University of Groningen
China's relationships with Africa re-appraised
Jiang, Bin
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Jiang, B. (2019). China's relationships with Africa re-appraised: the lense of domestic experiences in agricultural technology extension and its reflection in China's foreign policy towards Africa. University of Groningen.
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CHAPTER 5
The Hunan Case:
Agricultural Development and
Operation of the Agricultural
Technology Extension System
1. Agricultural development in Hunan province
1.1 Agricultural development in Hunan since 1949: four phases
Hunan province is located in the central-southern region of China, about half way along the length of the Yangtze River. The provincial capital is the city of Changsha. Hunan covers 211,800 square kilometres and accounts for 2.2% of China’s total territory. The province has a humid subtropical climate and is rich in light, heat and water resources. With some of the highest levels of precipitation in China. Hunan’s average annual rainfall is between 1200 and1700 mm. By the end of 2014, the resident population of Hunan had reached 67,372 million, with an urban population of 33,201 million, and an urbanization rate of 49.28% (Li, Yin, 2014:2).
Hunan is one of China’s most important agricultural provinces, with a total food crop output of 30,013 million tons per year. It is responsible for providing the country with a number of important products. In 2014, for example, the province was ranked seventh in terms of its contribution to China’s total grain production and it was number one in terms of rice production. Hunan is also a major producer of ramie, a plant in the nettle family used in manufacturing textiles. The province ranked number two in 2014 with respect to China’s tea production and number three for citrus production. The real disposable income of rural residents increased from 4,910 yuan in 2009 to 10,060 yuan in 2014.39
Chapter four detailed three main phases in the Chinese agricultural development process. 40 Generally, Hunan’s agricultural development process reflects this division, with the exception of a slight shift in the timing of the first two phases and an additional stage in the last phase. Thus, we can talk of four stages in the Hunan agricultural development process: from 1949
39
2014 National Economic and Social Development Statistical Communique of Hunan Province,
http://www.hntj.gov.cn/tjgb/hntjgb/201503/t20150320_115537.htm (Accessed on: 2016-4-16).
40Chapter four details the three phases in Chinese agricultural development as:
agricultural development in early days of the People’s Republic of China (from 1949 to 1957); establishment and development of the People's Commune (from 1958 to 1978); and construction of the new era of modern agriculture (since 1978 until now).
to 1953; from 1953 to 1978; from 1978 to the end of the twentieth century; and the period from the end of the twentieth century until now.41
The first stage (from 1949 to 1953) of Hunan agricultural development was initiated as a result of the introduction of the first dynamic problem solving mechanism – land reform. Following the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the central government began to implement land reform and mobilize farmers’ enthusiasm for agricultural production. In 1953, Hunan province’s total food crop output reached 9.5 billion kilograms, an increase of 3.2 billion kilograms on the output for 1949. While land reform was a way of incentivizing farmers to increase production, it did not address issues of sustainable development or improving farmers’ income (Li, Yin, 2014:1).
The second stage (from 1953 to 1978) of Hunan agricultural development arose as a result of the government’s attempt to introduce an economy of scale. The period was characterized by a cooperative production model, designed to introduce a dynamic mechanism and economies of scale, two important aspects to agricultural development, which also include the implementation of agricultural extension and agricultural demonstration centres. In the previous phase, from 1953 to 1958, the whole grain production of Hunan increased, on average, by 3.8% every year (Li & Yin, 2014). However, similar to the situation in China as a whole, where the People’s communes and the Great Leap Forward seriously affected farmers’ morale and enthusiasm for production, Hunan’s agriculture lost its driving force for development promotion, and gradually entered into decline (Ouyang, 1990).
The third stage (from 1978 to the end of twentieth century) of Hunan agricultural development is characterized by a second dynamic problem-solving mechanism – the Chinese economic reforms of 1978. During this period, the People’s communes were abolished and the mistakes of the Great Leap Forward were recognized. The reforms in this third stage of the province’s agricultural development ensured that Hunan’s farmers regained their enthusiasm for production and the province’s agriculture was revitalized (Ouyang, 1990). However, this period still did not manage to maintain a balance between a dynamic mechanism and economies of scale.
41
This classification is based on the Chinese agricultural development process and interviews conducted during fieldwork in Hunan province.
Consequently, in the latter part of this phase, agricultural economic development across the province began to slow down and other problems, such as farmers leaving fields fallow and falling into poverty, emerged (Zhang, 2000).
The fourth stage (from the end of twentieth century till now) of Hunan province’s agricultural development is characterized by the implementation of a combination of a dynamic mechanism and a scale economy. It is guided by the following principles: development based on the stable implementation of a farmer household contract management system, with a market-oriented and technology-led industrial business model to promote modernized agriculture. Clearly, Hunan’s agricultural economy has improved greatly since the end of the twentieth century; nevertheless, because of the long-term income gap between urban and rural areas, there are still many issues requiring an urgent solution, for example, the phenomenon of abandoned rural land and the land transfer issue (Li & Yin, 2014).
