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Full-Text Articles in Agricultural and Resource Economics

Smallholders In Capitalist Agriculture: Persistence And Challenges, Qian Forrest Zhang Feb 2024

Smallholders In Capitalist Agriculture: Persistence And Challenges, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper posits that the majority of “smallholders” in contemporary China are commodity producers who must engage in various commodity exchanges to carry out agricultural production and accomplish their social reproduction. Consequently, “smallholder” refers to a family-based economic operation model, rather than a social identity or psychological identification. Within this framework, the study focuses on the intricate relationships between smallholders, various commodity markets, and other market participants. Specifically, it examines two aspects: the relationship between smallholders and capitalized large-scale producers and other agriculture-related capital entities, and the relationship between smallholders and the commodified labor force. The paper argues that the …


Producers’ Transition To Alternative Food Practices In Rural China: Social Mobilization And Cultural Reconstruction In The Formation Of Alternative Economies, Qian Forrest Zhang Sep 2023

Producers’ Transition To Alternative Food Practices In Rural China: Social Mobilization And Cultural Reconstruction In The Formation Of Alternative Economies, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The shift from the conventional agri-food system to alternative practices is a challenging transition for agricultural producers, yet surprisingly under-studied. Little research has examined the social and cultural processes in rural communities that mobilize producers and construct and sustain producer-driven alternative food networks (AFNs). For AFNs to go beyond just offering “alternative foods” or “alternative networks” and to be constructed as “alternative economies”, this transformation in the producer community is indispensable. This paper presents a case study of a rural cooperative in Shanxi, China. The discontent with both productivist agriculture and the social decay in communities motivated a group of …


A Study On The Role Of Innovative Enterprise-Farmer Contracts In The Sustainable Development Of Agricultural Industrialization - A Perspective Based On Ghm Theroy, Yanjie Wu Aug 2022

A Study On The Role Of Innovative Enterprise-Farmer Contracts In The Sustainable Development Of Agricultural Industrialization - A Perspective Based On Ghm Theroy, Yanjie Wu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Agricultural industrialization is the primary channel to promote large-scale agricultural production, intensive processing, and marketing, enhancing agricultural production efficiency. In the long run, promoting agricultural industrialization is conducive to the deep integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. It can improve the comparative efficiency of agriculture and reduce poverty by promoting the employment of agricultural labor and the flow of production factors between urban and rural areas. The model of “leading enterprises+farmers” is a significant agricultural industrialization business model. In China, the development of agricultural industrialization is late and fast, and more problems have emerged in the development. The contractual …


The Hunger Report Part Ii: Targeting Specific Needs In The Wake Of Covid-19, Dalvin Sidhu, Tania Nagpaul, Weng Lin Ng, Thilanga Dilum Wewalaarachchi Mar 2022

The Hunger Report Part Ii: Targeting Specific Needs In The Wake Of Covid-19, Dalvin Sidhu, Tania Nagpaul, Weng Lin Ng, Thilanga Dilum Wewalaarachchi

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

The Hunger Report Part II: Targeting Specific Needs in the Wake of COVID-19 is the first intervention study of its kind in Singapore, delving into how the food situation of previously identified food-insecure households has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through surveys, this report reveals the impact COVID-19 has had on a small sample of food-insecure families in Singapore. The authors also administer a Needs Toolkit to understand the unique needs and preferences of each food-insecure household. They then explore the impact of autonomy in food support through an intervention element in the study


Producing Industrial Pigs In Southwestern China: The Rise Of Contract Farming As A Coevolutionary Process, Forrest Qian Zhang, Hongping Zeng Jan 2022

