Why don't they want to change from agriculture to non-agriculture?

Attach importance to the pluralistic demands behind urbanization, eliminate the institutional factors hindering the dualism of urban and rural areas, and build a fair institutional environment. Let farmers choose whether to go to the city or not.

A recent media survey in Anhui, Sichuan, Hubei and other places found that most pilot small and medium-sized cities fully liberalized farmers to settle in cities, but before the "zero threshold," farmers were not willing to settle down, and the urbanization rate of the registered household population was generally lower than expected. According to a recent survey released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, about half of migrant workers in the central and western regions do not want to go to cities, and 66.1% of migrant workers say they will return to their hometown when they reach a certain age.

It used to be the aspiration of many farmers to settle in the city, but now why are they unwilling to "change agriculture to non-agriculture"?

Some people say that the "gold content" of urban hukou is not as high as it used to be. In the past, farmers turned into citizens, which meant that basic public services such as employment, education and medical care could enjoy different treatment. Now the situation has changed, and city dwellers may not have "iron rice bowls." with the liberalization of the policy, children's schooling is no longer subject to household registration restrictions; and the new rural cooperative medical system and the new rural insurance system are also guaranteed for the villagers to see a doctor and provide for the aged. Most importantly, in terms of development opportunities, cities are no longer the only channel for the upward development of the rural population, but there are also outstanding opportunities in rural areas.

Some people say that the cost of living in cities is high and stressful. When you enter the city, you have to pay for both rice, oil and salt, and you have to bear high housing prices, and it is also difficult to enjoy real citizen treatment in terms of social security and medical care. In the countryside, there is a small piece of land that basically costs nothing to eat and drink in a year. With the acceleration of the construction of the new countryside, the rural infrastructure has been greatly improved, and the pastoral life with beautiful scenery is easier and more comfortable than that in the city.

Some people say that they cannot give up the rights and interests of rural houses, land and so on. In rural areas, contracted land, homestead, direct subsidy for grain, subsidies for returning farmland to forests, and so on, are unique to rural hukou, and these rights may be lost after settling in cities. For example, whether the right of contracted management of land, the right to the use of homestead and the right of distribution of collective income are retained, how to withdraw and how to compensate, these still need a clear system design.

The fact that farmers are unwilling to change from agriculture to non-agriculture reflects the diversified needs of farmers' interests in the new era. In fact, urbanization is a spontaneous process, farmers can not enter the city, which city, farmers should be allowed to choose independently. What the government should do is to build a fair institutional environment so that everyone can enjoy equal public services and equal opportunities for development.

We should attach importance to the pluralistic demands behind urbanization and eliminate the institutional factors that hinder the settlement of rural population. First of all, it is necessary to reduce the cost of citizenization of migrant workers, further improve the urban housing system, relax the restrictions on the purchase of migrant workers, put migrant workers into all kinds of indemnificatory apartment system, and really reduce the economic cost of citizenization of migrant workers. Secondly, to break down the barriers of urban-rural dual structure, we should not only look at the status of "agriculture" and "non-agriculture", but also promote the equalization of public service treatment. In addition, it is necessary to speed up the reform of the rural property rights system, stabilize farmers' expectations of rural rights and interests, and let farmers go to cities without too many worries.

Many farmers do not want to "change agriculture to non-agriculture", so there is no need to panic, because urbanization is a natural process, and it is not the faster the better. The level of urbanization should adapt to the process of industrialization and match the level of development and economic strength. If this capacity is exceeded, there are likely to be problems such as underemployment, an increase in poverty and serious polarization. If we ignore the reality, blindly pursue the urbanization rate and replace the will of the farmers with the will of the government, there will be the phenomenon of farmers being "put up" and "urbanized", which will make the farmers in the cities face the embarrassment of "unable to return to the countryside and unable to integrate into the city".

There are no shortcuts to urbanization, and these practical problems behind "changing agriculture to non-agriculture" are the issues that must be considered in the urbanization policy in the future. Not only let the farmers who enter the city really "take root" in the city, but also let the farmers who stay in the village live a happier and more dignified life. This kind of urbanization is people-oriented urbanization and sustainable urbanization.