the resort (including 124 registered persons), completing 32.25% of the target task (400 people). A total of 4 866 rural laborers had been trained, including 2 602 registered poor people, completing 20% of the target mission (24 260 persons). Among them, 4 076 people had been subjected to guiding training (including 2 266 registered poor persons), 500 people had been subjected to skills training (including 136 registered poor persons), 200 people had been subjected to targeted poverty alleviation skills training (including 200 registered poor persons), and 90 people had been subjected to entrepreneurship training.

3.2 Increase in income of typical poverty-free households from going out to workThe income of 50 households that had gotten rid of poverty through going out to work and 50 households that had not worked outside was investigated. The results show that labor migration has played a decisive role in the poverty alleviation of farmers. The per capita net income of the 50 households that had been working outside was 4 813.98 yuan, and that of the 50 households that had remained at home was 4 256.85 yuan, obviously lower than the former. It can be seen that going out to work significantly increases the income of farmers. The per capita income of the 50 migrant households in 2018 was 9 450.67 yuan. From this perspective, the individual migrant workers have far achieved the income standard. From the perspective of the family, if only the income from employment was calculated, the per capita income of these 50 households was 3 810.76 yuan, obviously exceeding the poverty threshold of 2018 (3 500 yuan/person). It indicates that working outside has an important role in promoting poverty alleviation. Among these 50 households, if only the income from employment was calculated, there were 27 households with a net income per capita exceeding the poverty threshold of 2018, and the proportion was over 50% (Table 1).

Table 1 Income of poverty-free households in typical villages in 2018

Code ofhouseholdsurveyedHouseholdpopulationWorkingpopulationper householdTotalhouseholdincome∥yuanTotal incomefrom workingoutside∥yuan Per capitaincome ofmigrant workersPer capita income whiletaking only working incomeinto account∥yuanWhether to reach the povertythreshold while taking onlyworking income into account015226 00026 00013 000.005 200.00Yes026325 20016 0005 333.332 666.67No035222 00022 00011 000.004 400.00Yes044116 00011 00011 000.002 750.00No053223 10020 00010 000.006 666.67Yes063215 00012 0006 000.004 000.00Yes073216 00016 0008 000.005 333.33Yes083214 00011 0005 500.003 666.67Yes094216 00013 0006 500.003 250.00No104215 00012 0006 000.003 000.00No114117 00014 00014 000.003 500.00Yes124118 00013 00013 000.003 250.00No133114 00014 00014 000.004 666.67Yes144117 0009 0009 000.002 250.00No155118 00012 00012 000.002 400.00No164113 0008 0008 000.002 000.00No174221 0001 60008 000.004 000.00Yes182110 0009 0009 000.004 500.00Yes194218 00012 0006 000.003 000.00No204219 00013 0006 500.003 250.00No213217 00013 0006 500.004 333.33Yes223218 00018 0009 000.006 000.00Yes233116 00011 00011 000.003 666.67Yes242119 00014 00014 000.007 000.00Yes253116 00011 00011 000.003 666.67Yes265224 00014 0007 000.002 800.00No274115 00012 00012 000.003 000.00No283126 00026 00026 000.008 666.67Yes293125 20016 00016 000.005 333.33Yes304119 80019 80019 800.004 950.00Yes314216 00011 0005 500.002 750.00No327223 10020 00010 000.002 857.14No334115 00012 00012 000.003 000.00No342226 00026 00013 000.0013 000.00Yes354119 00013 00013 000.003 250.00No365114 00011 00011 000.002 200.00No373114 00011 00011 000.003 666.67Yes384216 00013 0006 500.003 250.00No394215 00012 0006 000.003 000.00No404114 00014 00014 000.003 500.00Yes

(To be continued)

(Continued)

Code ofhouseholdsurveyedHouseholdpopulationWorkingpopulationper householdTotalhouseholdincome∥yuanTotal incomefrom workingoutside∥yuan Per capitaincome ofmigrant workersPer capita income whiletaking only working incomeinto account∥yuanWhether to reach the povertythreshold while taking onlyworking income into account412118 00013 00013 000.006 500.00Yes423114 00014 00014 000.004 666.67Yes433117 0009 0009 000.003 000.00No445214 00012 0006 000.002 400.00No453113 0008 0008 000.002 666.67No465221 00016 0008 000.003 200.00No474115 0009 0009 000.002 250.00No482118 00012 00012 000.006 000.00Yes494328 00028 0009 333.337 000.00Yes503116 00011 00011 000.003 666.67YesMean3.721.517 90814 1769 450.673 810.76Yes

