The Features of Rural Labor Transfer and Cultural Differences: Evidence from China’s Southwest Mountainous Areas

Abstract

Large-scale rural labor transfer is considered an important means of promoting urbanization and poverty alleviation; however, it has been difficult to fully reveal the complexity of mountain labor transfer using traditional theory. In this study, macrostatistics and microsurvey data were employed to conduct an empirical analysis of rural labor transfer in Xichang, highlighting the regional features of rural labor transfer in the southwest mountainous areas of China. The results show that the employment structure of rural labor is dominated by agriculture; however, its proportion is decreasing annually. The development of secondary and tertiary industries significantly contributes to the non-agricultural employment of rural laborers, who transfer mainly to the building, industry, and consumption fields—especially consumption, which has the greatest ability to absorb surplus rural labor. Migration of the population and farmers’ per capita net income promotes rural labor transfer, while the amount of rural labor, the urbanization rate in townships, agricultural development, and the topography have lagged effects on the process. This study argues that rural labor transfer in the mountains has regionality, multi-pattern, and gradient features; therefore, the promotion of rural labor transfer should consider local urbanization and poverty alleviation in such a manner that aligns with the local natural and socioeconomic conditions of the mountainous areas.

Has Rural Migration Weakened Agricultural Cultivation? Evidence from the Mountains of Southwest China

“…Studies on the impact of rural population decline on rural landscapes have shown that farmland abandonment has affected rural biodiversity and triggered the succession of ecological landscapes [10]. Labor outmigration has weakened agricultural cultivation and increased the areas and the possibility of farmland abandonment by farmers [3,[11][12][13]. The fragmentation of land reduces the marginal productivity of agricultural labor and further promotes the migration of rural labor to the nonagricultural sector [14].…”

“…In a similar vein, migrants bring back advanced agricultural management techniques and sales opportunities to promote agricultural commercialization and marketization [23,24]. Although large-scale labor migration reduces agricultural labor, an econometric analysis showed that rural migration did not impair the cultivation efficiency of food crops, or threaten food security [25], indicating that agricultural investment and intensification can fill the gap left by labor outmigration [13]. Studies in Vietnam have shown that migration economies have changed the cultivation structure of farmers, reduced staple food crops and increased the diversity of crops in rural households [5].…”

“…Studies in Vietnam have shown that migration economies have changed the cultivation structure of farmers, reduced staple food crops and increased the diversity of crops in rural households [5]. Additionally, remittances increase farmland productivity and the supply of nonagricultural labor [13]. However, the impacts of changes in agricultural labor on food yield differ regionally.…”

“…The urbanization rates of the townships were the ratios of the nonrural population to the total population in the townships; the agricultural labor ratio was the ratio of agricultural labor to rural labor; the multiple cropping index was calculated as the sown area to the farmland area; topographic relief was the difference between the highest altitude and the lowest altitude in each township; the farmland area and agricultural labor per household were determined by the ratio of farmland, agricultural labor to the number of rural households; farmland and sown areas per agricultural labor were identified by the farmland, sown areas within the agricultural laborers, respectively; and the remaining indicators were derived directly from the statistical yearbook. The 37 agricultural townships in Xichang were divided into the lake basin (5), river valley (19) and nationality townships (13). Taking 2016 as an example, descriptive statistics for these three township categories were calculated (Table 1).…”

“…First, although urban expansion occupies some farmland, rural labor migration results in per capita farmland increases, and therefore, large-scale mechanical farming becomes possible. Second, migration remittances can support agricultural investment to provide capital for mechanization and chemicalization [13]. In this context, the agricultural cultivation structure was also significantly affected by urbanization in the lake basin townships, reflecting the demand for agricultural cultivation and the self-adaptation of commercialization agriculture in the market economy.…”