1.2 Selection of Hunan as a case study
Hunan province is in the central part of China and currently has a medium level of economic development, in contrast to eastern China’s high level of economic development and western China’s low level (Xin, 1996). We can therefore consider Hunan province’s development as a reflection of the average level of development in China as a whole. This is the first reason to choose Hunan province for this study. Secondly, Hunan is a major agriculture province and this industry has played an important role in its development. An exploration of the role of technology extension in Hunan’s agriculture is significant for the future development of the whole province. Thirdly, research by Zhang (2000) and Li & Yin (2014) reveals the current emphasis by the Hunan provincial government on agricultural value chain and farmer participation policies.
Given the above factors, the agricultural development process in Hunan province is an important case that can be seen as a reflection of the agricultural development process in China as a whole. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used for data collection in the fieldwork and this and subsequent chapters will present an analysis of the investigations of the value chain and farmer participation.
The case study in Hunan province is based on a field investigation in Changsha County and the Loudi Region. The research sites are mainly focused on the two agricultural demonstration centres in both regions. In addition, there is a particular focus on the implementation of an agricultural extension system in Loudi region. As a result of the fieldwork, there are 107 valid questionnaires acquired from four villages and 50 interviews conducted with villagers, village leaders, agricultural department officers, employees and chiefs from several local agricultural companies.
2. Hunan province’s agricultural extension system
Since the implementation of Household Contract Responsibility System42 in 1978, Hunan province has set up an administrative system for agricultural technology extension. The system consists of five organizational levels: a provincial agricultural technology extension station; a municipal agricultural extension station; a county agricultural technology extension station; a township agricultural extension station; a village agricultural technical services team; and technology demonstration households (Chen, Liu & Qu et al., 2002).
The Loudi region comprises five counties43 and the highest level of agricultural extension agency is the Loudi municipal agricultural extension station, which part of the agricultural department of Loudi’s municipal government. Based on interviews with the Deputy of the agricultural department, Mr. Liu Shiqi, and the Head of the Loudi municipal agricultural extension station, Mr. Zeng Yang, this section will focus on the administrative mechanisms of Hunan’s agricultural extension policies.
42
The Household Contract Responsibility System for Chinese agriculture was adopted in 1978 and became the main form of rural collective economy in China. This system separated land ownership from the right to land use. Within this system, the land still belonged to a local collective, but the right of land use was divided between every single household. Consequently, every household has the right to choose how they use the land. This is different from the system in the People’s Commune period, when all households were given a quota and land use was determined by the collective.
43
The five counties are: Louxing Region, Shuangfeng County, Lianyuan County, Lengshuijiang County, Xinhua County.
2.1 The administrative mechanism of Hunan’s agricultural extension system: the Loudi region as case study
Hunan province’s agricultural extension system focuses on four major fields: farming; animal husbandry; fisheries; and agricultural machinery. According to Mr. Liu Shiqi, there are 16 provincial extension agencies, 140 municipal extension agencies, 524 county level extension agencies, 7,461 township level extension organizations, 42,323 village level extension teams, and 0.5 million technology demonstration households.
The agricultural extension system is funded by the central government and via its own revenue streams. In 2013, the Chinese central government allocated 500 million yuan for the agricultural technology extension work in Hunan and seven other provinces. According to Mr. Zeng Yang, in the same year, ten per cent of Hunan’s agricultural extension finance came from the province’s cooperatives and agribusiness. Mr. Zeng also said that by the end of 2011, there were about 39,000 agricultural extension workers in Hunan province, more than half of whom were employed in township level extension agencies.
Interviews with Mr. Zeng Yang about the Loudi region revealed that there are three levels of agricultural extension governmental agencies (figure 5-1). The municipal agricultural extension station is a section of the Agricultural Department of Loudi’s municipal government; the county level agricultural extension stations belong to the county government’s agricultural department; and the village agricultural technical services team and technology demonstration households are parts of the township level agricultural extension station while township level agricultural extension stations are a section of the township government. Mr. Zeng Yang said that because of the knowledges of experts in the township agricultural extension stations is limited, normally, township agricultural extension stations are playing an updated assigned role between villages to county level agencies. Generally, the village experts come from county agricultural extension stations or municipal agricultural extension stations.
Figure 5-1: The administrative system of agricultural extension in Loudi region
2.2 Agricultural extension policies
According to Mr. Zeng Yang, Hunan’s agricultural extension policies are made in accordance with the related national policies and laws, the most important of which is the Agriculture Law of the People’s Republic of China (2013).44 Table 5-1 provides details of the contents of Chapter seven of this law, which is focused on agricultural science and technology and agricultural education. As set out in this chapter, agricultural technology extension is a core element of this law and, according to Article 51, ‘national agricultural extension agencies should depend on the agricultural technology experimental demonstration bases, and also agricultural extension agencies should responsible for the extension and demonstration of key technologies’. Mr. Zeng Yang explained that this forms the legal basis for the construction of different levels of agricultural demonstration centres, not only in Hunan province, but throughout China.
