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Chinese Agriculture During the Period of the Readjustment, 1978–83*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Kenneth R. Walker
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Extract

The main aim of China's agricultural policy during the Readjustment has been to raise the production of all branches of the sector in order to increase employment and incomes and to reduce the country's growing dependence on foreign agricultural imports, especially sugar, cotton and edible oil. In adopting this policy the government has recognized and accepted the need to maintain and even to increase foreign grain imports during the foreseeable future.

Type
The Readjustment in the Chinese Economy
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 100 , December 1984 , pp. 783 - 812
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 1984

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References

1. Particularly good surveys of China's rural economy before the period of Readjustment are found in Muqiao, Xue, Dangqian woguo jingji rogan wenti (Certain Problems at Present in Our National Economy) (Beijing, 1980)Google Scholar ; and Hong, Ma and Shangqing, Sun (eds.), Zhongguo jingji jiegou wenti yanjiu (Research on Problems Relating to China's Economic Structure), 2 vols (Beijing, 1981)Google Scholar .

2. Jingji yanjiu (Economic Research), No. 9 (1980), pp. 53–58Google Scholar . See also ibid. No. 12 (1979), pp. 37–38, and No. 1 (1980), pp. 46–53.

3. Central Committee directive, “Certain questions on speeding up the development of agriculture,” 28 09 1979 (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1979)Google Scholar .

4. Jingji yanjiu congkan (Economic Research Abstract): Guanyu woguo jingji guanli lizhi gaige di tantao (Discussion of the Reform of our Country's System of Economic Management) (Jinan, 1980), pp. 200–210Google Scholar ; Nongye jingji wenti (Problems of Agricultural Economics), No. 4 (1980), pp. 53–55Google Scholar (relating to cotton), and No. 5, pp. 9–14.

5. This was not the first use to be made of price policy since the fall of the “gang of four.” E.g. the purchase price of cotton and soya beans had been increased in 1978: Hongqi (Red Flag), No. 6 (1980), p. 46Google Scholar .

6. For details see 1982 JJNJ, IV, p. 78; Jingji yanjiu, No. 4 (1980), pp. 27–29Google Scholar ; Moan, Dai, Liangshi shengchan jingji (Grain Production Economy), Agricultural Economic Knowledge Series (Congshu) (Beijing, 1982), pp. 71–96Google Scholar .

7. Jingji yanjiu, No. 10 (1982), p. 12Google Scholar .

8. Nongye jingji wenti, No. 2 (1983), pp. 3–10Google Scholar .

9. Zhongwei, Jang et al. , Nongye jihua (Agricultural Planning), Agricultural Economic Knowledge Series (Beijing, 1982), pp. 47–56Google Scholar .

10. The author was given several contradictory statements relating to planning targets in several areas of China during October–November 1982.

11. 1981 JJNJ, “Chinese Agriculture in 1980,” IV, pp. 11–18.

12. Mandatory sown area targets for cotton and other major industrial crops were retained during 1980 according to Ziyang, Zhao (Hongqi, No. 1 (1980), p. 18Google Scholar ). Zhao pointed out that since the purchase price of cotton was so low peasants were unwilling to grow it, so the government had no alternative but to issue a sown-area target.

13. Zhongwei, Jang et al. , Nongye jihua, p. 48Google Scholar .

14. See Chinese Geographical Society, Economics Committee, Nongye shengchan buju yu nongye quhua (The Distribution and Regional Planning of Agricultural Production) (Beijing, 1982)Google Scholar (Essays of a 1978 Conference); Chinese Academy of Sciences, Geography Research Institute, Zhongguo nongye dili zonglun (China's Agricultural Geography, General Discussion), Beijing, 1980Google Scholar. This is the national overview volume of the Zhongguo nongye dili congshu (China's Agricultural Geography Series). Provincial volumes have also been published, some of which are available, while others are restricted, “internal” publications.

