A growing number of people are returning to the countryside to become farmers, seeking to get back in touch with their roots and to have a more relaxing lifestyle, statistics show.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said on Friday that as of last year more than 4,000 families comprising 9,700 people have left cities to take up farming.

People in their 50s made up 36 percent of the total while more than 30 percent were in their 40s.

Roughly 47 percent have decided to cultivate grain, and 18 percent fruits and vegetables, with the rest engaged in other agricultural activities such as raising livestock.