Producing Industrial Pigs In Southwestern China: The Rise Of Contract Farming As A Coevolutionary Process, Forrest Qian Zhang, Hongping Zeng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The literature on contract farming (CF) has to date focused on how outside capital uses CF to vertically integrate non-capitalist producers into agro-industrial value chains. We argue that in places where multiple dynamics of capitalist growth co-exist, CF relationships can also emerge between different types of capitalist producers that are already in capitalist production using other organizational forms. In this situation, the well-studied drivers that fuel the spread of CF become less consequential; the emergence of CF is instead more contingent on the complex interactions between producers and the specific conditions and events in the local environment. We conceptualize the …


Politically Directed Accumulation In Rural China: The Making Of The Agrarian Capitalist Class And The New Agrarian Question Of Capital, Qian Forrest Zhang, Hongping Zeng May 2021

Politically Directed Accumulation In Rural China: The Making Of The Agrarian Capitalist Class And The New Agrarian Question Of Capital, Qian Forrest Zhang, Hongping Zeng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We study the formation of the agrarian capitalist class in the pig farming sector in a Chinese county. We propose a new framework for analyzing the dynamics of accumulation and class formation in agriculture that focuses on the role of the state and public resources. In what we call “politically directed accumulation,” local states in China, driven by a political logic of maximizing fiscal resources and improving performance record, select actors who either have accumulated non-agrarian capital or possess political capital to serve as their agents (political selection) and then capitalize their farming operations by transferring to them public resources …


Politically Directed Accumulation In Rural China: The Making Of The Agrarian Capitalist Class And The New Agrarian Question Of Capital, Forrest Q. Zhang May 2021

Politically Directed Accumulation In Rural China: The Making Of The Agrarian Capitalist Class And The New Agrarian Question Of Capital, Forrest Q. Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We study the formation of the agrarian capitalist class in the pig farming sector in a Chinese county. We propose a new framework for analyzing the dynamics of accumulation and class formation in agriculture that focuses on the role of the state and public resources. In what we call “politically directed accumulation,” local states in China, driven by a political logic of maximizing fiscal resources and improving performance record, select actors who either have accumulated non-agrarian capital or possess political capital to serve as their agents (political selection) and then capitalize their farming operations by transferring to them …


Becoming Citizens: Policy Feedback And The Transformation Of The Thai Rice Farmer, Jacob Ricks, Thanapan Laiprakobsub Jan 2021

Becoming Citizens: Policy Feedback And The Transformation Of The Thai Rice Farmer, Jacob Ricks, Thanapan Laiprakobsub

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Over the past twenty years, Thailand’s rice farmers have become one of the country’s most important and active political constituencies, a sharp contrast from the previous decades wherein they were treated with neglect or even derision by the Thai political elite. These “political peasants” now actively advocate for and successfully receive extensive subsidies from both authoritarian and democratic governments. What has driven this change? In this essay, we draw on theories of the policy feedback loop wherein policies yield both material and cognitive benefits, which change the political behavior of populations. We argue that the Thaksin Shinawatra government’s (2001-2006) paddy …


Rural Land Dispossession In China And India, Joel Andreas, Sunila Kale, Michael Levien, Forrest Q. Zhang Oct 2020

Rural Land Dispossession In China And India, Joel Andreas, Sunila Kale, Michael Levien, Forrest Q. Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The twelve articles in this special issue feature the work of scholars studying the dispossession of rural land in China and India. Each offers new insights about the extent and patterns of dispossession, the complex dynamics driving it, the consequences for farmers, as well as the factors shaping resistance or compliance. Although each article treats developments within one country, the collection helps uncover features common to rural land dispossession in China and India, and illuminates differences that shape the processes of dispossession in each country. Comparison of the two countries helps us to not only understand the future implications of …


Catching Up With The ‘Core’: The Nature Of The Agricultural Machinery Sector And Challenges For Chinese Manufacturers, M. T. Safdar, Terry Van Gevelt Jul 2019

Catching Up With The ‘Core’: The Nature Of The Agricultural Machinery Sector And Challenges For Chinese Manufacturers, M. T. Safdar, Terry Van Gevelt

