Zhenqi LUO, Chunjie LI*, Zhanping YU, Hegui ZHANG

1. College of Economics and Management, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China; 2. Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee in Jizhou District of Tianjin, Tianjin 301900, China

Abstract In order to grasp the relationship between farmers’ willingness and behavior to withdraw from rural homesteads, based on the theory of planned behavior, a survey was conducted in Jizhou District, Tianjin using convenience sampling method. A total of 443 valid questionnaires were collected and they were analyzed by SPSS. The results are as follows. (i) The willingness of farmers to withdraw from rural homesteads is affected by pre-cognitive factors such as behavioral attitude, subject norm and perceived behavior control. (ii) Among the benefits that can be brought by the withdrawal of homesteads, farmers value the improvement of the housing environment the most. (iii) Family members’ view and relatives and neighbors’ withdrawing from homesteads also exerts greater pressure on farmers. (iv) Farmers generally lack trust in the village committees or government departments’ claims. (v) The cost of relocation also restricts the perceived behavior control of farmers’ homesteads withdrawing. Based on above result, the following suggestions are made: strengthening policy publicity, raising farmers’ awareness of policies related to the withdrawal of homesteads, fully respecting farmers’ wishes, promoting the withdrawal of rural homesteads in an orderly manner, expanding the scope of compensation for withdrawal of rural homesteads, and enriching compensation methods.

Key words Jizhou District, Tianjin, Rural homestead, Theory of planned behavior, Withdrawal willingness, Withdrawal behavior

1 Introduction

On February 21, 2021, theOpinionsoftheCentralCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChinaandtheStateCouncilonComprehensivelyPromotingRuralRevitalizationandAcceleratingAgriculturalandRuralModernizationwas released. The document proposes to strengthen the management of rural homesteads, steadily advance the pilot reform of the rural homestead system, and explore effective forms of realizing the separation of homestead ownership, qualification rights, and use rights. A new round of pilot reform of the rural homestead system has been launched in 104 counties, municipalities and 3 prefecture-level cities across China. In the pilot projects, all localities focus on protecting the rights and interests for homesteads of farmers that have settled in cities, and intend to explore the guarantee mechanism for the qualification rights of farmers’ homesteads, and increase the property income of farmers by exploring the transfer, mortgage, voluntary and paid withdrawal, and paid use of the right to use homesteads. In Jizhou District, Tianjin Municipality, as one of the pilots, the compensation standard for the paid withdrawal of rural homesteads is based on the actual area of the legally valid homesteads that were voluntarily withdrawn. At a standard of 4 500 000 yuan/ha, a one-time economic subsidy will be given to the holders of the right to use the homesteads, and no additional subsidies will be provided for ground attachments. At the same time, the district government can provide affordable housing for holders of the right to use homesteads.

Since the reform and opening up, China’s urban and rural population structure and the relationship between land use have undergone major changes, causing the phenomenon of rural homesteads to be idle gradually increasing and becoming more and more common[1-2]. According to statistics, in March, 2021, the total area of rural homesteads nationwide reached about 1.8×107ha, among which the area of unused land had reached 6.67×106ha. It can be seen that the actual use of rural homesteads is not impressive. The increasing area of idle homesteads has not only caused difficulties in the management of rural homesteads but also restricted the flow and integration of factors such as urban and rural population, land, industry and capital[3]. In recent years, many scholars have conducted a lot of research on the withdrawal of rural homesteads. Among them, regarding the willingness of farmers to withdraw from their homesteads, first of all, it is determined by their perceived value in the withdraw decision, that is, the comparison of the expected benefits and costs of the withdrawal from homesteads; secondly, it is related to their possible behavior of integrating into the city[4]. Peng Xiaoxia[5]proposes to strengthen the dominant position of farmers in the withdrawal from homesteads and respect their willingness to withdraw from homesteads in the relevant policies and regulations for homestead withdrawal. However, due to the lack of realization ways and means for collective ownership in rural areas of China and its failure to be manifested and clarified in the value of the homestead, it is difficult to be concretely reflected in the compensation value consideration of homestead withdrawal, making the consideration of the actual value of the compensation value of withdrawing from homestead lower than the actual value loss of the withdrawal. As a result, the willingness of some farmers to withdraw is not high[6].

