China fosters a new kind of professional farmer

BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) - China is going to great lengths to foster a "new type" of professional farmer to inhabit the empty farmhouses across its vast rural areas and entice more migrant workers to return home to till fields and feed the world's largest population.

If it succeeds, China will solve a major problem that cropped up after its urbanization process resulted in a population split 50:50 between rural and urban areas. Decades ago, nine in 10 people lived in rural areas, where their lives were not as good as that of their urban peers.

As large numbers of farmers, especially young farmers, have flocked to cities and towns, they've left the countryside largely inhabited by the elderly, women and children.

This mass exodus from the countryside has left China asking, "Who will till the farmlands and feed 1.3 billion Chinese people?"

This question, as well as a host of possible solutions, has been talked about at length during the ongoing first annual session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's legislature.

On March 5, Premier Wen Jiabao offered a possible solution in his government work report: adopt effective measures to stabilize the forces for agricultural production and actively foster a new type of farmer in rural areas.