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Arguments - Impact |
| Agricultural Policy |
| There can be no doubt that
China's reorientation in agricultural policy had a massive impact on the farmers' capacity
to feed the population. China's political reforms have greatly boosted food production
since 1978. The introduction of family farming on land rented from the state on a
long-term basis has released the long-suppressed entrepreneurial spirit among Chinese
farmers. Although the land is still legally owned by the state, the farmers now consider
it as similar to private property. They are more motivated to increase its productivity
and maintain its fertility. The introduction and liberalization of food markets
and the gradual decline of the subsidized food distribution system run by the state, have
opened up new possibilities for farmers. Those in close proximity to urban areas can sell
their products on the free market. This has promoted greater market orientation in
agricultural cultivation, which is a precondition for a commercial agricultural sector.
This trend is clearly mirrored in the greater diversity of food production since
1978, which now includes more vegetables, fruits, tobacco, tea, meat, and fish. Although
China's agricultural reforms since 1978 have also had some negative side effects, these
are far outweighed by the benefits. |
| Short
Description of the Problem |
| The impact of the
agricultural reforms since 1978 on China's food security has been twofold: |
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There are
numerous benefits, ranging from a massive production increase in basic food commodities
(grains) to greater diversity and higher quality of products. |
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However,
some old problems still exist and a few new problems have emerged, such as the decline of
state investments in agricultural infrastructure. |
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| Discussion |
| Benefits
of the agricultural reforms |
Tables
& Charts |
There is overwhelming
evidence from both statistical data and direct observation that the average food supply to
China's population has significantly improved since 1978 - both in quantity and quality.
Of course, this general trend does not imply that all people in all
provinces have access to adequate nutrition at all times. There are very poor
regions in China, where the food supply can be insufficient in a particular season or for
a certain social group. But pockets of malnutrition can be documented even for highly
developed countries such as the USA, where people live on food stamps for extended
periods.
The overall food balance for China has certainly improved significantly in the
past two decades (see the In-Depth Analyses of grain and non-grain commodities and the
In-Depth Analysis of China's food balance in 1996; see also Table 1). |
Change
in grain supply
 Change
in supply of
non-grain food
China's food balance
in 1994/1996
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| Problems |
| The political reforms have
strengthened the position of individual farmers by allocating the land to millions of farm
households - not in a legal sense, but for all practical purposes. This has essentially
created "small farm" agriculture, because the government has tried to give most
rural households access to land. These production units are often too small for the highly
productive commercial agricultural sector. Farmers can feed their own families and fulfill
the state quotas for grain, but they can rarely generate enough profits to invest in
machinery and better agricultural inputs (fertilizers, pesticides). To solve these
problems, the government has introduced land transfer rights so that farmers who have
found jobs in the nonagricultural sector can transfer their land to larger farms. However,
for ideological and practical reasons, this possibility is less effective than it could
be. To uphold the socialist principle of equal access to land, local and regional
cadres have imposed many restrictions to prevent the creation of large-scale private
farms. Moreover, there are not enough non-agricultural jobs in rural areas for
the millions of small-scale farmers to give up their land. China needs an improved farm
structure with commercially viable production units. |
Table 1
Table 2
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| Reform of China's farm
structure is especially important, because private investments are urgently needed to
improve and maintain the crumbling agricultural infrastructure, especially dams and
irrigation systems. In recent years, the state has withdrawn from many of the tasks it had
organized and financed during the period of collective farming -
particularly maintenance and adequate expansion of agricultural and hydrological
infrastructure. State capital investments in agriculture have leveled off or even
declined. The central government's spending on agricultural research has lagged behind
investments in other economic sectors (see Table 2). One measure to improve the
willingness and capacity of farmers to invest in infrastructure, production inputs, and
soil conservation measures would be long-term land contracts or the privatization of
agricultural land. However, China's politicians do not yet seem to be ready for this break
from socialist ideals. In the meantime, various economic measures - such as a banking
system for small-scale rural credits or more market-oriented grain procurement prices -
could strengthen the rural financial system, mobilize farmers savings, and encourage
private investment in the agricultural sector. |
| Related Arguments |
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Agricultural Policy: Trends
Impact Data Quality
Prediction Error Intervention
Possibilities Intervention
Costs
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Revision 2.0 (First revision published in 1999)
- Copyright © 2011 by Gerhard K. Heilig. All rights reserved. (First revision: Copyright © 1999 by IIASA.) |
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