Judging from the existing research, the micro-level influencing factors of homestead withdrawal mainly involve the willingness of farmers. However, the analysis of farmers’ homestead withdrawal behavior is relatively rare, and few literature systems compare and analyze differences in behavior and willingness. In response to the above shortcoming, based on the related research on the withdrawal of homesteads, taking Jizhou District of Tianjin as a case site, and combining the actual status of the withdrawal of homesteads, this study analyzes the influencing factors of farmers’ cognition and willingness to withdraw from homesteads using the theory of planned behavior, in order to provide a reference for promoting the reform of rural homestead management system.

2 Theoretical model and data source

2.1 Theoretical basisThe theory of institutional change points out that individual cognition determines its behavior and directly affects the relationship between coordinated individuals in turn[7]. Cognitive psychology theory believes that individual behavior is essentially determined by cognition. The individual’s cognition level determines its behavioral intention, and further determines its decision-making and behavior[8]. It can be seen that individual cognition determines behavioral intention. Individual cognition is the pre-factor of behavioral intention, and behavioral intention is the backward result of individual cognition. There is a logical path relationship between individual cognition and behavioral intention: individual cognition → behavioral intention. According to the above point of view, in the process of farmers’ withdrawal from rural homesteads, the differences in behavioral intention among different farmers are caused by differences in their perceptions of the withdrawal from their homesteads. The difference in cognition of farmers is the fundamental reason for their different behavioral wishes.

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) states that the individual cognitive factors that affect behavioral intention include three dimensions, namely behavioral attitude (AB), subject norm (SN) and perceived behavior control (PBC)[9-10].The model of TPB is widely studied and used by social researchers. It includes three dimensions: behavioral attitude (i.e., an assessment of how much an individual likes or dislikes the result of performing a certain behavior), subject norm (i.e., the social pressure that an individual feels when deciding whether to perform a certain behavior, reflecting the influence of others or groups on individual behavior decision) and perceived behavior control (i.e., an individual perceives how easy or difficult it is to perform a certain behavior).On this basis, this study puts forward the logical analysis framework of "individual cognition→behavioral intention" for farmers’ withdrawal from rural homesteads (Fig.1).

Fig.1 Relationship between individual cognition and behavioral intention

2.2 Research hypothesesBased on the analysis framework of "individual cognition→behavioral intention" in TBP, the influence of individual cognition about withdrawal from rural homestead on farmers’ behavioral intention (BI) was analyzed from three aspects: "Behavioral attitude (AB)", "subject norm (SN)" and "perceived behavior control (PBC)".

2.2.1Behavioral attitude. Behavioral attitude represent the degree of preference or dislike of farmers for implementing homestead withdrawal behavior. When the farmers’ evaluation of the homestead withdrawal behavior is positive, they will have a positive behavioral attitude, and the negative behavior evaluation will produce a negative behavioral attitude. The behavioral attitude of farmers is mainly affected by the value judgment of homestead withdrawal and the collateral effects after the withdrawal of homestead. The evaluation of the preference for homestead withdrawal is the main manifestation of the external motivation of farmers’ homestead withdrawal. When farmers perceive that the homestead withdrawal behavior itself has the advantages of land saving and intensive use, overall village planning, improvement of the living environment,etc., and benefits in education and employment after withdrawal, they will develop positive behaviors and attitudes[11], enhancing their external motivation, which will have a certain impact on the willingness and behavior of farmers to withdraw from rural homesteads. Therefore, this study hypothesized that behavioral attitude (BA) has a significant positive impact on behavioral intention (BI) (H1).