4 Successful experience in poverty alleviation by promoting labor migration

4.1 High-level co-ordination, making training, transfer employment work more powerful(i) The leadership has attached great importance to promoting the model. In 2017, Xundian County established the labor migration-promoting poverty alleviation work leadership office led by the secretary of the county party committee He Jiansheng and the deputy secretary Ma Jun to arrange the deployment of migrant workers to increase income. The sub-headquarters have been established to ensure that all work is carried out efficiently. At the same time, various townships and towns (war zones) have also established corresponding institutions to coordinate and improve the work of labor migration. The county party secretary, the county magistrate, and the commanders of various sub-headquarters have conducted in-depth research and unified employment on rural labor transfer employment for many times.

(ii) The structure is optimized to link the three levels. Since the implementation of the labor migration promotion work in Xundian County, a three-level linkage mechanism of "county-township-village" has been explored. The spirit is expressed, the mind is unified, the target is decomposed, and the responsibility is clarified, effectively promoting the work in an orderly manner.

(iii) The supervision is strengthened and multiple powers have been mobilized. On the one hand, the county party committee and county government decomposed the target of training 18 980 persons and transferring 20 000 persons for employment into townships (streets). The rural labor transfer employment of 2 800 people in the main urban area was decomposed into individual cadres at the department level and above, thereby promoting the migration work. On the other hand, the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the county included the labor training and transfer employment into the scope of supervision, and a special inspection team has been set up to supervise the transfer of labor.

4.2 Comprehensive mobilization and targeted publicity, making confidence in increasing income from training, transfer and employment more determined(i) Targeted propaganda has been strengthened. The advantages of employment information officers of village committees are fully displayed. The leading cadres at all levels, the resident team members, the assistance cadres, and the volunteers regularly enter the villages to visit each registered poor household, and their training needs are understood. The importance of labor migration to economic income and personnel development is analyzed.

(ii) Multi-form, multi-channel targeted publicity is performed. At the same time of ensuring the full coverage of slogans using the traditional method, various departments also used their own advantages to propagate labor migration. Using the forms and channels such as meteorological information platform, traffic bus, taxi rolling display, and trash can printing, the importance of poverty alleviation by promoting labor migration is well publicized.

(iii) Targeted publicity is performed through the people and things around. Symposiums on returning migrant workers are organized in various townships (streets) in the county to advocate for labor migration work and related policies. Representatives of migrant workers were invited to introduce their successful experiences. On-the-spot interviews were conducted in the local enterprises to produce promotional videos, introducing the company’s situation and advocating the achievements of labor migration, making the policy more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

4.3 On-demand training, improving employment skills generally(i) The real situation is investigated, and training is carried out on demand. The basic information and demand types of trainees with training intentions in the jurisdiction are understood to lay the foundation for the next step of training. The needs of the enterprises are understood. For the employment needs of local agricultural breeding professional cooperatives, cleaning property companies,etc., the "fixed-style" training is conducted. For example, after knowing that there was a large demand for breeding pig technicians in Xingping Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. in Jijie Town, Xundian County organized 100 registered poor people around for breeding pig farming training. The people in Damojing Village, Xianfeng Town live on pepper cultivation. For local poverty-stricken households, the company has specially organized 50 people to train pepper cultivation skills. In response to the technical needs of the chicken breeding cooperative of Daoyilong Community, Tangzi Street, 50 registered poor people had been organized for chicken breeding training.

(ii) The types of work are expanded according to local conditions. Since 2017, based on the wishes of the workers, in combination with the local actual situation, all towns (streets) have developed 22 practical professions such as agricultural machinery repair, electric welding, housekeeping services, nursing care, baby care, cosmetology, livestock breeding, tea art, and breeding pig farming, breeding cattle farming, economic crop planting, walnut planting, pepper planning for registered poor households, greatly improving the employment competitiveness of the rural labor force.

