Farmers strike it big after returning to their land

Xia Jianfeng (center) plants strawberries with his workers at his farm in Jinshan District . — Ti Gong/Shanghai Daily

For decades, China's demographic has been farmers leaving the soil to seek their fortunes in city jobs. However, government efforts to encourage farmers to stay on the land is reversing that trend in small pockets of the Shanghai region.

Xia Jianfeng, 33, gave up his job in a chemical factory eight years ago to return to his home village in Jinshan District and rejoin the family farm. He said he has never regretted the decision.

"I used to earn 30,000 yuan (US$4,883) to 40,000 yuan a year working for the chemical company," he said. "But would you believe it? I earned over 500,000 yuan last year growing rice and fruit!"

Some local governments have initiated programs to keep farms viable and close the gap between rural and urban incomes. The governments often provide subsidies and training in modern agricultural methods. Policies have been implemented to buy up small, unprofitable land parcels and combined them into larger, viable farms to contract out. The idea is to keep farmers on the land by making the land profitable for them.

"The most important thing I had to learn was land management," Xia said, who credits his parents and the local government for his farming skills.

In the beginning, he grew flowers on the two-thirds of a hectare his parents farmed under contract. Because of volatility in market prices and the small scale of the farm, Xia was able to earn only as much as he did in the factory.

Expanding the business

The turning point came in 2010, when the district agricultural commission began promoting the cultivation of watermelon and strawberries.

Xia rented 2 hectares of farmland from the village and managed to earn more than 100,000 yuan in the first year growing the fruit. Buoyed by the success, he expanded the business gradually. Last year, he cultivated strawberries, melons and rice on 4.6 hectares.

Xia employs six villagers to work on his farm, paying them up to 3,000 yuan a month. Six more are hired during busy seasons. His elder brother and sister-in-law have quit their urban jobs to join in the farm operation.

He has now rented another 4 hectares of land and said he expects the farm's annual earnings to rise to up to 800,000 yuan. His success, he said, has encouraged other young people from the village to give up their city jobs and return to farming.

Liu Hua, 36, from the Pudong New Area, is another successful returnee. The son of farmers, Liu graduated from college in Nanjing in 2000 and went to work as an engineer in an electricity company. He found the work tedious, so he left to start up his own small advertising firm in 2003.

Several of his clients were running businesses related to organic farm products, which interested him. A series of food safety scares that began surfacing in China in 2009 got him to thinking about the importance of wholesome eating.

"If I didn't have a child, I wouldn't have taken food safety problems so seriously," he said. "But I became very anxious about the effect unsafe food would have on my young daughter. And I knew many other parents who shared that concern."

His parents hived off small plot of their land so Liu could grow organic food for his family. What started as a small passion quickly mushroomed into an obsession. In early 2012, Liu learned that one of his friends was running a farm cooperative in a rural area of Pudong, contracting with a local village for hundreds of hectares of farmland and then subdividing them into smaller plots.

"It sounded so interesting," Liu said. "Under the government policy, farmers didn't have to pay rent for the land. The leases were financed from the profits the cooperative earned by selling what farmers grow. So the only real risk to the farmer was the weather."

Liu began with two-thirds of a hectare in the first year, growing cabbages, peppers, eggplant and cucumbers. His parents helped with their farm experience. He admits the farm is not purely organic.

"We still use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but according to safety standards," he said. "They are healthy enough so I don't have to fear feeding my daughter what I grow."

Part of his harvest goes on the family dinner table, while some is reserved as gifts for clients of his advertising company.

Specialty crops

Liu has since expanded his sideline farming to just over 3 hectares and has begun growing specialty crops such as Chinese chives, day lilies and kalimeris, which are often used in gourmet dishes. With help from the cooperative, Liu has become a contract supplier for high-end restaurants in Shanghai.

As a farmer, he earned about 200,000 yuan in 2012 and 400,000 yuan last year. Farming has certainly proved more lucrative than he expected, Liu told Shanghai Daily.

Nowadays, Liu leaves his advertising business in the hands of associates and spends most of his time on his farm.

"Farming is tiring but not as difficult and boring as some people think," he said. "It can really be creative and challenging."

Gu Qiufeng, who lives in Fengxian District, knows the value of thinking creatively. He left a factory job seven years ago to rejoin his father, Gu Muhua, who is quite a canny farmer where enterprise is concerned.

Alongside the family farm, Gu helped his father expand a fledgling business in farm equipment. With the help of government subsidies, the family has bought nine harvesters, 15 tractors and rice-transplanting machines. They now serve farms cultivating 187 hectares in three villages. The family earned 400,000 yuan last year.

"I am 59 years old now," said the elder Gu.

"It's so nice that my son has returned to his roots and can take over as my successor."