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The current era of globalisation has been accompanied by China’s rise as a major economic actor. Chinese firms are expanding their presence globally and are seeking to ‘catch-up’ with firms in developed countries across different sectors. This paper uses China’s agricultural machinery sector as a vehicle to examine the challenges faced by firms from developing countries in their effort to catch-up with ‘core firms’. Chinese firms operating in the sector struggle to compete with a small number of dominant core firms based in developed countries. These core firms are sectoral leaders with a global presence. They are continuously strengthening their …


Review Of China’S Peasant Agriculture And Rural Society, Qian Forrest Zhang Apr 2019

Review Of China’S Peasant Agriculture And Rural Society, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Jan Douwe van de Ploeg, Jingzhong Ye and their colleagues have written an important book that will rekindle old debates and spark new discussions in the fields of critical agrarian studies and China studies. The book is a collection of 12 chapters, each coauthored by members of the research team. The two editors are also the key authors, with de Ploeg involved in all 12 chapters and Ye in eight. Together, the chapters provide a comprehensive coverage of topics central to the rural economy and livelihoods in China, and to theories in critical agrarian studies.


How Does Energy Matter? Rural Electrification, Entrepreneurship, And Community Development In Kenya, Antoine Vernet, Jane N. O. Khayesi, Vivian George, Gerard George, Abubakar S. Bahaj Mar 2019

How Does Energy Matter? Rural Electrification, Entrepreneurship, And Community Development In Kenya, Antoine Vernet, Jane N. O. Khayesi, Vivian George, Gerard George, Abubakar S. Bahaj

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine the impact of rural electrification on individuals and businesses within a community in order to test a resource-based theory of entrepreneurship. We show that access to electricity increases average households’ income and entrepreneurial activities. The impact of electricity on entrepreneurial activity has wide-ranging implications for development policy in countries where access to electricity is sparse. Results show a significant difference in entrepreneurial opportunities with respect to firm formation, with the electrified site reporting more new micro-enterprises than the control site after implementation. Electrification affects both households’ income, individuals’ perceptions of their social position, and opportunities for business development. …


The Impact Of An Electrical Mini-Grid On The Development Of A Rural Community In Kenya, Abubakr Bahaj, Luke Blunden, Christopher Kanani, Patrick James, Issac Kiva, Zoe Matthews, Heather Price, Hildah Essendi, Jane Ealkingham, Gerard George Feb 2019

The Impact Of An Electrical Mini-Grid On The Development Of A Rural Community In Kenya, Abubakr Bahaj, Luke Blunden, Christopher Kanani, Patrick James, Issac Kiva, Zoe Matthews, Heather Price, Hildah Essendi, Jane Ealkingham, Gerard George

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Electrical mini-grids can provide electrification to rural communities far from the national network. However the benefits of such schemes are disputed. We observed changes in two matched trading-centres in Makueni County, Kenya, neither of which were initially electrified. During the study a solar photovoltaic mini-grid scheme (13.5 kWp) was constructed in one of the trading-centres. After electrification there were relative increases in the number of businesses and business income. Comparing the households in the areas around the trading centres, perceived wealth increased more around the electrified trading centre. Qualitative interviews indicated improvements in service provision by the local school and …


Vietnam: Reaping Long-Term Gains From Agricultural Land Reforms, Pham Chi Lan May 2018

Vietnam: Reaping Long-Term Gains From Agricultural Land Reforms, Pham Chi Lan

Asian Management Insights

Agriculture in Vietnam is in need of flexibility, efficiency, modernisation and innovation.


