Agricultural organizations and the role of farmer cooperatives in China since 1978: past and future

Abstract

Purpose During the past four decades, agriculture and rural development in China has scored a great progress. Organization institution in agriculture is one of the domains with drastic innovations. The purpose of this paper is to map the emergence and evolution of various agricultural organizations in China since 1978. Development status and the trend of agricultural organization system are analyzed. Further, the role of farmer cooperatives is discussed. Design/methodology/approach Data used in the paper are mainly from statistical yearbooks and documents published by the government including Ministry of Agriculture and Bureau of Industry and Commercial. Both descriptive and deductive analyses are adopted to achieve different analytical purposes. Findings The vast small-farm sector, co-existence of various types of organizations, and innovation of other organizations will continue and sustain for a long-time period in China. Despite the fast development of modern farmers and various organizations, it is important that traditional farmers participate effectively in modern agriculture. Farmers act collectively via a cooperative in a desirable way, which determines the central position of farmer cooperatives in the agricultural organization system. Research limitations/implications This paper is a qualitative analysis on agricultural organizations in China, yet no quantitative estimation regarding the comparison of various organizations is conducted due to insufficient data. Originality/value This paper fills the gap of a comprehensive review of the emergence, development status, and trend of agricultural organizations in China.

Social Capital and Financial Capital in Chinese Cooperatives

“…Chinese cooperatives are quite different from cooperatives in most of the rest of the world [36]. The law does not comply with the cooperative principles that are recognised in most countries [37,38].…”

Do Farmer Professional Cooperatives Improve Technical Efficiency and Income? Evidence from Small Vegetable Farms in China

“…Since the failure of vertical coordination and contracts to emerge, the Chinese government has provided policy and financial support for the creation of farmer professional cooperatives (FPCs) to act as an intermediary connecting farmers with upstream and downstream processes in the food supply chain (Huang and Liang, 2018;Yang, Klerkx, and Leeuwis, 2014). FPCs are conceptualized as nonneutral entities that assist farmers in attaining better positions in agricultural innovation systems and modern value chains (Hussein, 2001).…”

“…FPCs typically provide services such as assistance in purchasing material inputs; guidance regarding new technologies, equipment, and production management practices; connections to modern marketing channels; and primary product processing (Deng et al, 2010;Yang, Klerkx, and Leeuwis, 2014). In 2017, there were about 1.9 million FPCs in China, with about 10% of these being vegetable cooperatives (Huang and Liang, 2018). For small farms in particular, FPCs can reduce the information and transaction costs associated with farm management and marketing (Hoken and Su, 2018).…”

“…However, the benefits of participating in cooperatives are not uniform given differences among farmers in resource endowments, institutional arrangements, product types, market conditions, and managerial ability (Garnevska et al, 2011;Ito, Bao, and Su, 2012;Michelson, 2012;Reardon et al, 2009). In China, concerns have also been raised about the ownership and governance structure, capital constraints, small size, and management effectiveness of many FPCs (Huang and Liang, 2018;Xu et al, 2017). Jin et al (2010) found that the rapid rates of productivity growth for horticultural crops in China were driven entirely by technological change, with declines over time in levels of technical efficiency (TE).…”

The Service Supply Effect of Cooperatives under Economic Transformation: A Demand-Supply Perspective

“…Compared with other regions, such as the United States (US), Japan, and the European Union, the development of cooperatives in China is still at the initial stage [11,12]. The impetus for the rapid growth of cooperatives comes from the government [13][14][15].…”