44
The Agriculture Law of PRC was first announced on 2 July 1993. It was amended on 28 December 2002. The current version of the Agriculture Law of PRC was revised on 28 December 2012 and implemented on 1 January 2013.
In 2006, the State Council of the PRC announced another policy that plays an important part in Chinese agricultural extension, the Proposal to deepen and strengthen the construction of basic levels’ agricultural technology extension system.45 This document is a policy goal for the whole China. It calls on relevant government departments to focus on the developing agriculture and the agricultural economy. It requires all levels of government to, where necessary, clarify the functions of different governmental departments and, subsequently, to establish a vibrant and diverse agricultural technology extension system. The national agricultural extension agencies are given a lead role in this new system, which is based on cooperative economic units and engage in a broad range of agricultural research and with educational institutions and agricultural enterprises. Since its inception, this policy has instructed the operation of agricultural extension agencies at the county and township levels.
Mr. Liu Shiqi and Mr. Zeng Yang both mentioned in their interviews that these two policies are fundamental to the Hunan agricultural extension system. Hunan provincial government has subsequently put forward a number of policies specific to the province’s situation. The most important of these are: Opinions on deepening and strengthening the construction of basic levels of the agricultural technology extension system (2007)46and the Notice on the reform and improvement of the township agricultural extension services agencies (2010).47
The former ‘Opinions’ document is an understanding and interpretation of the previously mentioned State Council Proposal to deepen and strengthen the construction of basic levels of the agricultural technology extension system (2006) and is based on actual agricultural extension work in Hunan. The policy includes six major points: reform of Hunan’s grass-roots-level agricultural extension system; optimization of Hunan’s grass-roots-level agricultural technology extension team; make innovation
45The basic levels of the agricultural technology extension system have been set up
at the county level and the township level and are intended to facilitate farming, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry, agriculture machinery, water conservancy and other scientific research and practical technology services.
46
Announced by Hunan provincial government on 13 July 2007.
47
Announced by Provincial Department of Agriculture, Provincial Commission Office, Provincial Department of Finance, Provincial Human Resources and Social Security Department on 30 December 2010.
on the operation mechanism of Huna’s agricultural technology extension; increase efforts with regard to meeting the technology needs of farmers; promote the development of agricultural technology social service organizations; strengthen the management and organization of the basic level of the agricultural extension system.
The policy document Notice on the reform and improvement of the township agricultural extension services agencies (2010) was issued to accelerate institutional reform of township agricultural extension service agencies, further enhance the capacity of public services, and promote the development of modern agriculture and the construction of a new socialist countryside. According to Mr. Zeng Yang, the most important content of this policy relates to the public service functions of township agricultural extension agencies, specifically agricultural technology and machinery extension services, animal husbandry and fisheries technology extension services, and quality control of agricultural products.
In his interview, Mr. Zeng Yang he pointed out that his work is in accordance with the requirements of these policy documents. However, he also indicated that there are still some problems with respect to their implementation. For instance, he said, that, while, compared to other departments, the working and living standards of workers at the grass-roots level agricultural extension stations have been enhanced, they are still in a relatively low position. Another issue is the agricultural science and technology extension teams cannot satisfy the requirements of local farmers. This is due to the extension teams facing a serious ageing issue and also due to a lack of adequate back-up personnel.
Chapter Seven: Agricultural science & technology and education Article 48, The State Council and provincial governments should develop
agricultural science & technology and agricultural education development plan, in order to promote the whole country’s agricultural science & technology and education level.
County level governments and the governments that have levels above county level should gradually increase funding for agricultural science and technology, agricultural education in accordance with relevant state regulations.
The State government encourage enterprises and other social forces to increase investment in agricultural science and technology; moreover, the government should also encourage farmers, agricultural production and operation organizations, enterprises and institutions to organize agricultural science and technology, education events in accordance with law.
Article 49, The law protected the intellectual property rights of plant varieties,
geographical indications of agricultural products; the law encourage and guide the agricultural scientific research and educational institutions to strengthen basic research and applied research, to disseminate and popularize agricultural science and technology knowledge, in order to accelerate scientific and technological achievements transformation and industrialization, to promote agriculture scientific and technological progress.
The related departments of State Council should organize scientific problem tackling of major agricultural scientific and technological research. State government would take measures to promote international cooperation in agricultural science, technology, education; in addition, the government encourage the introduction of foreign advanced technology.
Article 50, the State support for agricultural technology extension, to promote the
establishment of an agricultural extension system that combined government support and market guidance, combined paid and unpaid services, combined national agricultural technology extension and social forces’ agricultural technology extension, to promote advanced agricultural technology to agricultural production.
