Hebei capital bestows professional titles on agricultural workers

Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, a major grain producer, is among many areas conferring professional titles on farmers.

The city's human resources and agricultural bureaus released a circular last month asking local growers, breeders and other farming talent to apply for the professional qualifications.

So far, the city's Luquan district has taken the lead in unveiling 17 recipients of junior technical positions.

The categories range from agrotechnicians and livestock technicians to farming engineers.

Major criteria in screening applicants are the scale of their farming operations and their businesses' effect in raising local incomes, Su Jia, an official with the district's human resources bureau, told Beijing News.

"The certificate, which is endorsed by the government, is a recognition of their skills, and it can also be of help when they talk about business," she said.

Professional titles are commonly used to determine the expertise of college-educated or systematically trained professionals such as lawyers, accountants and doctors. They climb the four-tier system over the span of their careers, and higher-level titles usually mean higher salaries and better retirement benefits.

But farmer-related titles are relatively new.

The 2021 national census data showed China has more than 500 million people living in less-developed rural areas. They either work in agriculture or have families who do so.

Despite the expansion of mechanized, large-scale farming, most Chinese farmers still work in families for razor-thin profits.

Giving them professional titles has shaken the stereotype that working in the field is not a proper job and does not need third-party recognition.

Yu Jiang, one of the 17 recipients, never went to college. The 46-year-old has long been bothered by the loss of young farmers to big cities.

Enticed by higher wages, many of his fellow farmers have traveled to coastal cities, scattered across factories, construction sites and food-delivery communities.

To boost the appeal of farming jobs, Yu in 2012 started a rural cooperative and leased 46.7 hectares of land from his fellow villagers.

He grew a mix of wheat, corn, herbal medicines and other commercial plants using pesticide-spraying drones and other machinery.

He also runs a mill that turns the farm product into flour, noodles and other packaged goods and sells them on e-commerce sites or through livestreaming sessions.

The rural cooperative has more than 100 farmer partners, whose annual income has grown by more than 30,000 yuan ($4,100), said Yu, a technical secondary school graduate.

About 17,500 farmers nearby have reaped the benefits of his business directly and indirectly.

"Now that I have a professional title, partners will have more trust in me and be more eager to work with me," Yu said.

Shijiazhuang is among a growing number of places that have ramped up efforts to recognize farmers with professional titles and financial incentives.

For example, Anning in Yunnan province has bestowed such titles on more than 2,000 people who have expertise in animal husbandry, planting and irrigation. Each is entitled to 300 to 400 yuan of government subsidies each year, local media reported.

Authorities in Fuzhou, Jiangxi province have given 57 farmers such titles this year, promising that recipients will be prioritized in recruitment for training programs and other government support.

Shandong, Zhejiang, Gansu, Hubei and Guangdong provinces and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region have rolled out similar programs, without education or academic paper requirements typical for nonfarming titles.

Extending professional titles to farmers is part of a larger move to modernize agriculture and boost the appeal of farming jobs, which have long been synonymous with low wages, hard labor and a lack of social security.

A recent survey of technical secondary schools in Chongqing showed that about 80 percent of their graduates were unwilling to work in agriculture, the major concerns being the longer investment cycle of farming activities, low return rate and infrastructural underdevelopment in rural regions.

Contact the writers at lilei@chinadaily.com.cn