2.2.2Subject norm. Subject norm is mainly reflected in the social pressure that farmers feel when they participate in the withdrawal from homesteads. According to previous research, subject norm is divided into mandatory norm and exemplary norm[12].The demonstrative normative groups for farmers mainly include relatives, family members and surrounding friends and neighbors. Relatives and family members are important social resources for farmers, and their opinions are an important basis for farmers to refer to while making decisions. When more relatives and family members agree, farmers may be more willing to withdraw from their homesteads. Friends and neighbors reflect the main social network of farmers. Among them, farmers who have withdrawn are the forerunners of the homestead withdrawal policy, and their recognition and evaluation of the policy has a strong demonstrative effect on farmers. Under the infection of demonstrative effect, farmers may be unwilling to be left behind, make response to national policy actively, and choose to withdraw from their homesteads eventually. Therefore, this research hypothesized that subject norm (SN) has a significant positive impact on behavioral intention (BI) (H2).

2.2.3Perceived behavior control. Perceived behavior control represents the hindrance of an individual’s past experience and expectations. In farmers’ perceptions of how difficult it is to withdraw from their homesteads, if farmers have more resources, the expected obstacles will be small, and then farmers show stronger control over the perceived behavior of the homestead withdrawal and are more willing to make behavior. Generally, perceived behavior control includes two aspects: "control belief" and "perceptual intensity". Control belief refers to various factors that restrict or promote behavior, and perceived intensity refers to the individual’s belief in "self-efficacy"[13].The control belief of farmers in homestead withdrawal mainly comes from the factors that farmers perceive to inhibit or promote their participation behavior, such as gasped information, professional skills, participation costs, and restrictions from other resources. Perceptual intensity refers to the belief in self-efficacy, that is, the individual’s self-confidence in the ability to participate in the withdrawal behavior of the homestead. In this study, farmers’ perceptions of homestead withdrawal policy, time cost, ability to handle disputes, and ability to make independent decisions were used to measure farmers’ perceived behavior control over the withdrawal from rural homesteads. In theory, if farmers have more confidence in their ability to participate in homestead withdrawal, and if the obstacles expected are smaller, farmers will be more willing to participate in the withdrawal of rural homesteads. On this basis, the following hypothesis was proposed: Perceived behavior control (PBC) has a significant positive effect on behavioral intention (BI) (H3).

2.2.4Relationship between willingness and behavior to withdraw from rural homestead. The planned behavior theory constructed by Ajzen believes that behavioral intention is the direct cause of the behavior. In this regard, many scholars at home and abroad have conducted verification studies. The results of a lot of research show that the stronger the individual’s behavioral intention, the more likely it is to implement the behavior. Therefore, it is speculated that individual behavioral intention is an excellent variable for predicting individual behavior. On this basis, the following hypothesis was put forward: Behavioral intention (BI) has a significant positive impact on behavior (H4).

2.3 Scale design and data sourcesBased on the above theoretical analysis, drawing on the results of indicator selection and scale design from related research, 18 items were designed in this study based on the actual situation of the research area. The five-point Likert scale was adopted to measure the five variables of farmers’ homestead withdrawal behavioral attitude (BA), subject norm (SN), perceived behavior control (PBC), behavioral intention (BI) and withdrawal behavior. Based on relevant scoring criteria (strongly disagree=1 point, disagree=2 points, general=3 points, agree=4 points, strongly agree=5 points), specific points were obtained through questionnaires.

The data of this study comes from a questionnaire survey conducted by the research team in 26 towns and villages under the jurisdiction of Jizhou District in May, 2020. Due to the prevention and control of the epidemic, the questionnaire link was sent to the WeChat groups of the towns and villages on the Wenjuanxing website using the convenience sampling survey method. The respondents of the questionnaire were village officials and ordinary villagers. A total of 509 questionnaires were received. After excluding 66 invalid questionnaires, total 443 valid questionnaires were obtained for empirical analysis.

