Journal of Agrarian Change · 2015 · 287 citations · 32 references
Social SciencesLand-use PlanningAgricultural DevelopmentAgricultural PolicyRural DevelopmentAgrarian ChangeAgrarian Political EconomyAgricultural HistoryAgricultural Policy AnalysisLand RightsLand UseAgricultural Land Use PolicyAgricultural TenureLand Governance InstitutionsModernizationPeasant AgriculturePeasant RightsProperty Rights In AgricultureState Agrarian Policy
Agriculture, the countryside, and peasantry have long been priority concerns of the Chinese government, and amid a growing population, shrinking arable land, and low‑quality holdings, Chinese peasant agriculture is modernizing through land‑contract rights under the Household Responsibility System while the state promotes land‑use‑right transfers to protect livelihoods and advance modern agriculture. This paper seeks to understand recent developments in land and agriculture, particularly exploring the transitions of land and agricultural institutions since 1949 and land transfers since the HRS. The study reveals that the state has strategically responded to various challenges so that land institutions and policies are always geared toward achieving agricultural modernization.
Agriculture, countryside and peasantry have been priority concerns of the C hinese government, with land and agriculture being the most crucial. With a growing population, less arable land and often relatively low‐quality land, C hinese peasant agriculture has been undergoing a form of modernization. While peasants enjoy land‐contract rights as a result of the H ousehold R esponsibility S ystem ( HRS ), the state has been promoting transfer of land‐use rights in order to promote modern agriculture. This paper seeks to understand recent developments in land and agriculture, particularly exploring the transitions of land and agricultural institutions since 1949 and land transfers since the HRS . In so doing, this paper reveals that the state has been strategically responding to various challenges in order that land institutions and policies are always geared to achieving agricultural modernization. During the state's continual drive for modernizations, particularly agricultural modernization, peasants' livelihood is impacted and needs to be protected.
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