Article 51, national agricultural extension agencies should depend on the
agricultural technology experimental demonstration bases, and also agricultural extension agencies should responsible for the extension and demonstration of key technologies, then provide free technical services for farmers and agricultural production and operation organizations.
County level governments and the governments that levels above county level should not only stabilize and strengthen the agricultural technology promotion team, but also make guarantee of the financial support for the agricultural extension agencies with accordance the local needs for the development of agricultural production.
Governments at all levels should take measures, in accordance with national regulations to protect and improve working conditions, wages, living conditions of professional and technical personnel in agricultural extension agencies, to encourage them to serve for agriculture.
agribusiness, mass organizations of science and technology, scientific and technical personnel should provide free services or paid services, which include technology transfer, technical services, technical contract , technical advice and technology shares, are all according to the needs of farmers and agricultural production and operation organizations.
Agricultural scientific research institutes, relevant schools, farmer cooperatives, agribusiness, mass organizations of science and related scientific and technological personnel should improve their service levels, to ensure the quality of services. For the agricultural enterprises that help organize agricultural services with relevant research institutes, schools, agricultural extension agencies, the State offer preferential tax and credit terms.
Article 53, the establishment of continuing education system of professional and
technical personnel. Agricultural administrative departments of county governments or governments above should make continuing educational plans and implementations for professional and technical personnel in conjunction with educational departments.
Article 54, to implement compulsory education in rural China according to
educational law, and the governments should guarantee funds for compulsory education. The salaries of staff in rural primary and secondary schools are paid by county governments in accordance with national regulations; the construction and maintenance of these schools’ expenses are arranged by county governments according to national regulations.
Article 55, the State should develop agricultural vocational education. The related
State Council departments carry out the classification of agricultural industry jobs, identification of vocational evaluation, the qualification of management of agriculture industry by provisions of the unified national vocational qualification certificates.
Article 56, States to take measures to encourage farmers to adopt advanced
agricultural technology, to support farmers organizing various scientific organizations, to carry out practical agricultural training, which include farmer Green Certification Training and other job training, to improve the cultural and technical quality of farmers.
Table 5-1, Contents of Chapter Seven of Agriculture Law of PRC (2013)48
2.3 The operational status of Hunan’s local level agricultural extension stations
Local level agricultural extension stations’ play a key role in China’s agricultural extension system. But the question arises, whether these stations are effective in terms of offering technologies and science to local farmers. Fieldwork was conducted in the Loudi region in Gaoguang village, Dongyuan village, Jinxing village, and Shilong village, to explore the function of township-level extension stations and elaborate their role within
48
Data resources: translated and processed within this study. [not sure what this means? Translated by author?]
the agricultural extension system in Hunan. The fieldwork in the four villages elicited 107 valid questionnaires. The sample distribution in these four villages can be seen in Table 5-2.
Content Frequency Perc ent Valid Percentage Cumulative Percentage Valid Gaoguang village 27 25,2 25,2 25,2 Jinxing village 25 23,4 23,4 48,6 Shilong village 33 30,8 30,8 79,4 Dongyuan village 22 20,6 20,6 100,0 Total 107 100,0 100,0
Table 5-2 Sample Distribution in four villages
Figure 5-3 below provides details of the main source of income for families in the Loudi region. The aforementioned village survey revealed that the main source of income for 42 households (39% of the 107 samples) is growing food. Thirty-five households recorded the income of migrant workers as their family’s main source of income. This equates to 33% of the 107 samples. Seventeen households reported having other main sources of income, i.e. having a store in the village, garbage collection, etc. This is a 16% share of the total 107 households. Eleven households (12%) earn their income from animal husbandry. We can conclude from these data that in these four rural villages, located in a major agricultural province, about half of the population earn their family income outside of agricultural production. Figure 5-4 shows the answer to the survey question ‘What do you think is the most important element in agricultural production?’ As the data shows, the most frequent answer selected from the options given was ‘implementation of agricultural science and technology’. This answer was chosen 66 times. This was followed by ‘the quality of seeds’ and ‘government subsidies’, which were selected 17 and 15, respectively. Three people chose the answer ‘I don’t know’. We can therefore deduce that the most important element in agricultural production in the four villages is agricultural science and technology.
The next question surveyed was ‘Are you aware of the agricultural technology extension office or station in town?’ According to Table 5-5, about 54.6% villagers know of the existence of the agricultural extension station at the township level, and 45.4% of the villagers were unaware of its presence. We can deduce, then, that more awareness is needed in these villages about the township level agricultural extension station or office.
Taking source data for both questions together, we can observe that the major farming households account for around for 51% of the village (this includes those families involved in growing food and those reliant on animal husbandry) and that 54.6% of the villagers are aware of the existence of township agricultural extension stations. From this comparison, we can also deduce that the majority of rural residents who depend on agricultural production for a living are concerned about the extension and implementation of agricultural science and technology.
Figure 5-4 Answers to the question,
‘what is the most important element in agricultural production?’