3 Research methods

First of all, descriptive statistics was performed on the respondents using statistical software SPSS 24.0. The results obtained are shown in Table 1. The proportion of men in the survey was high, accounting for 64.6%. Most survey respondents were married, and unmarried only accounted for 10.8%. The age structure was mainly concentrated between 30-50 years old, accounting for 60.7%.There were 101 people between the ages of 50-60, accounting for 22.8%; there were 57 people between the ages of 20-30, accounting for 12.6%; there were 16 people over 60 years old, accounting for 3.6%; and there was only one person under 20 years old. From the perspective of monthly income, most survey respondents had monthly incomes of less than 3 000 yuan. The survey respondents with monthly income of 3 001-4 000 yuan accounted for 33.4%; the survey respondents with monthly income of 4 001-5 000 yuan accounted for 7.7%; and less than 10% of the respondents had a monthly income of 5 000 yuan or more. From the perspective of academic structure, junior high school and below accounted for the highest proportion, 41.1%;high school (technical secondary school) education accounted for 29.6%;junior college (higher vocational) degree accounted for 17.8%; university degree accounted for 10.4%; master degree and above accounted for 1.1%. In terms of occupational distribution, village cadres accounted for the highest proportion, 64.6%; rural farmers accounted for 20.1%; individual employees accounted for 12.6%; and the proportion of migrant workers in enterprises was the least, 2.7%.Since this study adopted convenience sampling survey and the village cadres were one of the main transmitters of this questionnaire, the proportion of village cadres among the respondents was high. In overall, the sample data met the requirements of the survey, and had a certain degree of representativeness.

Second, the quality of the collected data needed to be inspected. The inspection usually includes two links: reliability test and validity test. In this study, the withdrawal behavior (Behavior) had only 1 observation variable without problem in internal consistency or accurate definition of variables, so reliability test and validity test were not required. The statistical software SPSS 24.0 was used to test the reliability and validity of 4 latent variables of behavioral attitude (BA), subject norm (SN), perceived behavior control (PBC) and behavioral intention (BI).

The calculation results are shown in Table 2. The Cronbach’sαcoefficient of each latent variable in the reliability test was between 0.866-0.943, greater than the threshold value of 0.6; the KMO value of each latent variable in the validity test was between 0.744-0.888, greater than the threshold value of 0.5; the concomitant probabilities of Bartlett’s test were all less than 0.001; and in the factor analysis, the load coefficients of all indicators on their respective attribution factors were between 0.750-0.946, greater than the threshold value of 0.4. It shows that the model data had good reliability and validity, and they passed relevant tests.

Table 1 Descriptive statistics of respondents

Table 2 Factor analysis

4 Empirical analysis

This study used regression analysis for hypothesis test. First, the influence of various variables of farmers’ perception, namely behavioral attitude (BA), subject norm (SN) and perceived behavior control (PBC) on behavioral intention (BI) was tested. Second, the influence of behavioral intention (BI) on homestead withdrawal behavior was tested. Regression analysis was performed on the model using SPSS 24.0, and the results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 Regression analysis

The results show that behavioral attitude (BA) (βBA→BI=0.197,t=3.560,P<0.001), subject norm (SN) (βSN→BI=0.400,t=7.721,P<0.001) and perceived behavior control (PBC) (βPBC→BI=0.325,t=7.116,P<0.001) had a significant effect on behavioral intention (BI). That is, the hypotheses of H1, H2, and H3were supported. Behavioral intention (BI) (βBI→BE=0.257,t=4.673,P<0.001) had a significant effect on behavior (BE). Thus, the hypothesis of H4was supported. The model diagram is shown in Fig.2.

Fig.2 Model results

Based on the model, the following results were obtained.

(i) The hypotheses of H1, H2, H3and H4were all supported, showing that the formation logic of the willingness to withdraw from the homestead of farmers is in line with the theory of planned behavior. The formation process of farmers’ willingness to withdraw from rural homesteads follows the path of "cognition→intention", and is affected by pre-cognitive factors such as behavioral attitude (BA), subject norm (SN), and perceived behavior control (PBC). Among them, the behavioral attitude (BA) includes farmers’ perceptions of the benefits of withdrawing from homesteads, improving living environment, making full use of land to solve the problem of idle housing, better finding jobs, and facilitating children’s marriage. Subject norm (SN) indicates that the pressure from outsiders’ words and actions on farmers and it includes farmers’ perceptions of the opinions and behaviors of the outside world (family members, relatives, neighbors, village committees, relevant government departments,etc.) regarding the withdrawal of rural homestead. Perceived behavior control (PBC) includes farmers’ beliefs in controlling information and knowledge related to farmland circulation and paying corresponding costs, as well as handling homestead withdrawal disputes, autonomous decision-making and other "self-efficacy" judgments.

