Recovery in the Campaign to Accelerate the Mechanization of Agriculture

China’s economy recovered strongly in industry, but agriculture stagnated, with a grain shortage in 1970. In the Great Cultural Revolution started by Mao Zedong personally, the army controlled China comprehensively and directly. All government departments, social enterprises, business units and mass organizations were governed completely by the revolutionary committees headed by military representatives of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The original administrative personnel at all levels for economic management were deprived of authority, enterprises’ rules and regulations were cancelled, and anarchism was popular throughout the entire nation. Large number of workers left their production posts, which led many enterprises to suspend production. From 1967 to 1968, China’s economy was in great chaos. Similarly rural economy was out of order. The administrative institutes at all levels of people’s commune were unable to carry on their normal work. All this damaged China’s economy tremendously, and caused both industry and agriculture to jump back comprehensively, especially industrial production, which dropped continuously for two years. In 1969 the drop stopped and the economy started to recover again. Industry showed strong resilience with an annual growth rate of 33 percent, reaching or surpassing the level in 1966. Although industry was strong, agriculture was still stagnant. The grain yield was only 211 million tons, 3 million tons less than that in 1966. The national annual per capita grain was still down, only 265 kilograms, about 91 percent of that in 1966. The cotton output was 2 million tons with an annual drop of 12 percent. At the same time, as the population increased and national arable land reduced, the average per capita cultivated land decreased unceasingly. China was facing a stronger press of grain supply.