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Agricultural production cooperatives and agricultural development: Is there a niche after all? Findings from an exploratory survey in China

Author

Listed:
  • Axel WOLZ

    (Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies, Department of External Environment for Agriculture and Policy Analysis, IAMO, Halle (Germany))

  • Shemei ZHANG

    (Sichuan Agricultural University, School of Management, Yaan, Sichuan (China))

  • Ya DING

    (University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu (China))

Abstract

Agricultural production cooperatives used to be the “stepchild†of the cooperative movement. Although they stem from a similar long tradition of agricultural service cooperatives, researchers such as Oppenheimer (1896) and Schiller (1969) observed early on that they were not attractive for farmers in villages characterised by family agriculture. In general, it was argued that they were not competitive at all with family farms, but also not corporate farms, thus having no role in agricultural development. Historically, agricultural production cooperatives were formed under specific conditions only. Most prominent were collective farms under the socialist regimes, which were often labelled “agricultural production cooperatives†, although these were by no means of a voluntary nature. However, in recent years, agricultural production cooperatives have been observed in villages characterised by family agriculture. In Chongzhou County (Sichuan Province, China) they cover more than half of the total utilized agricultural area. This research analyses the conditions under which farmers voluntarily join such production cooperatives and how they assess their membership in them. We suggest that agricultural production cooperatives have a role to play in agricultural development after all.

Suggested Citation

  • Axel WOLZ & Shemei ZHANG & Ya DING, 2020. "Agricultural production cooperatives and agricultural development: Is there a niche after all? Findings from an exploratory survey in China," CIRIEC Working Papers 2004, CIRIEC - Université de Liège.
  • Handle: RePEc:crc:wpaper:2004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    : agricultural production cooperatives; agricultural service cooperatives; agricultural development; empirical research; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q13 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • P13 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Cooperative Enterprises
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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