Shanxi Province has a special subsidy to encourage farmers to allow others to use their farmland for larger scale farming, and has established administrative support for this program at county and village levels. As of the end of last year, only 0.455m hectares or 14.2% of the province¡¯s farmland had been rented out by farmers, according to Shanxi¡¯s Agricultural Department. Some farmers hold onto their land even more tightly now, despite additional government measures to reform the use of rural farmlands.
Here is an example. In a village near Yuci of Jinzhong City, the rental rate of farmland has increased from RMB 10,500/hectare per year to RMB 16,500/hectare per year, but most farmers stick to farming it themselves, declining to rent their land to local vegetable and fruit cooperatives. Perhaps they worry about their social security. Clearly, they regard farming as a stable job.