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Certified Organic Agriculture as an Alternative Livelihood Strategy for Small-scale Farmers in China: A Case Study in Wanzai County, Jiangxi Province

Author

Listed:
  • Qiao, Yuhui
  • Martin, Friederike
  • Cook, Seth
  • He, Xueqing
  • Halberg, Niels
  • Scott, Steffanie
  • Pan, Xihe

Abstract

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (<1ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (>1ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiao, Yuhui & Martin, Friederike & Cook, Seth & He, Xueqing & Halberg, Niels & Scott, Steffanie & Pan, Xihe, 2018. "Certified Organic Agriculture as an Alternative Livelihood Strategy for Small-scale Farmers in China: A Case Study in Wanzai County, Jiangxi Province," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 301-307.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:145:y:2018:i:c:p:301-307
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.10.025
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ruining Li & Yanli Yu, 2022. "Impacts of Green Production Behaviors on the Income Effect of Rice Farmers from the Perspective of Outsourcing Services: Evidence from the Rice Region in Northwest China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-27, October.
    2. Chen-Fu Lu & Chia-Yi Cheng, 2019. "Impacts of Spatial Clusters on Certified Organic Farming in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-13, May.
    3. Valeria Borsellino & Emanuele Schimmenti & Hamid El Bilali, 2020. "Agri-Food Markets towards Sustainable Patterns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-35, March.
    4. Camila Fritzen Cidón & Paola Schmitt Figueiró & Dusan Schreiber, 2021. "Benefits of Organic Agriculture under the Perspective of the Bioeconomy: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, June.
    5. Adam Pawlewicz & Wojciech Gotkiewicz & Katarzyna Brodzińska & Katarzyna Pawlewicz & Bartosz Mickiewicz & Paweł Kluczek, 2022. "Organic Farming as an Alternative Maintenance Strategy in the Opinion of Farmers from Natura 2000 Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-22, March.
    6. Lu, Chen-Fu & Cheng, Chia-Yi, 2023. "Exploring the distribution of organic farming: Findings from certified rice in Taiwan," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    7. Marola, Elena & Schöpfner, Judith & Gallemore, Caleb & Jespersen, Kristjan, 2020. "The bandwidth problem in telecoupled systems governance: Certifying sustainable winemaking in Australia and Chile," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    8. Maosen Xia & Pingan Xiang & Guo Mei & Zhizhen Liu, 2023. "Drivers for the Adoption of Organic Farming: Evidence from an Analysis of Chinese Farmers," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-17, December.

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