(ii) The standardized path coefficient of behavioral attitude (BA)→behavioral intention (BI) was 0.197, smallest among those of the three cognition influencing factors of the willingness to withdraw from the homestead. It shows that the behavioral attitude (BA) of farmers toward homestead withdrawal is an effective cognitive factor that affects their behavioral intention (BI). This is different from previous research conclusions. Gan Chenlinetal.(2018) used TPB theory to study the willingness of farmers to withdraw from farmland, and it was concluded that behavioral attitude is the main cognitive factor of behavioral intention. The factor loading coefficients of 7 behavior and attitude observation indicators, including homestead withdrawal income (BA1), moving to towns (districts) to improve the living environment (BA2), solving the problem of idle houses (BA3), mutual benefit of farmers and village collectives (BA4), less costs of living in new communities than rural areas (BA5), easier finding jobs in new communities (BA6) and facilitated children’s getting married in living in new communities (BA7) were 0.868, 0.895, 0.860, 0.892, 0.632, 0.803 and 0.830, respectively. It shows that farmers value the improvement of the living environment the most among the benefits that can be brought about by the withdrawal of homesteads. The realization of mutual benefits of farmers and village collectives ranked the second. The recognition that living in a new community costs less than living in the countryside was relatively low. Getting higher returns from the withdrawal of homesteads was not the most concerned factor. Through investigations and visits, it is believed that the above-mentioned problems may be caused by the imperfect policy and system of homestead withdrawal in Jizhou District. On the one hand, in recent years, building has been more and more valued in rural marriage customs. If a farmer’s family does not buy a building as a wedding house in an urban or town area, the marriage will be difficult to facilitate. Women of marriageable age claim building as a wedding room are mainly to improve the living environment. On the other hand, most of the respondents stated that their villages no longer approve new homesteads as early as ten years ago. As a result, men of marriageable age have no homesteads to build houses. Not applying for a new homestead is equivalent to withdrawing from homestead, and in this case, the youth can enjoy a subsidy of 4.5 million yuan/ha and price-limited house purchase benefits, realizing mutual benefit between farmers and village collectives. At the same time, the homestead withdrawal policy in Jizhou District requires that farmers who withdraw from the homesteads must purchase price-limited buildings, and otherwise, the claim will not be supported. Consequently, the score for farmers to get higher income from homestead withdrawal was not too high.

(iii) The standardized path coefficient of subject norm (SN) → behavioral intention (BI) was 0.400, largest among those of the three cognition influencing factors of the willingness to withdraw from rural homestead. It shows that the subject norm (SN) of farmers’ withdrawing from homesteads is the main cognitive factor that affects their behavioral intention (BI).The factor loading coefficients of the four subject norm observation indexes of family members’ homestead withdrawal proposal (SN1), relatives and neighbors’ homestead withdrawal proposal (SN2), village committee or relevant government departments’ proposal of withdrawal from rural homestead (SN3) and relatives and neighbors’ homestead withdrawal behavior (SN4) were 0.929, 0.946, 0.906 and 0.917, respectively. This suggests that the greatest external pressure on farmers’ willingness to withdraw from their homesteads comes from the withdrawal proposal of relatives and neighbors; family members’ withdrawal proposal and relatives and neighbors’ homestead withdrawal behavior have also exerted greater pressure on farmers’ withdrawal from rural homesteads; and village committee or relevant government departments’ proposal for the withdrawal of homesteads exerts relatively little pressure on farmers’ willingness to move out. In short, compared with family members, relatives and neighbors, farmers lack trust in the village committee or government departments’ proposal to withdraw from homestead.

