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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
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