(iii) Screening at different levels is carried out to determine the training institutions. Through the previous registration, filling and qualification review, the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of the county organized a conference on rural labor transfer employment. On the conference, the person in charge of the employment department introduced the basic situation of the registered training organizations in the county, the employment training organization selection opinion forms were distributed, and the results were announced on the spot. According to the vote rate from high to low, the training organizations participating in the employment training were determined preliminarily, and publicized on the government website of Xundian County.

(iv) Training is sent to households to facilitate the masses.

(v) Tracking and multiple supervisions are strengthened. During the training process, relying on the Kunming Municipal Labor and Employment Management Information System, the employment department of the county followed up and inspected, the personnel of the social security centers of the townships (streets) inspected one a day, and the personnel of the village committees supervised throughout the process to improve the quality of training and the satisfaction of the masses.

4.4 Targeted assistance, broadening the channels for increasing income from labor migration(i) Active docking and interactive advancement are carried out. In June 2017, the Office of the Kunming Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Office of Kunming Municipal People’s Government issued theImplementationOpinionsontheTransferofEmploymentofRuralLaborForcesinPoverty-strickenAreasintheMainUrbanAreaofKunming(2017-2019). Xundian County has docked with assistance units actively, and the assistance units have also took the initiative to support the work of poverty alleviation in Xundian in terms of human, material, financial and other aspects. For example, the Dianzhong New District, Xishan District and Dianchi Resort of Yunnan have repeatedly visited Xundian County to deal with rural labor transfer and cooperation, and jointly discussed poverty alleviation.

(ii) Stabilizing employment posts is an important condition for achieving effective transfer. In addition to investigating and collecting employment information, the main urban area of Kunming City and the surrounding counties have made great efforts to expand the employment channels. The relevant responsible departments and sub-district offices provide the information on the number of effective jobs and receive the transfer of employment, forming a cooperation atmosphere, building a solid foundation for labor transfer from rural areas to Kunming City, and ensuring the continuous transfer of labor forces.

4.5 Government-led, optimizing the supply and demand of labor(i) Through understanding and accurate checks are carried out. Xundian County has conducted a comprehensive survey on the employment situation of the labor force. According to the registration forms and job registration forms, the responsible persons of each township (street) and the staff of each village (residential) committee (community) shall register, classify and integrate the information of the migrant workers who are interested in going out to work, such as age, education level, job type and salary expectation. A total of 234 033 laborers were investigated, and the remaining labor force was 19 180 people, providing personnel protection for training and transfer employment.

(ii) Inspections are strengthened to master the needs. In order to ensure those who intend to go out to work to obtain high-quality jobs, the sub-headquarters and the Labor and Employment Department of the county conduct on-the-spot visits and inspections of employment enterprises to gain an in-depth understanding of the company’s working environment, accommodation conditions, compensation and benefits and job requirements, laying a solid foundation for labor migration.

(iii) Classified statistics and on-demand job provision are conducted. Based on accurate investigation, the employment information is accurately mastered to ensure that jobs are "marketable". According to the specific conditions of the rural labor force, such as age, gender, education level, technical expertise, employment intentions, training willingness and salary expectations, the qualified employment posts are collected and provided. A total of more than 20 000 jobs have been provided, providing more employment options for the poor.

(iv) Orderly organization and batched labor output are carried out. Using the form of "government matchmaking and face-to-face recruitment of enterprises", the townships (streets), village (residential) committees (communities), and village groups organize meetings of supply and demand. Thus, job seekers and enterprises can negotiate with other face to face, achieving seamless connection. At the same time, the rural labor force with the willingness to work outside is organized and transferred uniformly.

4.6 Taking care of and coordinating all aspects, increasing the coverage of poverty alleviation by promoting labor migrationFor those who are unable to go out to work because of poor physical fitness, low level of education and family care needs, Xundian county is actively planning to find a local employment outlet for such people.

(i) Ecological protectors are included. Xundian County uses the ecological compensation and ecological protection project funds to convert some local poor people with labor capacity into ecological protection personnel such as forest guards and water source protection area cleaning staff, exploring new ways of ecological poverty alleviation. There are 702 registered poverty-stricken forest guards in Xundian County. The subsidy for their labor services and management is 6.68 million yuan each year. It can solve the living sources of poor families and improve their living standards, and can drive 2 737 people out of poverty in 702 families. A total of 112 people are employed in the Qingshui Seawater Source Protection Area, including 40 registered poor persons. The salary of group leaders is 1 500 yuan/month, and that of general cleaning staff is 800 yuan/month.