(iv) The standardized path coefficient of perceived behavior control (PBC) →behavioral intention (BI) was 0.325, relatively large among those of the three cognition influencing factors of the willingness to withdraw from homestead. It shows that the perceived behavior control (PBC) of farmers’ withdrawal from homestead is an effective cognitive factor that affects their behavioral intention (BI). The factor loading coefficients of the four perceived behavior control observation indexes of familiarity with homestead withdrawal policies and methods (PBC1), bearing the relocation costs of homestead withdrawal (PBC2), ability to deal with disputes that may occur when homestead withdrawal (PBC3), and the independent decision-making ability for homestead withdrawal (PBC4) were 0.878, 0.855, 0.902 and 0.750, respectively. Since the withdrawal of homesteads involves multi-management by village collectives, township governments, and district-level relevant departments, the score of farmers’ independent decision-making ability to withdraw from homesteads was low. At the same time, the cost of relocation of homesteads also restricts the perceived behavior control of farmers’ homestead withdrawal.

5 Conclusions and discussion

5.1 ConclusionsBased on the TPB analysis framework, combined with the actual situation of homestead withdrawal, the logical mechanism of the formation of farmers’ willingness to withdraw from rural homesteads was discussed using regression analysis. The main conclusions of this study are as follows.

(i) The formation process of farmers’ willingness to withdraw from rural homesteads follows the path form of "cognition → willingness", and is affected by pre-cognitive factors such as behavioral attitude, subject norm, and perceived behavior control. Among them, subject norm is the main factor, perceived behavior control is an important factor, and behavioral attitude is an effective factor. (ii) Among the benefits that can be brought by the withdrawal of rural homesteads, farmers value the improvement of the living environment the most. (iii) The greatest external pressure on the willingness of farmers to transfer their homesteads comes from the opinions of relatives and neighbors. The advocation of family members and homestead withdrawal action of relatives, friends and neighbors also exerts greater pressure on farmers’ willingness to withdraw from homesteads. (iv) Compared with family members and neighbors, farmers lack trust in the village committee or government departments’ proposal to withdraw from rural homesteads. (v) The cost of relocation of homesteads also restricts the perceived behavior control of farmers’ homestead withdrawal.

5.2 Discussion

5.2.1The cognition of the functions of homestead is an important factor influencing the willingness of farmers to withdraw from rural homesteads. The residential function is the original function of the homestead, but with the differentiation of farmers, the functions of the homestead are becoming more and more diversified[14].For different types of farmers, homesteads have different leading functions. This also affects farmers’ willingness to withdraw from their homesteads. For farmers in general agricultural areas, the most important thing of the homesteads is the residential function, and their willingness to withdraw from homesteads is mainly determined by their dependence on the homestead. If they don’t need a certain piece of homestead to live, their willingness to withdraw from homesteads is higher; on the contrary, their willingness to withdraw from homesteads is low. For farmers in suburban villages or urban villages, what they value may be the property function of the homestead. Therefore, even if their homesteads are idle, they are not necessarily willing to withdraw from the homesteads, and their willingness to withdraw from the homestead mainly depends on the compensation for the withdrawal. In addition, there are also some people who have settled in cities, and they may value the emotional function of the homesteads, and their willingness to withdraw from the homesteads will be very low. Therefore, the government should put the housing function of homesteads in the first place when formulating policies related to homesteads, while taking into account the other functions of homesteads.

5.2.2The target population of the homestead withdrawal policy includes not only farmers whose homesteads are idle but also farmers whose homesteads are not idle but living environment is poor or farmers who have specific needs (children’s marriage,etc.).

At present, in the practice of withdrawing from rural homesteads in various places, farmers who generally leave their homesteads idle include those with multiple homesteads and those who have been working in cities for a long term, and they are the main group of people who withdraw from homesteads. The survey shows that the proportion of them voluntarily withdrawing from the homestead is not high. Therefore, there is a contradiction between the high enthusiasm of the government and the low willingness of farmers to withdraw from the homesteads. This also shows that the target population positioning of the homestead withdrawal policy is not very accurate. Although the homesteads of rural households with specific needs (such as children’s marriage,etc.) are not idle, the living environment is poor, and they are also the main target group of the homestead withdrawal policy. Farmers in this category value the residential function of homesteads, but the existing homesteads can not meet their housing needs, so they are eager to improve the existing living environment, and have a high willingness to withdraw from the existing homesteads.

