Television and radio shows are being broadcast in Zengcheng to encourage farmers to look for jobs in factories or cities, reports Yangcheng Evening News.

The government-produced programmes often present the real-life experiences of farmers who earned good salaries after learning specialized job skills.

And the local government has set aside a fund of 1 million yuan (US$120,800) to provide job training for farmers.

Training courses to become cooks or beauticians are especially popular, said an official.

So far more than 65,000 of the estimated 90,000-strong rural redundant labour force have found non-farming employment.

The government also requires local enterprises to hire at least 40 per cent of their staff from among the local farmer population.

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