The Urban Farmer, Singapore Management University Oct 2017

The Urban Farmer, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Bjorn Low left a high-flying advertising job to reshape the urban, agricultural, and social enterprise landscapes in his native Singapore


China’S Agrarian Transition: Peasants, Property, And Politics, By René Trappel, Qian Forrest Zhang Jul 2017

China’S Agrarian Transition: Peasants, Property, And Politics, By René Trappel, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Rene Trappel’s book is an ambitious attempt to address some of the key issues in thecomplex process of agrarian transition unfolding in China today. Trappel favors the“commodification of farmland” – the transfer of the land rights of small-scale farmers,especially to large-scale agribusiness producers – as a necessary condition for agrariantransition. He selects this as the dependent variable for his investigation and equates thiswith ‘agrarian transition’. He collected information from four counties (one each in Sichuanand Shandong and two in Guizhou) through three field trips between 2008 and 2010.


Betting On The Big: State-Brokered Land Transfers, Large-Scale Agricultural Producers, And Rural Policy Implementation, Weigang Gong, Qian Forrest Zhang Jan 2017

Betting On The Big: State-Brokered Land Transfers, Large-Scale Agricultural Producers, And Rural Policy Implementation, Weigang Gong, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

As rural governments have become hollowed out and detached from rural society, can they still effectively implement policies that lack popular support? This article examines a county in Hunan Province, where local governments had strong incentives to implement a national policy of increasing double cropping in rice farming. Small farmers rejected double cropping as unprofitable. Local governments’ limited capacity prevented them from either reshaping small farmers’ economic calculus or coercing compliance. They strategically selected a policy tool acceptable to most small farmers (paid land transfers) and gave new private large-scale producers incentives to double crop by providing subsidies and access …


Is Urban Food Demand In The Philippines Different From China?, Tomoki Fujii Feb 2016

Is Urban Food Demand In The Philippines Different From China?, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

Food is an essential good, and thus understanding its demand is important for the formulation of sound agricultural policies and developing sustainable agricultural business. A timely analysis of food demand is important because it can change over time not only because prices and incomes change but also because people’s taste itself also change. However, even in countries where food accounts for a sizable share of expenditure or where the agricultural sector accounts for a large share of output, careful analysis of food demand is often not readily available. In this study, we analyze the food demand in urban Philippines and …


Harry Susilo [Indonesia, Founder Sekar Group], Harry Susilo Dec 2015

Harry Susilo [Indonesia, Founder Sekar Group], Harry Susilo

Digital Narratives of Asia

Harry Susilo, founder and chairman of Sekar Group, shares with DNA how he had started as the first entreprenuer in Indonesia to export prawns and seafood products. He talks about the values of "Susilo Institute of Ethics in the Global Economy", qualities of a good leader, and business succession. Interview in English and Mandarin. Transcript in English.


Of Land, Food, And Scale, Singapore Management University Sep 2015

Of Land, Food, And Scale, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The competing needs for infrastructure, agriculture, and scale could decide the success of The Asian century


Bringing Agriculture Back In: The Central Place Of Agrarian Change In Rural China Studies, Qian Forrest Zhang, Carlos Oya, Jingzhong Ye Jul 2015

Bringing Agriculture Back In: The Central Place Of Agrarian Change In Rural China Studies, Qian Forrest Zhang, Carlos Oya, Jingzhong Ye

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Since the mid-2000s, rural development and politics in China has entered a new phase that revolves around what the central government calls ‘agricultural modernization’. Transforming the once-dominant smallholding, family-based agriculture has become a focal point of the government's programme of rural rejuvenation, where a range of economic changes unleashed by urbanization and industrialization also converge. We argue that in this new context, agrarian change has become the key vantage point from which to study rural China. We review key contributions of the papers in this special issue and highlight their insights on rural differentiation, land politics and rural livelihoods. We …


The Future Of Petroleum Security In Asean, Christopher William Dula May 2015

The Future Of Petroleum Security In Asean, Christopher William Dula

Asian Management Insights

Structuralchanges inAsia’s demandfor petroleumthreaten todisrupt supplystability,especially forSoutheast Asia.