Table 5-5 Are you aware of the existence of an agricultural extension office or station in town?
Answers Frequency Percent Valid
Percentage
Cumulative Percentage
Valid I am aware of its existence. 53 49,5 54,6 54,6 I am unaware of it. 44 41,1 45,4 100,0 Total 97 90,7 100,0 Missing System 10 9,3 Total 107 100,0
The 54.6% who declared that they were aware of the extension stations were subsequently requested to answer four further questions: 1) ‘how did you learn of the agricultural extension station or office?’; 2) ‘what kind of technologies have you obtained from the extension station?’; 3) ‘in what ways do the workers of the extension stations deliver the agricultural technology or science?’; and 4) ‘are you satisfied with the work carried out by the agricultural extension station?’.
With regard to the first question, ‘How did you learn of the agricultural extension station or office?’: 24.7% answered that they had ‘heard from other villagers’; 32.5% answered that they had been ‘informed by villager leaders’; 24.7% said that ‘the agricultural extension officers often come to our village and that’s why I know them’; 5.2% said that they had heard about the station ‘from local TV channels or local newspapers’; and 13% answered that ‘I have no idea why I know about the extension station’.
In response to the second question, ‘What kind of technologies have you obtained from the extension station?’: 32.2% responded that they had received ‘planting technologies’; 8.1% said they had obtained ‘animal husbandry technologies’; 19.5% had obtained ‘both planting and animal husbandry technologies’; 2.3% said ‘other technologies (marketing, processing, etc.)’; and 37.9% responded that ‘I have not obtained any technologies from agricultural extension stations’.
With respect to the third question, ‘In what ways do the workers of the extension stations deliver the agricultural technology or science?’, the percentage of people who replied that ‘they give local farmers training courses’ was 25.3%; 39.8 % responded that ‘they give out newspapers or brochures on agricultural technologies and sciences’; 7.2% said that ‘when local residents have agricultural producing problems, the workers of agricultural extension stations will come to help them solving problems’; 1.2% gave an answer of ‘other ways’; and 26.5% responded ‘I don’t know’.
In response to the fourth question, ‘Are you satisfied with the work of the agricultural extension station?’, 8.1% said they were ‘very satisfied’; 47.7% said they were ‘satisfied’; 24.4% responded that ‘I cannot tell’; 14% were ‘unsatisfied’; and 5.8% answered that they were ‘very unsatisfied’.
Several conclusions can be drawn from the response to these four questions. Firstly, of the 54.6% of the local residents that know of the agricultural extension stations, 55.8% of them are satisfied or very satisfied
with the work of the extension station, about half of these residents are dissatisfied with the local extension officers’ work or do not have an opinion about it.
Secondly, only 24.7% of the residents questioned told that they had learned about the extension stations because the extension officers had visited their villages. In fact, most residents get to know about the extension office from village leaders or other villagers. From this, we can deduce that the extension station officers do not have great recognition in local villages. Thirdly, the majority of technology or expertise offered by extension stations to local residents is in the area of the agricultural production process. Almost nothing is offered in other areas like marketing or processing knowledge of agriculture development. Another factor that emerges from the results above is that extension stations use a variety of ways to deliver agricultural expertise.
3. Agricultural technology demonstration centres in Hunan
Since the 1990s, agricultural technology demonstration centres have been the new model for the development of modern agriculture in China since the 1990s. In 2000, the Central Rural Work Conference of the CPC confirmed the achievements of agricultural science and technology parks in various areas, and clearly indicated that all levels of government should step up the construction of agricultural science parks and develop supportive policies in this regard.49
In 2001, the National Conference of Agricultural Science and Technology also made the construction of agricultural science and technology centres and/or regions a major goal. This conference also formally incorporated such construction work into the central government’s ‘Outline for the Development of Agricultural Science and Technology (2001-2010)’.50
These centres or regions are designed to be a link between farmers and markets, a radiating source of modern agriculture, and a base for
49Fenghuang News, Development of National Agricultural Science and Technology Park, http://finance.ifeng.com/a/20131226/11343501_0.shtml, (Accessed on: 2016-4-21).
50
Outline for the Development of Agricultural Science and Technology (2001-2010), issued by State Council on 28 April 2001.
professional personnel training and technical training. The most important function of these centres is to upgrade and the agricultural industry and rural economic development in the surrounding area.
3.1 Three phases in the development process of Chinese agricultural technology demonstration centres
The period from 2001 to 2007 can be considered a pilot stage for the construction of national agricultural technology parks. During this phase, the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Water Resources, the State Forestry Administration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Agricultural Bank of China and other departments established an inter-ministerial coordination National Agricultural Technology Park Steering Group and the joint office of the National Agricultural Science & Technology Centres. These two administrative agencies issued the Agricultural Science and Technology Park Guide and Management (Trial) (2001).51 The first and second construction phases of the national agricultural technology parks were implemented in 2001 and 2003, respectively. In total, 36 national agricultural demonstration centres were built during this period.