15. Du Ruensheng in Zhongguo nongminbao (Chinese Peasants' News), 12 September 1982, p. 3. The policy was outlined in “Document 75” (1980) of the Central Committee in its “Communiqué on some problems relating to further strengthening and implementing agricultural production responsibility systems” (republished in NYNJ 1981, pp. 409–411.

16. Particularly in Zhejiang province. See, for example, Zhejiang ribao (Zhejiang Daily): “The ‘specialist management system’ and ‘contracting down to the household’ are good methods of solving the main contradictions within the collectives” (27 January 1957); “In the end, who benefits from contracting down to the household?” (26 February 1957); and “Contracting down to the household is to follow the capitalist road” (28 September 1957).

17. Evidence for Fujian is found in Chen, C. S. and Ridley, Charles Price. Rural People's Communes in Lien-chiang. Documents Concerning Communes in Lien-chiang County, Fukien Province, 1962–1963 (Stanford: Hoover Institution Publications, Stanford University, 1969), pp. 81–1231Google Scholar . It was adopted in Henan as early as 1959 according to Qiulin, Yang, “On ‘Baogan daohu,’” in Nongye jingji luncong (Agricultural Economics Collected Essays), No. 5 (Beijing, 1984), pp. 67–72Google Scholar . Details for Henan are also given in “Honan individual operations. How did the black wind begin?”, Survey of the China Mainland Press (SCMP), Suppl. 193, 1967. Qiulin, Yang, “On ‘Baogan daohu,’” singles out Anhui province as his example for 1961–1962Google Scholar .

18. In Yunnan and Guizhou, according to Yang Qiulin, ibid.

19. An important survey of the progress of the movement is found in Nongye jingji congkan (Agricultural Economics Abstract), No. 4 (1981), pp. 37–40Google Scholar . This journal is for internal use in China, but the article was republished in People's University, Beijing, Reprint Series, F21 (1981), No. 16, pp. 49–53.

20. In an article written in July 1979, Xue Muqiao reveals that the provincial authorities in some poor provinces had banned contracting with households, although it was favoured by peasants: Muqiao, Xue, Certain Problems, p. 83Google Scholar .

21. Jingji yanjiu, No. 12 (1982), p. 11Google Scholar . In January 1980 the figure was 0·02%, and in October 1980 it was 38%.

22. Out of the voluminous Chinese literature on this subject, the following are particularly instructive: Xumao, Liu and Zhiyong, Dou, Nongye shengchan zeren zhi (The Agricultural Production Responsibility System), Nongcun Jingji Jengce Congshu (Rural Economic Policy Series) (Beijing, 1982)Google Scholar ; Zhenzhong, Nan, Nongye shengchan zeren zhi (The Agricultural Production Responsibility System) (Jinan, 1982Google Scholar ), especially Chs 5 and 6; Nongcun jingji zhengce 350 ti (Three Hundred and Fifty Questions on Rural Economic Policy), Hebei Academy of Social Sciences, Economic Research Institute, Shejiazhuang, 1983Google Scholar .

23. Ruensheng, Du, Zhongguo nongminbao, p. 3Google Scholar .

24. A good survey of this topic is found in 1982 JJNJ, V, pp. 20–22; also 1981 JJNJ, IV, pp. 14–15.

25. Zhenzhong, Nan, The Agricultural Production Responsibility System, p. 82Google Scholar; Summary of World Broadcasts (SWB), Part 3: The Far East, 22 April 1981; and 1982 JJNJ, V. p. 20.

26. Nongye jingji wenti. No. 8 (1982), pp. 8–13Google Scholar . An account of the attention given to the North-west by Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang, as well as by Deng Xiaoping, is given in ibid. No. 4(1984), pp. 10–13.

27. 1982 JJNJ, V, p. 20.

28. See Renmin ribao (People's Daily), editorial, 17 June 1981; also Wu Tianxi, Nongcun jiating fuye (Rural Household Subsidiary Industry), Rural Economic Policy Series (Beijing, 1982), p. 14Google Scholar .