Rural China In Transition: Changes And Transformations In China’S Agriculture And Rural Sector, John A. Donaldson, Forrest Q. Zhang Apr 2015

Rural China In Transition: Changes And Transformations In China’S Agriculture And Rural Sector, John A. Donaldson, Forrest Q. Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Agribusiness companies operating in China are transacting in various forms with small agricultural producers, and in doing so, transforming the household-based agriculture in rural China. We argue that the presence of these distinct forms and the diverging relations between agribusiness and producers show the central importance of China’s collective land rights. China’s unique system of land rights – featuring collective ownership but individualized usage rights – has acted as a powerful force in shaping interactions between agribusiness and direct producers. It provides farmers a source of economic income as well as political bargaining power – albeit to various degrees – …


Protecting An Asian Treasure In America, Jeffrey Andrien Nov 2014

Protecting An Asian Treasure In America, Jeffrey Andrien

Asian Management Insights

The impact of Japanese cars on the American auto industry is well known. Not so well known are the regulatory and intellectual property issues faced by beef producers in the introduction of Japan’s esteemed Wagyu beef herd to U.S. pastures and tables.


Rugged Regulatory Landscapes, Singapore Management University Oct 2013

Rugged Regulatory Landscapes, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Indonesia’s miners are adept at scaling the country’s rugged regulatory landscape. But their legendary resilience may be put to the test in 2014. Written by Dharma Djojonegoro, President Director of Indonesian mining services provider PT Multi Nitrotama Kimia (MNK).


China’S Agrarian Reform And The Privatization Of Land: A Contrarian View, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson Mar 2013

China’S Agrarian Reform And The Privatization Of Land: A Contrarian View, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Many media and scholars outside China are advocating for the privatization of land ownership in China, claiming it to be a necessary step before China can transform its agriculture into large-scale, market-oriented and technology-intensive modern agriculture. Chinese scholars advocating land privatization, on the other hand, typically argue that land privatization would offer farmers more protection of their rights. In this paper, we present a contrarian view to these calls for land privatization published in both mainstream media and academic journals. We argue that, under China’s current system of collective land ownership and individualized land use rights, the aforementioned goals can …


The Political Economy Of Contract Farming In China's Agrarian Transition, Qian Forrest Zhang Oct 2012

The Political Economy Of Contract Farming In China's Agrarian Transition, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

How does rural China’s political economy determine the motivations and constraints that drive small farmers and agribusiness companies into contract farming and shape its practice and impact? This paper identifies three distinctive features of contract farming in China—varied impact on rural inequality, unstable contractual relations, and lack of competitiveness with other alternatives—and proposes tentative explanations with three features in rural China’s political economy: strong collective institutions, active state support for agriculture, and strong domestic markets. The recent turn in China’s agrarian transition toward vertical integration of agriculture with industries is, however, undermining these conditions and may move China toward more …


From Peasants To Farmers: Peasant Differentiation, Labor Regimes, And Land-Rights Institutions In China's Agrarian Transition, Q. Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson Dec 2010

From Peasants To Farmers: Peasant Differentiation, Labor Regimes, And Land-Rights Institutions In China's Agrarian Transition, Q. Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The development of factor markets has opened Chinese agriculture for the penetration of capitalism. This new round of rural transformation—China’s agrarian transition— raises the agrarian question in the Chinese context. This study investigates how capitalist forms and relations of production transform agricultural production and the peasantry class in rural China. The authors identify six forms of nonpeasant agricultural production, compare the labor regimes and direct producers’ socioeconomic statuses across these forms, and evaluate the role of China’s land-rights institution in shaping these forms. The empirical investigation presents three main findings: (1) Peasant differentiation : capitalist forms of agricultural production differentiate …


Beware Of Radical Change: China’S Agrarian Revolution, John A. Donaldson, Forrest Q. Zhang Nov 2008

Beware Of Radical Change: China’S Agrarian Revolution, John A. Donaldson, Forrest Q. Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.


The Changes And Non-Changes Of China's Rural Land, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson Oct 2008

The Changes And Non-Changes Of China's Rural Land, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.