Family management of agriculture by utilizing scattered farmland on a small scale is one of the main characteristics of modern agriculture in China. It is also normally considered as one important factor that hinders the increase of agricultural productivity. The Chinese government started to implement the Structural Adjustment of Agriculture in the year 1999. Under the Structural Adjustment of Agriculture, development of large scale agricultural management was facilitated by the government through policy support.
This study is based on an investigation and analysis of the cotton producing regions in Gaoyang County, Hebei Province. In particular, an analysis of the business evolution of L Farm Enterprise was made as an example of a pioneer in large scale cotton production in Gaoyang County. The purpose of this study is to clarify the process and trend of large scale agricultural management development under the Structural Adjustment of Agriculture. In addition, challenges facing the sustainable development of Chinese agriculture are also reviewed.
Under the Structural Adjustment of Agriculture, the government of Gaoyang County implemented a series of policies with the purpose of facilitating the development of large scale agricultural management and agricultural systematization. In these circumstances, a small number of farm households and organizations appeared that practice large scale agricultural management through tenanting. In parallel, the development of the cotton textile industry attracted a large amount of farm labor, which caused a reduction in the number of farm households doing labor intensive cotton production. As a result, a small number of large scale farm households and organizations replaced a number of small scale farm households and become the pillar of cotton production in Gaoyang County.
With the expansion of cotton production, farmland available for large scale cotton production was began to decline. In these circumstances, a small number of large scale farm households started to expand cotton production through tenanting in areas other than Gaoyang County, and kept only the high value added agricultural sector in Gaoyang County. Thus it is expected that the role of Gaoyang County in the Chinese domestic cotton supply system will change in the future.
Through investigation of L Farm Enterprise, it was discovered that various complicated problems are facing large scale agricultural management. L Farm Enterprise tried to avoid or overcome negative factors in order to maintain stable incomes. In parallel, it expanded the planted areas and applied a strategy aimed at the diversification of business. But when facing similar problems, most farm households don’t have enough capital to expand their farming area through tenanting and hiring labor, thus they are hardly able to realize large scale agricultural management.
Based on the above phenomena, the last part of this thesis analyzed the loss of farming labor and the centralization of farmland. It is an important way to promote the large scale agricultural management in order to realize the sustainable development of Chinese agriculture. In parallel, efforts should also be taken to create an environment that encourages stability and growth in earnings for small scale agricultural management.
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