5.2.3Improving the living environment of farmers after they withdraw and increasing the compensation for the withdrawal from homesteads can promote the withdrawal of farmers from homesteads. Having the willingness to withdraw from the homestead does not necessarily produce the behavior of withdrawing from the homestead, because the will of existence is not necessarily put into action. The withdrawal behavior of homestead is affected by its own and external conditions[15]. Therefore, the government also needs to formulate incentive and restraint measures to promote the conversion of farmers’ willingness to withdraw from homesteads into behavior of withdrawing from homesteads. Based on the fact that farmers are willing to withdraw from the homestead mainly due to the improvement of the living environment and financial compensation, improving the living environment and increasing the compensation for the withdrawal of the homestead are important measures to promote the willingness of the farmers to withdraw from the homestead into the behavior of withdrawing from the homestead.

5.3 Suggestions

5.3.1Strengthening policy publicity and raising farmers’ awareness of policies related to the withdrawal from rural homesteads. The survey found that some farmers had a vague understanding of policies related to homestead withdrawal. They don’t know much about the homestead withdrawal policy or the meaning of homestead withdrawal. This is one of the reasons why farmers are not very motivated to withdraw from their homesteads. Therefore, at present, policy publicity should be strengthened to increase farmers’ awareness of the policies related to the withdrawal of homesteads. The first is to strengthen collective ownership of homesteads and publicity for the "one household, one homestead" policy and eliminate some misunderstandings about homesteads, laying a foundation for the withdrawal of homesteads. Second, we should strengthen the publicity of the homestead withdrawal policy to help farmers understand the significance of the withdrawal of homesteads, the rights and benefits in the withdrawal of homesteads and the possible benefits. Third, village cadres and party members should be encouraged to take the lead in withdrawing from homesteads, and this can motivate ordinary farmers to voluntarily withdraw from their homesteads to a certain extent.

5.3.2Fully respecting the wishes of farmers and promoting the withdrawal from homesteads in an orderly manner. The survey suggests that not all farmers were willing to withdraw from their homesteads, and not all peasant families were suitable for withdrawing from their homesteads. We should respect the wishes of farmers. Homestead withdrawal cannot be done in one size fits all, and cannot be pushed forward blindly, but only in an orderly manner. First, a mechanism for expressing farmers’ interests needs to be established to ensure that farmers have an unobstructed channel to express their interests and increase their participation in the withdrawal of homesteads. Second, the degree of organization of farmers needs to be increased, so as to enhance farmers’ right to speak in the withdrawal of homesteads and restrict local government behavior. Third, the intensity of the reform of rural homesteads needs to be increased. For example, effective measures should be taken to promote the withdrawal of rural household with multiple idle homesteads regardless of whether they are willing to withdraw from the homestead.

5.3.3Expanding the scope of compensation for homestead withdrawal and enriching compensation methods. Reasonable compensation is a prerequisite for farmers to withdraw from their homesteads. Only when the farmer thinks that the compensation for withdrawing from the homestead is greater than the loss do they have the enthusiasm to withdraw from the homestead. In reality, compensation for the withdrawal of homesteads does have problems such as narrow compensation scope and single compensation methods, affecting the enthusiasm of some farmers to withdraw from their homesteads. To this end, the scope of compensation for the withdrawal of rural homestead needs to be expanded, and compensation can not consider the value of the house alone but the factors such as the security value of the homestead, the right to development of the homestead, and the cost of passing the transition period. Second, compensation methods for the withdrawal of rural homesteads should be enriched, and various compensation methods such as monetary compensation, equity compensation, "house-for-house" in-kind compensation, and homestead for social security can be provided for farmers to freely choose.