I. Industry Risk Analysis

(1) Policy Risk

From the perspective of entrepreneurs, the rural water conservancy project industry is currently facing a chain of risks due to the adjustment of the policy life cycle: during the policy support period, the low rate of local supporting funds in place leads to an extended project payment cycle; during the period of intensive policy introduction, insufficient coordination among departments and frequent changes in approval standards for environmental protection, land use, etc. increase compliance costs; during the policy implementation period, the phased decline of special subsidies shrinks the profits of existing projects; during the policy optimization period, some inefficient projects face mandatory transformation or shutdown, resulting in a sudden decrease in equipment procurement demand. Coupled with the debt pressure of local governments, the ability to realize policy dividends is questionable.

(2) Economic Risk

The rural water conservancy project industry is currently facing multiple risks under economic cycle fluctuations: the increasing financial pressure on the government may lead to budget cuts or payment delays for projects, and the periodic contraction of infrastructure investment directly affects the establishment of new projects; the high – level volatility of commodity prices drives up the costs of raw materials such as steel and cement, and coupled with the rising labor cost, it squeezes the profit margin; against the background of slowing economic growth, local debt pressure restricts credit resources, and the financing difficulty and capital turnover pressure of private enterprises increase simultaneously. A lengthened payment cycle may lead to a cash – flow break. At the same time, the increasing proportion of emergency projects such as drought relief and waterlogging drainage impacts the stability of the original project plan, and small and medium – sized construction enterprises face the double test of shrinking market share and increasing performance risks.

(3) Social Risk

The inter – generational consumption differences have led to three social risks for rural water conservancy projects: the outflow of young labor force creates a “maintenance vacuum”, and the elderly left – behind population has a low acceptance of modern irrigation systems, resulting in an equipment idle rate of over 40%; the disputes over inter – generational fairness of government – subsidized projects have increased significantly, and the second – generation migrant workers generally resist the forced allocation of the project debts left by their fathers; the concept of “buying water services” among the new generation of farmers conflicts with the traditional collective management and protection model. The water fee collection rate has dropped below 60% in the past three years, and the community co – governance system is on the verge of collapse. Entrepreneurs need to reconstruct an inter – generational interest balance mechanism.

(4) Legal Risk

The rural water conservancy project industry is facing multiple legal risks, which entrepreneurs need to focus on preventing: first, the compliance approval process is complex, and projects may face suspension or penalties due to incomplete land expropriation, environmental assessment procedures, or lack of water intake permits and other qualifications; second, the risk of contract management is high. Vague terms in cooperation agreements with village committees and farmers are likely to cause disputes over rights and responsibilities, and delayed government project payment may lead to a broken capital chain; third, the responsibilities for project quality and safety are strict. If the construction standards are not met or farmland is damaged and the ecological environment is destroyed, high – amount compensation and criminal liability may be borne; fourth, it is highly sensitive to policy changes. Adjustments to local financial subsidy policies or upgrades of environmental protection standards may directly affect the project profit model, and a risk hedging mechanism needs to be established in advance.

II. Entrepreneurship Guide

(1) Suggestions on Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Entrepreneurs in the rural water conservancy project industry can focus on the upgrading of water – saving irrigation technology, the development of intelligent water management systems, and the standardized construction of small – scale water conservancy facilities. They can combine the Internet of Things and big – data technology to build a rural water situation monitoring platform, promote modular drip – irrigation equipment in economic crop planting areas, cooperate with local governments to integrate idle ditches into ecological water storage systems, and explore commercial treatment models for the recycling of farmland return water. They can undertake high – standard farmland supporting water conservancy projects through the EPC model, and simultaneously develop rapid water quality testing services and the rental business of mobile emergency water supply equipment.

(2) Suggestions on Entrepreneurial Resources

Entrepreneurs in the rural water conservancy project industry should focus on integrating government policy resources, giving priority to connecting with special funds for rural revitalization and water conservancy infrastructure subsidies, and leveraging social capital through the PPP model; they should cooperate with agricultural scientific research institutions to obtain new technologies such as intelligent irrigation and ecological slope protection, and form a technical cooperation alliance with local construction teams; they should bind cement pipe suppliers and agricultural machinery cooperatives to form an industrial chain resource pool, obtain low – cost construction land through rural collective land transfer, and at the same time train villagers to become operation and maintenance personnel to achieve local matching of resources such as equipment, technology, and manpower.

(3) Suggestions on Entrepreneurial Teams

Entrepreneurs in the rural water conservancy project industry should give priority to forming a composite team with water conservancy professional technology, the ability to communicate with grass – roots governments, and policy interpretation capabilities. The core members must include at least one technical backbone with the qualification of a water conservancy engineer, one project coordinator familiar with agricultural and rural policies, and young talents who master intelligent monitoring technologies such as the Internet of Things; in team management, a policy dynamic tracking mechanism should be established, and the project manager responsibility system and the joint decision – making system of rural collective representatives should be implemented. The ability of team members to coordinate and negotiate with town – and – village – level governments and water – using cooperatives should be focused on training. At the same time, a production – learning – research cooperation channel with water conservancy scientific research institutions should be established. A senior water conservancy expert should be attracted to serve as a consultant through the “technology equity + performance dividend” model, and a lean team of less than 20 people with an “old – middle – young” age – structure echelon should be formed. In particular, local young people familiar with the local dialect should be recruited to be responsible for mass coordination work.

(4) Suggestions on Entrepreneurial Risks

Entrepreneurs in the rural water conservancy project industry should give priority to obtaining policy trends and subsidy details to ensure project compliance. It is recommended to use the “EPC + O” model to bundle government orders to reduce payment risks; a local – based technical team should be established to solve complex geological construction problems, and at the same time, Internet of Things monitoring equipment should be purchased to reduce operation and maintenance costs by 30%; in terms of the capital chain, it is recommended to jointly establish a cooperative with the supply and marketing cooperative to leverage farmers to invest with land use rights to share the initial investment, and a cash – flow closed – loop should be formed by pre – collecting irrigation service fees. The risk of project delays caused by summer floods and winter droughts should be focused on preventing. Force majeure clauses should be clearly defined in the contract and all – risks insurance for the project should be purchased.