Recently, an article suggesting “encouraging farmers to invest in A-shares, allowing farmers to get rich through stock trading” has sparked widespread criticism on the mainland Internet. Netizens have raised doubts, questioning how much more difficult farmers should become. They cannot even afford seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, and now they are being advised to invest in stocks, which could prevent people in China from having enough to eat. Due to the significant backlash, the article has been deleted, and comments on platforms such as Weibo have been completely removed.
On a recent post on the mainland’s “Toutiao” platform, an author wrote about “encouraging farmers to invest in A-shares, allowing farmers to get rich through stock trading.”
The overwhelming majority of netizens expressed opposition to this idea, with comments such as “Finally, the sickle is turned towards farmers” and “The conscience is completely rotten.”
“Is this a desperate move or a lack of investors willing to step in? Turning to farmers for it?” “How much more difficult should farmers be? They cannot even afford seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. (Their stock trading might leave people unable to eat).”
A Zhejiang netizen, “Wax Chicken,” questioned if the expert who wrote the article encouraging farmers to invest in A-shares had lost their mind.
He mentioned that he himself is a typical farmer who has been trading stocks for 10 years. Many villagers now believe that stock trading does not make money. “I also think that trading stocks is quite embarrassing. Wanting to get rich through stock trading, how easy is that? Most stock investors end up with losses.”
“My own experience in the past ten years of stock trading shows how difficult it is and how depleted a person can become. Stock trading not only fails to make money but also shatters a person’s morale entirely.”
On June 20, a WeChat account “Pi Haizhou” stated that encouraging farmers to trade stocks is like a last-ditch effort, especially considering the current struggle of A-shares returning to around 3000 points. This suggestion has attracted the market’s attention significantly. “This suggestion is quite damaging! If farmers are really encouraged to invest in A-shares, how many farming families will fall into poverty again?”
The article argued that enticing farmers to invest in A-shares under the guise of “getting rich” is fraudulent. The “seven-two-one” law in the A-share market indicates a lack of profitable opportunities. Many experts and professionals in the market have faced continuous losses; how can farmers expect to get rich through stock investments? Isn’t this clearly deceiving farmers?
The topic of encouraging farmers to trade stocks has surfaced frequently in the market in recent years but has not gained traction. Market investors view it as an impractical idea.
Why is the topic of farmers trading stocks frequently brought up? The article by “Pi Haizhou” pointed out that the hundreds of millions of farmers in China make up the vast majority of the population. However, they are relatively underrepresented in the investor pool compared to urban residents. To expand the investor base, many have turned their attention to farmers.
The article mentioned reasons for the lower number of farmers trading stocks. The income of farmers is much lower than that of urban residents, especially elderly rural residents who have no fixed income source, while urban elderly mostly have retirement pensions. Additionally, farmers have less financial knowledge and understanding of stocks compared to urban residents. Moreover, brokerage offices are mainly located in cities and county towns, lacking presence in villages. These factors contribute to the inevitability of a lower number of farmers trading stocks.
“There are too many historical issues left in the current A-share market. There are too many junk stocks, as well as many restricted stocks waiting to be unlocked, waiting to be sold off. Therefore, the current market is still not a safe place for investors to profit. Encouraging farmers to invest in A-shares at this stage – how can it ensure farmers get rich through buying and selling stocks?”
However, some farmers in economically developed regions and surrounding urban areas have already entered the stock market and invested in A-shares. Therefore, when it comes to farmers trading stocks, allowing things to unfold naturally is a wise choice, as mentioned in the article by “Pi Haizhou.”