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Should I stay or should I go?
By Qian Yanfeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-11 07:44 Returned migrant workers can spur their areas' newfound industrial undertakings with the skills and experiences they've gleaned from years working in coastal areas, Song Xuantao, deputy governor of Henan province, said at this year's provincial people's congress in January.
"It will in turn provide more employment opportunities for the rural population and raise their income substantially," Song said, adding that the provincial government has earmarked 800 million yuan to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Henan.
The 31-year-old used to be a migrant worker at a vegetable-processing factory in Xinghua, Jiangsu. However, he returned to the village in 2006 to start a small primary processing factory for agricultural products. What he had in mind then was just "to be on his own," he recalled, and the village's rich resources in agricultural products offered him "no other choice". But as more migrant workers return home, Tang said he wants to enlarge his business by recruiting more workers and starting downstream processing - turning raw agricultural materials like garlic and carrot into snacks instead of just vegetable slices. Such value-added business, according to Tang, would help build up his business and bring more profits to the workers. "It used to plague me a lot finding enough workers for my small business, because most of the villagers went to work in the cities," Tang said. "But now many of those who have returned jobless have recently come to me asking whether there are any vacancies." "By joining my business, they don't have to be separated with their families, and the offer I am giving them can also be competitive." Tang also hopes that more migrant workers will follow his example by setting up their own businesses and that his hometown "begins to attract labor from other parts of the country and becomes a big market for processed agricultural products". In time, it would even serve as a new model for a "rural economic development zone," as Tang labeled it himself, although such an ambition may take "many years" and "many people" to fulfil. Hui Guojun, the village head, agrees. "Planting vegetables alone won't bring much income to us, especially at a time when the prices of certain crops have dropped," he observed. "We now want to make use of our agricultural resources to promote the processing industry and big farms as well so that more people will be willing to stay." Such developments are already gaining momentum. In recent years, 10 such newly established enterprises have emerged at the county level, according to Hui. For Li Chenggui, an expert from the Rural Development Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, entrepreneurial initiatives like Tang's are a good way to start absorbing surplus rural labor. The key to solving the problem entirely, he said, lies in the urbanization of rural areas by promoting the development of non-agricultural industries. But the government must first ensure adequate social security for those farmers-turned-workers, Li said. Meanwhile, as the central government works on a four-trillion yuan economic stimulus package to pump up domestic consumption, rural infrastructure spending like railway construction and hydraulic projects can also help absorb some of the local labor force, Li told China Daily. For many migrant workers still, dreams of city life are hard to relinquish. Having spent the past 18 years in odd jobs - including as a porter, bicycle repairer and waiter - Hui said he and many of his friends still regard city work as more comfortable and profitable. Jobs in the big smoke are also the focus of all their career aspirations. They can earn much more in the city than toiling away on farmland, Hui said. His brother, who takes care of their family's land, suffered big losses last year following the drop in agricultural product prices. "Take garlic, for example, its price fell from 30 to 5 fen per kg in the first half of last year," he lamented. On the contrary, Hui has been generated much wealth for his family over the years with steady income from jobs in the city. His 200 sq m two-storey house is an impressive sight in the village. Last year, he even bought two air-conditioners as New Year gifts. "Starting businesses here at home is much more difficult than you can imagine," Hui continued. "Apart from high risks, loans are hard to come by, and very time-consuming." "We are also used to life in cities, which is much more interesting," Hui said, adding that his cousin, a fresh graduate from middle school, would also join him later in Beijing and start his own career as a migrant worker. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
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