More than 40 million farmers have been displaced and the number is increasing by more than 2 million a year. Zhao Dianguo, a deputy director of the Labour and Social Security Ministry's Rural Social Insurance Department, admitted many farmers could no longer support themselves and had become the poorest people on the mainland, China News Service reported.
Speaking at an international labour conference in Beijing, Mr Zhao said about 500 million working adults held rural residency and 200 million found work outside of farming in the manufacturing and services sectors, such as in restaurants. Mr Zhao said providing adequate assistance to rural residents - especially those who lost their land - had become a priority for the ministry.