29. Note, however, the criticism of excessive contraction in potato production made in an editorial of Zhongguo nongminbao, 20 June 1982, p. 1, and the 9·6% increase in output in 1983.

30. SWB, 31 March 1983. Wang Jiye records that “a great many comrades” were discussing whether or not the grain sown area should be controlled by mandatory (zhilingxing) targets: Wang Jiye, Jihua jingji yu shichang tiaojie (Planned Economy and Market Regulation), 1983, pp. 67–68.

31. For example, in reports on Zhejiang, (Zhejiang ribao, 14 01 1981)Google Scholar . Heilongjiang, (SWB, 7 04 1982Google Scholar ); Hebei, (SWB, 7 07 1982)Google Scholar .

32. Reliance on procurement targets to maintain adequate levels of grain output was described as “an unrealistic view” by Nanfang ribao (Southern Daily), 15 February 1981, a view echoed by Guangxi ribao (Guangxi Daily), 20 March 1982.

33. Jingji yanjiu. No. 5 (1982), p. 11Google Scholar ; Renmin ribao, 26 February 1982; Hongqi, No. 5 (1983), pp. 32–33Google Scholar .

34. Nongcun gongzuo tongxun (Rural Work Bulletin), No. 12 (1982), pp. 5–7Google Scholar , and many provincial reports in SWB, 1982–83. An important article in Nongye jishu jingji (Agricultural Technology Economics), No. 1 (1984), pp. 1–6Google Scholar , actually instructed all provinces except Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai to move towards grain self-sufficiency and to designate marketed grain bases for construction within each province: “The scientific development and utilization of land resources is a fundamental task of China's agricultural development front.”

35. Ziyang, Zhao, “Report on the Sixth Five-Year Plan,” Xinhua yuebao (New China Monthly), No. 12 (1982), pp. 32–51Google Scholar .

36. SWB, 31 March 1983.

37. Nongcun gongzuo longxun, No. 12 (1982), pp. 5–7Google Scholar . Also Hongqi, No. 5 (1983), pp. 32–33Google Scholar . The size of Hebei's grain imports, for example, is examined in Nongye jishu jingji, No. 11 (1983), pp. 1–5Google Scholar .

38. Renmin ribao, 27 May 1982; ibid. 10 May 1982, commenting on the substitution of tobacco and rape seed for grain, states: “Regulation by the market is counteracting the planned economy.”

39. Nongcun gongzuo tongxun, No. 3 (1982), p. 29Google Scholar .

40. Nongye jishu jingji. No. 7 (1983), pp. 26–28Google Scholar .

41. State Statistical Bureau (SSB) Report on 1983, Renmin ribao, 30 April 1984.

42. Ibid.

43. Ibid. 27 May 1982.

44. Nongcun gongzuo tongxun. No. 3 (1982), p. 29Google Scholar ; also Songpei, Wang and Mengkuei, Wang, Nongcun jingji gaishuo (General Talks on the Rural Economy) (Beijing, 1982), p. 30Google Scholar .

45. “Notice on flue-cured tobacco production and processing,” 15 November 1982. JPRS. 28 March 1983. Note that penalties were announced for exceeding the tobacco sown area plan in Henan, 1983: SWB, 30 January 1983.

46. SWB, 3 February 1984.

47. Ibid.

48. Jingji yanjiu, No. 11 (1982), p. 74Google Scholar . Contractions were also ordered in Liaoning and Guizhou where investment to increase cotton output was said to have been “irrational”: ibid. No. 3 (1982), p. 30.

49. Hong, Ma and Shangqing, Sun, Research on Problems, Vol. 1, p. 151Google Scholar , however, compare the net value of output per mou under cotton and maize in Hebei, pointing out that the former exceeded the latter by 68%. Such references to economic criteria are very rare.