From 2008 to 2011, there was a comprehensive promotion of national agricultural parks. The national agricultural parks have made great achievements in the integration of agricultural technology, scientific and technological transformations, modern agricultural production and the cultivation of new industries. In 2010 and 2011, construction of the third and the fourth batches of national agricultural demonstration centres started to construction. This marked a shift from the pilot stage of national agricultural technology parks to a phase of comprehensive promotion.
Since 2012 until now, the development of national agricultural demonstration zones has entered an innovation and development stage. Currently, 46 national agricultural technology centres have been approved. According to the National Agricultural Science and Technology Park ‘Twelfth Five Year Plan’, the Ministry of Science and Technology proposed a ‘one city, two zones and a hundred parks project’ (also referred to as the ‘one-two-one project’ ). This relates to the launch of the construction of the Beijing National Modern Agricultural Science and Technology City,
Yangling national agricultural high-tech demonstration zone, the Yellow River Delta national modern Agricultural Science and Technology demonstration zone, and a further 120 national agricultural technology demonstration parks or centres elsewhere in China. This action heralds a new stage in the development process of Chinese agricultural demonstration centres.
3.2 Categorization of agricultural demonstration centres
The agricultural demonstration centres have been categorized according to their major functions or administrative characteristics. There have been differing opinions about this classification of agricultural demonstration centres. Xu (2000) demonstrated that there are six major types of Chinese agricultural demonstration centre: national agricultural science and technology zones (funded by both the national and provincial government and operated by Ministry of Agriculture and local government agricultural departments); agricultural industrialization development zones (operated by the China Science and Technology Commission); sustainable and efficient agricultural technology demonstration zones (operated by the Ministry of Science and Technology); urban modern agriculture demonstration centres (operated primarily by local governments); local government-sponsored municipal agricultural science and technology parks; and privately owned agricultural science and technology parks. This is, indeed, a complex systems of classification.
Chen, Liu, Qu, et al. (2002) classified agricultural technology centres using four criteria. Firstly, they divided all the demonstration centres as follows: government-built; research institute-built; and enterprise-built centres. Secondly, because of the differences in the industrial characteristics of demonstration centres, they further classified them into: international market-leading centres; national-city market-leading centres; deep-processing centres; featured industrial centres; and comprehensive development centres. Thirdly, depending on the construction area and administrative level, they made all the demonstration centres national-, provincial-, municipal- or county- level centres. Fourthly, based on the technology content and technology-driven capacity, they sorted the demonstration centres into high-tech centres, technology development centres, scientific incubator centres, and technology extension centres. I consider this to be a more organized and logical classification.
In this study, the classification of demonstration centres is mainly based on the construction area and administrative levels, i.e. national-, provincial-, municipal-, and county-level centres. Moreover, the focus is primarily on national-level demonstration centres in China. Indeed, the two agricultural demonstration centres in Hunan province that were the subject of my fieldwork are both national level, but were established during different phases.
3.3 National agricultural demonstration centres in Hunan
Within the three batches of national agricultural demonstration centres that have been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, 15 are in Hunan province –two were approved in the first batch, four belong to the second batch, and nine centres are in the third batch. In terms of those centres that are featured in this study, the Changsha county modern agricultural demonstration centre was approved in the first batch and the Lianyuan County modern agricultural demonstration centre is from the list approved in the third batch.
Based on my interview with the Head of Changsha County Modern Agricultural Innovation Demonstration Centre Management Committee, Mr. Tu Yapeng, and the Head of Lianyuan Agriculture Bureau, Mr. Long Miaoan, the current status of the two demonstration centres is as follows:
1) Changsha county modern agricultural demonstration centre52
There are 1,752 square kilometres of land in Changsha County, and 0.853 million mu53 of arable land. In October 2008, Changsha County was approved by the Hunan government as a provincial modern innovation agricultural demonstration area or centre. Subsequently, in August 2010, Changsha County was included in the first batch of national modern agricultural demonstration centres approved by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Until August 2015, the Changsha County agricultural demonstration centre had 1.02 million mu of land dedicated to rice, 92,700 mu of land for tea, an area of 0.109 million mu for vegetables (edible mushrooms) and
52
Details about the introduction and current status of the demonstration centre is based on an interview with Mr. Long Miaoan.
53
Mu, the Chinese system of weights and measures, one mu equals 6.6666667 acres.
