The Use of Oral Histories to Identify Criteria for Future Scenarios of Sustainable Farming in the South Yangtze River, China

Abstract

Agricultural practices in Jiangnan water towns have historically been identified as maintaining a balance between human activity and the local environment, but are now a significant local source of water pollution. Using a multi-methods approach, this study deduces the environmental impact of traditional practices, and the socially desired conditions for successfully reintroducing critical ones. Oral histories from 31 farmers in Tianshanzhuang village, South Yangtze River were in order to chart changes in farming practices over four historic periods, and used to estimate the nitrogen and phosphorus burdens per acre. Findings show that the use of Lan River Mud-dredged mud for fertilizer-was key in producing a positive impact, but abandoned after the 1980s. Four criteria hindering reintroduction of traditional practices were identified, and potentially useful but fragmented emerging local candidate practices are considered against these, as are recent practices in Japan. We propose that the cooperation of several stakeholders with various related government departments in China could lead to a portfolio of effective policy changes and should be studied further: to include new methods and uses of Lan River Mud; the integration of aquaculture, leisure and tourism industries with agriculture; and the production of organic produce with well-planned internet-linked sales, delivery and coordination mechanisms.

Tilting relationalities: Exploring the world through possible futures of agriculture

“…Farmers dredged mud from the Huangpu River and used animal manure and human waste to fertilise the soil, achieving very high yields without damaging the health of the land or exceeding its production capacity. Resilience in the system involved adopting external innovations as well as passing knowledge from generation to generation (Liu et al, 2016, pp. 1–2).…”

Does Small-Scale Organic Farming Contribute to the Local Environment—A Case Study in Suburban Shanghai, China

“…The canal networks and irrigation ponds in the subtropical lowland and deltas are traditional elements of the farming landscape [19,37]. The quality of natural water resources is affected by the implementation of water protection measures, which has been improved in Shanghai, with the proportion of water quality better than Grade III (included) in the main water system monitored section comprising over 74% in 2020 (2020 Shanghai Ecological and Environmental Bulletin).…”

“…The vast network of channels has been dug over the centuries to transport the residents and their goods. Historically it was the core part of the world-famous water town of South Yangtze River [37].…”

‘Our Grandmother Used to Sing Whilst Weeding’: Oral histories, millet food culture, and farming rituals among women smallholders in Ramanagara district, Karnataka

“…In the development sub-field of agrarian studies, scholars have acknowledged the ‘special light of history’ for revealing alternative ways of knowing and acting in the rural world, seen as characteristic of an emerging ‘critical agrarian studies’ research paradigm (Edelman and Wolford 2017). There have been detailed accounts of the historical evolution of indigenous crops and farming practices in the climate-vulnerable regions of Malawi and China (Bezner Kerr 2014; Liu et al 2016). In a similar vein, contemporary debates about food sovereignty, on the one hand, and cash crops, on the other, have been examined as part of longer historical processes in the context of Venezuela in the case of the former (Schiavoni 2017), and of Malaysia and Indonesia in the case of latter (Bissonnette and De Koninck 2017).…”