50. China's Agricultural Geography, General Discussion, p. 199.

51. See, for example, SWB, 26 May 1982, for the arrangements in Shandong.

52. 1983 Shandong cotton output is from Nongye jishu jingji. No. 4 (1984), pp. 20–22Google Scholar ; Hebei cotton production for 1983 is given by the SSB, Hebei ribao (Hebei Daily), 5 May 1984.

53. Xinhua yuebao, No. 12 (1982), pp. 104–106Google Scholar .

54. Siliao yanjiu (Fodder Research), No. 1 (1982), pp. 1–8Google Scholar ; People's University Reprints, F. 21 (1982), No. 3, pp. 3–10.

55. Xinjiang shehui kexue (Xinjiang Social Science), No. 1 (1981), pp. 88–98Google Scholar ; People's University Reprints, F. 21 (1982), No. 2, pp. 5–15; also the very detailed, informative volume, Yao zhongshi fazhan chumu ye (We Must Emphasize the Development of the Livestock-rearing Industry), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Agricultural Economics Research Institute (Beijing, 1980), p. 51Google Scholar .

56. Neimenggu chumu ye (Inner Mongolia Livestock-rearing Industry), No. 1 (1982), pp. 7–13Google Scholar ; People's University Reprints, F. 21 (1982), No. 4, pp. 24–30; also SWB, 30 January 1983.

57. Nongye jingji wenti, No. 2 (1980), p. 47Google Scholar ; ibid. No. 2 (1981), pp. 28–32; Jingji yanjiu, No. 3 (1980), p. 8, which states that it was wishful thinking to believe that increases in meat consumption could be accompanied by economies in the use of grain for livestock feed.Google Scholar

58. Nongye jingji wenti, No. 1 (1980), pp. 23–25Google Scholar .

59. Ibid. No. 10 (1983), pp. 44–48. In agricultural areas of China there was on average only one cow per four peasant households in 1983 (ibid.).

60. In Gansu, 4% of all production teams had no draught animals in 1980, and in other parts of the province the burden of arable land was 80 mou per animal: Nongye jingji wenti. No. 1 (1980), pp. 26–28Google Scholar and 52. Shortages of draught animals were reported in Liaoning during 1982, following their neglect when an ineffective attempt to mechanize certain areas was made: Nongye jingji (Agricultural Economics), No. 3 (1982), pp. 13–16Google Scholar ; People's University Reprints, F. 21 (1982), No. 6, pp. 59–62. An “acute” contradiction between draught animal supply and demand in Hubei is discussed in Nongye jingji wenti. No. 10 (1983), p. 63Google Scholar.

61. SWB, 17 March 1982.

62. Ibid. 7 January 1982.

63. Nongcun gongzuo tongxun, No. 3 (1984), p. 32Google Scholar .

64. Renmin ribao, 1 November 1979. See also Sichuan daxue xuebao (Sichuan University Journal), No. 4 (1981), pp. 11–17Google Scholar ; People's University Reprints, F 21 (1982), No. 2, pp. 47–53.

65. Renmin ribao, 27 May 1982.

66. 1982 JJNJ, V, p. 258Google Scholar .

67. Ibid. V, pp. 21 and 34.

68. Sichuan caizhengxueyuan xuebao (Sichuan College Journal of Economics and Finance), People's University Reprints, F. 21 (1982), No. 6, pp. 69–74.

69. Siliao yanjiu, No. 1 (1982), pp. 1–8Google Scholar .

70. Jingji wenti tansuo, No. 3 (1982), pp. 12–16Google Scholar . Drawing attention to the low efficiency of grain fed to pigs in the period 1965–78, Hong, Ma and Shangqing, Sun, Research on Problems, state that it was tantamount to feeding pigs merely to keep them alive; Vol. I, p. 153Google Scholar .