0.103 million mu for the planting of seasonal fruits. Moreover, the demonstration centre features 254 large-scale agricultural enterprises, including a national leading enterprise54 and 15 leading provincial enterprises.55 Within Changsha County, there are more than 1,300 cooperatives, 200 family farms, and 3,300 large farming households. Additionally, about 0.426 million mu lands have been transferred, of which 0.299 million mu are cultivated land. The country also has 0.44 million mu of agricultural land with pollution-free certification and 37,774 mu with green product certification.56
Case one: Liuji Ornamental Fish Industry Park (Liuji Modern Agriculture Science and Technology Co., Ltd): Based on an interview with Mr. Liu Guojun, legal representative of the company
Liuji Modern Agriculture Science and Technology Co., Ltd was founded on 14 October 2011. Its main focus is the sale of ornamental fish, and this business is supplemented by the sale of ornamental fish food, aquarium equipment, pond landscape design and construction, and customer service. The company is based in the Liuji Ornamental Fish Industry Park, which has a total of 310 mu planned land and the whole project in Changfeng village, Huanghua Township, Changsha County is scheduled to be finished in three phases. The completion of the first phase at the end of 2012 means that, currently, the industrial park has 211 mu of operational land.
The planning map below (Figure 5-6), shows the seven major zones of the Liuji Ornamental Fish Industry Park: a commercial centre and reception; a leisure and health resort zone; an ornamental fish creative industry zone; an ecological ingredients planting area; a folk customs experience zone; and a stereoscopic breeding base. According to Mr. Liu, the ornamental fish creative industry zone forms the basis of the whole park; the other six zones are supplementary industrial zones. In 2014, the company’s output value was
54Leading national agriculture enterprises are selected by the Ministry of
Agriculture based on their production, processing, distribution scale, annual transactions on the agricultural products wholesale market, product competitiveness, driving ability of the company, etc.
55
Hunan’s leading provincial agricultural enterprises are selected by the provincial government according to the indicators mentioned in footnote 7.
56
Both pollution-free certification and green product certification are authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture.
more than six million yuan. According to Mr. Liu, the lower-grade categories of fish have a profit point of 18%, the middle-grade fish have a profit point of 40%, and the categories of high-grade fish have a profit point of 200%. Currently, the low-grade and middle-grade fish occupy the largest share of the market.
Mr. Liu explained that the fish business started fifteen years ago and started from his interest in breeding ornamental fish. Initially, he taught himself about the technology of raising ornamental fish and sold his fishes in the local city market. In this way, he developed a successful family business. Later, his breeding centre for the ornamental fish was renamed several times. It was called: the Healthy Aquaculture Demonstration Farm (Ministry of Agriculture); Provincial Aquatic Breeding Farm (Hunan Provincial Animal Husbandry and Fishery Bureau); Science and Technology Demonstration Household (Hunan Science and Technology Association); Three Star Leisure Agriculture Manor (Hunan Science and Technology Association); and the Changsha Municipal Characteristic Industrial Demonstration Base (Changsha Municipal Science and Technology Association). Moreover, the fish park is now an educational base for Hunan Agricultural University.
The Liuji Ornamental Fish Industry Park plays a key role in Changfeng Village. The 211 mu of land used for the industry park was collected by transferring land-use rights from local farmers. The current contracts with these local farmers last until 2026. The price for the arable land 57is 900 yuan per year and the price for mountain land is 500 yuan per year; every five years the rent increases 10%. Because the Chinese rural land transfer policy is still under construction, Mr. Liu indicated that he is not sure whether the policy will allow him to rent the land after 2026, but he is quite optimistic.
Another important function of the Liuji industry park is the establishment of an ornamental fish breeding cooperative in Changfeng Village. This cooperative was initiated by Mr. Liu Guojun and, so far, about 40 local farmers have participated. Figure 5-7 shows the process of running the cooperative. Initially, Liuji Industry Park will offer free fry (young fish) , fodder and professional training courses for the farmers who join the cooperative. Then, the involved farmers will breed the fish in their own household ponds. Later, once the fish have reached maturity, they can be
sold. The Liuji Industry Park will buy the fish from the farmers and give the farmers money for raising the fish. In this model, the local farmers do not have any risk, since they are only offering their ponds as space to grow the young fish.
In addition, Liuji Industry Park also provides local farmers with job opportunities. The park has hired 23 local farmers as permanent employees in the park. There are currently around 15 temporary jobs for local farmers in the park. Mr. Liu claimed that they had spent 1.3 million yuan on workers’ salaries in 2014. Thus, the increasing role played by Liuji Park in the village and in terms of local residents’ income is clear.
Figure 5-7 The operating process of the ornamental fish breeding cooperative58
Nevertheless, there are several issues that worry Mr. Liu in terms of the future development of the industrial park. Firstly, there is an urgent need for financial support to expand the park. Secondly, as previously mentioned, the current contracts with local farmers run until 2026; there is some confusion about what the future policy on transferring land is. Thirdly, given the rapid development of the company and the park, there is an urgent need for personnel with various skills, but the rural location of the park makes its hard to find the necessary talented people. Consequently, Mr. Liu indicated that for the next five years he will concentrate on solving these problems. He expects the construction of the industrial park to be finished by 2020. 2) Lianyuan County modern agricultural demonstration centre59
The Lianyuan County modern agricultural demonstration centre was selected by the Ministry of Agriculture as part of the third batch of national modern agricultural demonstration centres revealed in 2015. There are 907 administrative villages in Lianyuan County and it covers a total of 1,912 square kilometres. Its rural population is 1.06 million. Lianyuan is a major agricultural county and a centre of advanced food production in Hunan. It is an important base for production of national commodity grain, vegetables, and live pigs.