(ii) Village cleaning staffs are included. Xundian County combines the construction of a long-term mechanism for rural "seven reforms and three clears" with the work of poverty alleviation. The employment of village cleaning staffs gives priority to the poverty-stricken households. The cleaning staffs of all poor villages are selected from the poverty-stricken households. The cleaning fees are collected according to the population of each village, and allocated rationally by the township government and the village committee according to actual needs. The county agricultural office will provide subsidies of 300 yuan per month for each cleaning staff.

(iii) The rural laborers are employed as near as possible. Xundian County integrates industrial development with poverty alleviation by promoting labor migration. In the 187 industrial development projects of pigs, cattle and sheep, poultry eggs, aquatic products, vegetables, flowers, sericulture, melons and fruits, Chinese herbal medicines,etc., a total of 1 489 registered poor persons are employed, achieving good results in the nearby employment, mutual promotion, stable income increase of poor households and sustainable industrial development.

At the same time, Xundian County also strengthens its dynamic tracking management service. The county, township and village gradually establish and improve the basic personal information and employment of migrant workers. The county establishes a labor service output station in Kunming. Through face-to-face talks, visiting employers and other means, the difficulties and problems encountered in the life and work of migrant workers are understood actively, recorded or reported in detail, and coordinated. The retention rate of migrant workers is further increased to practically enhance the sense of acquisition and happiness of migrant workers.

5 Suggestions on poverty alleviation by promoting labor migration

5.1 Paying attention to the impact of labor migration on rural land useLabor migration-promoting poverty alleviation is an output of rural labor,i.e., turning the labor force originally engaged in agricultural production into workers. This will reduce the agricultural labor force. In serious cases, land abandonment will occur. If it is not rectified, there will be food security risks. At present, rural labor migration and land transfer in China have not been fully synchronized, and the two present dynamic inconsistencies[2], which has also been confirmed by the reduction in land use rate in Xundian County. Among the 100 households in Gongshan Town (Table 2), the original planting area of 50 households who live on working outside was 22.133 ha, but after going out to work, the actual planting area reduced to 18.667 ha. The net decrease was 3.466 ha. From the perspective of crop production value, it decreased from 15 542.09 to 13 226.72 yuan/ha. It indicates that labor migration not only reduces the planting area, but also reduces the land use rate. This is an unavoidable problem. In terms of horizontal comparison, the output value of households that had not worked outside was 28 380 yuan/ha, more than twice the output value of households with migrant workers. The main reasons for the above phenomena are the following four points.

(i) Most of the migrant workers are young laborers with good physical conditions, while the elderly people or women are remained at home to continue farming, of which the production capacity is low. As a result, land productivity is reduced, agricultural power is insufficient, and a certain degree of land abandonment is caused. This is because the labor force engaged in agriculture is lost. However, the income of migrant workers flows back to the countryside, indirectly compensating for the losses caused by the reduction of agricultural production. The agricultural infrastructure has not improved, and the income gap between agricultural production and working outside is large, so farmers are willing to give up part of the land, and reluctant to accept low land transfer income. Thus, the agricultural land as a whole is underutilized, which is related to the un-improvement of local agricultural production infrastructure after labor output.

(ii) From the perspective of farmers, it is better to let the land be abandoned and reduce crop production to keep their own contracting rights to the land. This is actually a safeguard against the risk of unemployment. It can also be seen from the side that farmers’ income from going out to work is low, which is related to the anxiety that migrant workers cannot integration into cities.

(iii) The benefits from agricultural production are much lower than those in non-agricultural production. When farmer households are converted to non-agricultural ones, non-agricultural income accounts for a large proportion of households, and plays a decisive role in household income. Therefore, farmers will abandon the investment in agricultural production, but put more energy into non-agricultural production or transfer the land to farmers who are still dominated by agricultural production.

(iv) Farmers who do not go out to work will focus on farming as a priority in increasing income. It has a higher motivation for farming. The added value of traditional crops is low. Therefore, with the help of the government, a variety of special crops are planted, such as flue-cured tobacco, Chinese herbal medicines, walnuts and chestnuts, greatly improving land productivity. Therefore, the above findings are obtained.

