Chinese government encourages family farms

A new trend in the agriculture industry has drawn the attention of the Chinese government. At the beginning of this year, China's State Council published an annual government guide on agriculture. For the first time, it raised the concept of Family Farms. Now, we go to Shandong province, where some family farms are thriving, and others that are dealing with problems.

While farming in China is threatened by a labour exodus from the countryside, some have decided to get back to their roots.

Sun Chuande lost his job in the city two years ago. Instead of finding another one, he decided to go back to being a farm owner.

Sun Chuande, owner of Kaixuan Farm, Weifang, Shandong Province, said:"At that time, the farmland was basically being wasted, with grass cropping up on it. I thought it was such a pity not to use it."

Sun Chuande bought the right to use the farm from the land contractors, and began his own farm. But other local farmers had little interest in ploughing through the soil.

Wang Chunqing, local villager of Weifang, Shandong Province, said:"We can't make money from farming. It's better to get out of here and work."

Sun Chuande didn't think so. He equipped his team with family members. He made a plan for the farm, setting aside one part for flower breeding, another part for organic vegetables, and the last part to be rented out to city dwellers looking to get a taste of farming. By 2012, Sun Chuande's farm had brought him a profit of over 1 million RMB. Yet his experience may be difficult for others to copy.

In the city of Jiaozhou, Chen Yujin's loan application for 400 thousand yuan, to expand his family farm, has been rejected by local banks.

Chen Yujin, owner of Xianglong Farm, Jiaozhou, Shandong Province, said:"They asked for guarantees if we wanted to borrow the money. But we couldn't give them anything as collateral, so they rejected us."

Other problems include a legal vacuum in managing family farms. Some officials have suggested a tax cut for these businesses. The family farm model is likely to save China's farmland from being wasted as a large amount of the population in the countryside is choosing to work in cities. Yet it will take a while to see how productive Chinese family farms can be.