IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v41y2024i1d10.1007_s10460-023-10468-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

In the shadow of state-led agrarian reforms: smallholder pervasiveness in rural China

Author

Listed:
  • Brooke Wilmsen

    (La Trobe University)

  • Sarah Rogers

    (Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies, The University of Melbourne)

  • Andrew van Hulten

    (La Trobe University)

  • Duan Yuefang

    (China Three Gorges University)

Abstract

Agricultural modernisation is a longstanding goal of China’s Party-state. Since the early 2000s, it has pursued this goal through policies designed to facilitate land consolidation and support the expansion of large agricultural enterprises – ‘New Agricultural Operators’ (NAOs). In this paper we explore the effect of these policies on the livelihoods of a cohort of smallholder orange growers in the mountainous regions of Hubei province and the local political economy. An analysis of data from a 2019 survey of 266 households and interviews with villagers, agribusiness executives, cooperative leaders, and government officials, we find smallholder farmers are earning good incomes as independent commodity producers, withstanding attempts by local officials at land consolidation, and bypassing NAOs to self-determine their own modes of production and exchange. Our results speak to the ongoing debate about the future of smallholder farming in China, identify the strengths and limitations of recent state-centric analyses of agrarian transition, and re-iterate the pitfalls of the central government’s agricultural modernisation agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Brooke Wilmsen & Sarah Rogers & Andrew van Hulten & Duan Yuefang, 2024. "In the shadow of state-led agrarian reforms: smallholder pervasiveness in rural China," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 41(1), pages 75-90, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:41:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-023-10468-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-023-10468-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10460-023-10468-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-023-10468-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qiao Liang & George Hendrikse & Zuhui Huang & Xuchu Xu, 2015. "Governance Structure of Chinese Farmer Cooperatives: Evidence From Zhejiang Province," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 198-214, April.
    2. Rogers, Sarah & Wilmsen, Brooke & Han, Xiao & Wang, Zoe Ju-Han & Duan, Yuefang & He, Jun & Li, Jie & Lin, Wanlong & Wong, Christine, 2021. "Scaling up agriculture? The dynamics of land transfer in inland China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    3. Rui Sun & Jianing Mi & Shu Cao & Tianyi Zhang, 2021. "Trends and Determinants of Income-Oriented Livelihood Transitions in Rural China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 601-624, June.
    4. Bush, Ray & Martiniello, Giuliano, 2017. "Food Riots and Protest: Agrarian Modernizations and Structural Crises," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 193-207.
    5. Dingde Xu & Xin Deng & Shili Guo & Shaoquan Liu, 2019. "Sensitivity of Livelihood Strategy to Livelihood Capital: An Empirical Investigation Using Nationally Representative Survey Data from Rural China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 113-131, July.
    6. Hayward, Jane, 2017. "Beyond the ownership question: who will till the land? The new debate on China’s agricultural production," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 87081, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Zuhui Huang & Qiao Liang, 2018. "Agricultural organizations and the role of farmer cooperatives in China since 1978: past and future," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(1), pages 48-64, February.
    8. Zuhui Huang & Qiao Liang, 2018. "Agricultural organizations and the role of farmer cooperatives in China since 1978: past and future," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(1), pages 48-64, February.
    9. Chao Zhou & Yunjuan Liang & Anthony Fuller, 2021. "Tracing Agricultural Land Transfer in China: Some Legal and Policy Issues," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Qiao Liang & Kangwei Ma & Wenhao Liu, 2023. "The role of farmer cooperatives in promoting environmentally sustainable agricultural development in China: A review," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(3), pages 741-759, September.
    2. Menglu Li & Shemei Zhang & Nawab Khan, 2024. "Do farmers' professional cooperatives improve agricultural technical efficiency? Evidence using a national‐level dataset of China," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 363-383, June.
    3. Ziming Liu & Jie Qu & Xinrui Wu & Xing Niu & Shuyi Feng, 2024. "Improving member satisfaction with cooperatives: The role of participation in governance," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(3), pages 703-722, September.
    4. Lei Wu & Chuanjian Li & Yang Gao, 2022. "Regional agricultural cooperatives and subjective wellbeing of rural households in China," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(S2), pages 138-158, November.
    5. Chen, Chen & Gan, Christopher & Li, Junpeng & Lu, Yao & Rahut, Dil, 2023. "Linking farmers to markets: Does cooperative membership facilitate e-commerce adoption and income growth in rural China?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1155-1170.
    6. Qingzhi Sun & Guanyi Yin & Wei Wei & Zhan Zhang & Guanghao Li & Shenghao Zhu, 2024. "Social Network Analysis of Farmers after the Private Cooperatives’ “Intervention” in a Rural Area of China—A Case Study of the XiangX Cooperative in Shandong Province," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-22, April.
    7. Jiang, Meishan & Li, Jingrong & Mi, Yunsheng, 2024. "Farmers’ cooperatives and smallholder farmers’ access to credit: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Zheng, Linyi, 2024. "Big hands holding small hands: The role of new agricultural operating entities in farmland abandonment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    9. Zhiping Huang & Tianran Wang & Na Li, 2022. "Reciprocal and Symbiotic: Family Farms’ Operational Performance and Long-Term Cooperation of Entities in the Agricultural Industrial Chain—From the Evidence of Xinjiang in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    10. Longjunjiang Huang & Cong Liao & Xuan Guo & Yanlin Liu & Xiaojin Liu, 2023. "Analysis of the Impact of Livelihood Capital on Livelihood Strategies of Leased-In Farmland Households: A Case Study of Jiangxi Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-29, June.
    11. Hongyun Zheng & Puneet Vatsa & Wanglin Ma & Dil Bahadur Rahut, 2023. "Does agricultural cooperative membership influence off‐farm work decisions of farm couples?," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(3), pages 831-855, September.
    12. Jie Yu & Fei You & Jian Wang & Zishan Wang, 2023. "Evolution Modes of Chili Pepper Industry Clusters under the Perspective of Social Network—An Example from Xinfu District, Xinzhou, Shanxi Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-14, March.
    13. Rihong Zhang & Zejun Huang & Yuling Zhang & Zhong Xue & Xiaomin Li, 2023. "MSGV-YOLOv7: A Lightweight Pineapple Detection Method," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    14. Lijun Zeng & Junyi Wan, 2024. "Substitution or Complement: How Do Contractual and Relational Governance Shape Members’ Organizational Commitment to Farmer Cooperatives?," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, July.
    15. Xiangyu Wu & Yunlong Ding, 2018. "The Service Supply Effect of Cooperatives under Economic Transformation: A Demand-Supply Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, August.
    16. Xin Sun & Yike Ma, 2025. "Sharing and Co-Creating Value: Innovation in Platform-Based Agricultural Service Models Driven by Service Demand Collaboration—A Case Study of the JN Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-23, February.
    17. Liyan Yu & Jerker Nilsson, 2019. "Social Capital and Financial Capital in Chinese Cooperatives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, April.
    18. Xuelan Li & Rui Guan, 2023. "How Does Agricultural Mechanization Service Affect Agricultural Green Transformation in China?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-23, January.
    19. Feifei Chen & Zhigang Xu & Yufeng Luo, 2023. "False prosperity: Rethinking government support for farmers’ cooperatives in China," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(3), pages 905-920, September.
    20. Meng Yang & Ting Sun & Tao Liu, 2023. "The Heterogeneous Effects of Multilevel Centers on Farmland Transfer: Evidence from Tai’an Prefecture, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:41:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-023-10468-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.