71. Shi, Wu, Lun Zhongguo di liangshi wenti (On China's Grain Problem) (Beijing, 1983), p. 1Google Scholar .

72. Compound feed production was seven million tons in 1983: FBIS Daily Report, 30 April 1984.

73. Siliao yanjiu, No. 4 (1982), p. 62Google Scholar ; People's University Reprints, F. 21 (1982), No. 10, p. 48.

74. Siliao yanjiu, No. 4 (1982), pp. 7–11Google Scholar ; People's University Reprints, F. 21 (1982), No. 10, pp. 41–46.

75. Agricultural Economics Collected Essays, No. 5 (1984), pp. 13Google Scholar and 18. See also Jingjixue dongtai (Economic Trends), No. 3 (1979), p. 2Google Scholar, which gives the same ratio.

76. See remarks made by a leading spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce: SWB, 3 March 1983; also Nongye jishu jingji, No. 1 (1983), pp. 5–15Google Scholar, which warns that the composition of food consumption is “formed under historical and economic conditions.”

77. Zhongguo nongminbao, 4 May 1983; Jingji yanjiu, No. 3 (1984), pp. 34–40Google Scholar .

78. Hongqi, No. 9 (1983), pp. 21–24Google Scholar ; Renmin ribao, 20 May 1983.

79. Jingji yanjiu. No. 3 (1984), pp. 34–40Google Scholar , also Caimao jingji (Finance and Trade Economics), No. 9 (1983), pp. 52–55Google Scholar . Note the State Council's Communiqué of 6 October 1983 curbing the illegal activities in the supply of materials for agriculture (including diesel, fertilizer and insecticide): Zhongguo nongminbao, 15 November 1983.

80. TJNJ 1983, p. 325, and TJZY 1983, p. 59.

81. TJNJ 1983, p. 209.

82. For an important discussion of the entire issue, see Nongye jishu jingji. No. 1 (1983), pp. 5–15Google Scholar .

83. Xinhua yuebao, No. 1 (1984), pp. 116–19Google Scholar . Investment in some provinces has declined by 70–80%.

84. Zhongguo nongminbao, 19 January 1984.

85. Hongqi, No. 9 (1983), pp. 21–24Google Scholar

86. “Circular on Rural Work in 1984”, issued by the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, 1 January 1984, Renmin ribao, 12 June 1984.

87. A good survey is found in Caimao jingji, No. 9 (1983), pp. 49–52Google Scholar .

88. SWB, 24 January 1984.

89. This theme is discussed in Nongye jishu jingji, No. 7 (1983), pp. 26–28Google Scholar .

90. Hongqi, No. 12 (1983), pp. 24–29Google Scholar . For a thorough analysis of agricultural prices and subsidies see Lardy, Nicholas R., Agricultural Prices in China (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. World Bank Staff Working Papers No. 606, 1983)Google Scholar .

91. Li, Wan in Renmin ribao, 23 12 1982Google Scholar ; Nongye jingji wenti, No. 8 (1983), pp. 52–54Google Scholar (on Anhui); and reports on Jilin are in JPRS, Agriculture, 10 April and 1 May 1984.

92. Nongye jishu jingji, No. 7 (1983), pp. 26–28Google Scholar; also Shi, Wu, On China's Grain Problem, pp. 55–60Google Scholar .

93. Caimao jingji, No. 9 (1982), pp. 50–51Google Scholar.

94. Ibid.; Jingjixue dongtai, No. 9 (1983), pp. 10–12Google Scholar .

95. Jingji yanjiu, No. 1 (1984), pp. 66–70Google Scholar .

96. Caimao jingji, No. 9 (1982Google Scholar ). Basic quotas were under-fulfilled in each year 1979–81.

97. Annual procurement data are given in TJNJ 1983, p. 393.

98. Jingji yanjiu, No. 5 (1983), pp. 65–69Google Scholar .

99. Hongqi, No. 21 (1982), pp. 47–48Google Scholar .

100. For a full discussion see Nongye jishu jingji, No. 7 (1983), pp. 26–28Google Scholar .

101. Renmin ribao, editorial, 23 January 1984.