Motivation, Dilemma, and Optimization Paths for Labor Force Returning Home to Start Businesses

Objective/Meaning  Under the background of the accelerated penetration of artificial intelligence and the in-depth implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, the entrepreneurship of labor returning home has become the key phenomenon to promote the urban-rural integration, ensure the food security and stimulate the rural endogenous power. The study aimed to systematically analyze its driving mechanism and multi-dimensional dilemma, and propose a systematic optimization path, in order to provide theoretical reference and practical guidance for promoting the high-quality development of returning home for entrepreneurship.

Methods/Procedures  By comprehensively using the policy text analysis, statistical data interpretation and typical case analysis, and from the perspective of the combination of macroscopy and microscopy, the driving factors for the entrepreneurship of labor returning home were sorted out, and then the multi-dimensional realistic dilemmas faced by it in food security, resource environment and the whole cycle of entrepreneurship were revealed.

Results/Conclusions  The study found that returning home for entrepreneurship was facing three core dilemmas: the unstable foundation of food security, the tightening of resource and environmental constraints, and the lack of support for the whole cycle of entrepreneurship, which was manifested as the “non-grain” use of cultivated land, the contradiction of homestead utilization, the difficulty of financing, and the mismatch of skills. In order to solve these problems, it was necessary to abandon the scattered countermeasures and build a systematic support framework that deeply embedded returning home for entrepreneurship into the national food security strategy, effectively alleviated the bottlenecks of resources and environment, and comprehensively covered the whole cycle of entrepreneurship. The framework emphasized the synergy between macro strategy and micro practice, which was the key to transform the potential of labor force into rural endogenous power and realize the strategic goal of “strong agriculture, beautiful countryside, and prosperous farmers”.