My very basic understanding of it was that boys were preferred since they were able to help out in the fields and as a result, girl babies were killed. I wonder

My very basic understanding of it was that boys were preferred since they were able to help out in the fields and as a result, girl babies were killed. I wonder if it would just continue since this means 2 able bodies vs. 1? I feel like some state-sanctioned benefits would need to be put into place for the rural populations to prefer raising girls. A 1.2 male-to-female ratio is an appalling metric for a country.