The above phenomenon is inevitable, but it is also an urgent problem to be solved. It is suggested that relevant departments should proceed from the overall situation of national food security and cultivated land protection, and formulate operational policies and measures. In response to the impact of labor migration on the use of cultivated land, land is developed efficiently and its productivity is improved. As can be seen from the above survey data, improving land productivity is completely achievable, and the key is to use what kind of mechanism to overcome all aspects of resistance to make the land of migrant workers rationally exploited. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a compensation mechanism for agricultural land withdrawal, and establish and improve the distribution method for exiting agricultural land[3]. If the relationship between labor migration and rural land is properly handled, land transfer and economies of scale will be improved, significantly increasing the total agricultural output of villages[4].

Agricultural production is scaled by land transfer. Promoting land conservation and intensive use is an effective way to solve this problem. First, the leading role of the government should be brought into play, and effective work is carried out in planning, coordinating and mind emancipating to promote the full use of land. Second, the construction of rural infrastructure is speeded up, and the investment in agricultural science and technology is increased to increase land productivity. Third, urban and rural household registration system, as well as social security system is improved, making the legitimate rights and interests of farmers effectively guaranteed. Fourth, a financial security system is established, so that manpower, material and financial resources can be returned to the countryside and can play a supporting role. Fifth, attention is paid to the development of agriculture, the leading role of leading enterprises is improved, the scale of leading industries is expanded constantly, the project construction is strengthened, and land circulation is promoted, thereby boosting land conservation and intensive use[5-7].

Table 2 Situation of planting industry in households of Xundian County surveyed

Category of household surveyedHouseholdpopulationActual plantingarea∥haTotal income fromplanting industry∥yuanTotal planting area beforeworking outside∥haTotal income from planting industrybefore working outside∥yuan50 households with migrant workers 18618.667246 90022.133344 00050 households without migrant workers19729.200828 700--

5.2 Paying attention to the citizenization of migrant workers

The above land issue is a problem of hometown after the migrant workers leave, and citizenization is the problem of migrant workers integrating into cities. On April 8, 2019, the National Development and Reform Commission issued theNoticeofKeyTasksforNewUrbanizationConstructionin2019([2019]0617), stating that it will continue to strengthen the reform of the household registration system. Small and medium-sized cities and small towns with a permanent population of less than 1 million in the urban area have cancelled the restrictions on settlement in success; large-scale cities of type II with a permanent population of 1 to 3 million in urban area should completely cancel the restrictions on settlement; and large-scale cities of type I with permanent population of 3 to 5 million in urban area should comprehensively relax the settlement requirements and completely cancel the restrictions on the settlement of key groups. This is an important measure for the urbanization of migrant workers. Clear instructions are given to the issue of household registration in the city. Rural immigrants have long worked and lived in cities and towns for many years. The unemployment rate of immigrants is very low. They are self-sufficient, and they are urban builders and taxpayers. They have become an indispensable part of urban life. However, the supporting facilities of current cities are still not perfect, and the household registration system and its institutional mechanisms are still very backward, leading to the obstruction of migrant workers’ citizenization.

The housing problem is also a major obstacle to the citizenization of migrant workers. Cities must create conditions for the people who withdraw from the agricultural land, and create conditions in terms of house supply and house purchase subsidies for migrant workers to settle down. In the study of the causes of obstacles, Wang Renyangetal. believe that the key point of housing security for migrant workers in Ningbo is to pay attention to the three elements, namely economic element, urban policies and management and social psychology. Among them, economy element is the fundamental factor affecting the construction of housing security system for migrant workers[8]. From this point of view, the government should have a proper inclination to migrant workers in housing prices.

In addition to household registration and housing issues, the rights and interests of migrant workers from rural areas should also be protected from policies, laws and regulations. It is also necessary to pay attention to the implementation and supervision of various regulations. The treatment of migrant workers in cities should be improved by various measures of public sectors, enterprises and non-profit organizations. Therefore, after getting rid of poverty by going out to work, it is also important to consider the integration of migrant workers, which is a strategic consideration for poverty alleviation achievements consolidation, long-term sustainable development of China’s economy and long-term harmony and stability of the society.