The theme of the Lianyuan agricultural demonstration centre is ‘efficient agriculture, characteristic agriculture, ecological agriculture, three industries integration’. There are four pillar industries: grain; livestock; vegetables; and herbs. In 2015, the county achieved a GDP of 24.05 billion yuan, 4.93 billion yuan of which was the output value of the primary industry. The secondary industry had an output value of 11.03 billion yuan, and the tertiary industry had an output value of 8.08 billion yuan. Rural residents’ per capita disposable income in 2015 was 7,401 yuan per year.
The main goal of the demonstration centre is to cultivate new agricultural products and accelerate the pace of modern agricultural development. During the centre’s first season in 2015, the whole county had 270 agricultural product processing enterprises, 11 leisure farms, and 909 large-scale grain producing households, with every household having more
59
The information about the introduction and current status of the demonstration centre originates from both face-to-face and telephone interviews with Mr. Tu Yapeng.
than 30 mu land for grain production. The agricultural training system, which operates at the county-, township- and village level has been working successfully since 2015. Indeed, 280 technical training courses on early rice seeding and other subjects have been held since this time and more than 23,500 people have participated in these courses. Additionally, there have been several centralized technical guidance and training sessions for the 720 science and technology demonstration households.
Case two: River Bridge Planting Professional Cooperative Vegetable Base: Based on interviews with Mr. Wang Jianlang, the manager of the vegetable base
The River Bridge Planting Professional Cooperative Vegetable Base was invested in and constructed by the Hunan Xiaolaoye Food Co., Ltd in 2012. It is located in among others, Houwan village, Jietou village and the River bridge township in Lianyuan County (Figure 5-8). Hunan Xiaolaoye Food Co., Ltd was established in 2005 and their main business is the cultivation, processing and marketing of vegetables. According to Mr. Wang, their vegetable base is a development model of ‘enterprise + base + farmers’.
At present, the vegetable base has about 400 workers and more than 4500 mu of land. All of this 4500 mu was gained from transferring land-use rights from local farmers. For instance, in 2013, 400 mu land was transferred using rights from Jietou village; in 2014, 1000 mu land was transferred using rights from Houwan village. The current rent is 500 yuan per mu, per year. In 2014, the money spent on paying for transferred lands amounted to more than 2.2 million yuan; the money spent on salaries for workers at the vegetable base is more than 4 million yuan.
Figure 5-8 shows the major functional zones in the vegetable base: the conventional varieties planting zone; the new varieties demonstration area; nursery areas, the vegetables for Hong Kong planting zone; and the office and cold storage area. By 2014, there were 102 vegetable greenhouses and a smart thermostat shed at the vegetable base. The company has invested 4.5 million yuan to complete the construction of 1,200 mu of water-saving irrigation facilities, and Mr. Wang emphasized that these facilities have played an important role in easing the harsh situation and ameliorating the losses caused by last year’s drought.
Mr. Wang indicated that the vegetable base has an important demonstration role in the local area. If the local farmers remain committed, the vegetable base and cooperative will expand considerably in the coming decade. The cooperative invites agricultural technology experts from diverse research institutes or universities to provide professional training to the farmers that participate in the cooperative regularly. In 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture named the River Bridge Vegetable Base as an agricultural extension demonstration household for hilly area in China; the base was also named as a provincial science and technology demonstration household. In 2013, the base was identified by the Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Department as having the requisite characteristics of a provincial rural industrial technology demonstration base. Also in 2013, the base was inspected and approved by the Ministry of Agriculture for National horticultural crops standard garden construction.60
Mr. Wang not only mentioned the achievements of the vegetable base, but also spoke of the issues that existed in the operation of the vegetable base and the plans for its future. According to Mr. Wang, the local market is still the major outlet for the base; however, as the base expands, it will be important to enlarge the market to the whole of China and even internationally. There are also financial issues that need to be resolved if such a large-scale expansion is to be achieved.
In terms of future plans, Mr. Wang pointed out that the whole base is going to be built as 5000 mu of high standard pollution-free vegetable demonstration garden and the construction of the entire 0.2 million mu of land as a pollution-free vegetable production base will make it a leader in the Loudi region. There is also a plan to implement a vegetable export-led strategy, which will involve the establishment of 3,000 mu bases with an annual output of 15,000 tons of vegetables for export.
Figure 5-8: the functional zones in river bridge vegetable base61
4. Research analysis
4.1 The factors influencing Hunan’s administrative agricultural extension system
Several factors play an influential role in the administrative agricultural extension system of Hunan. Based on the illustrations and analysis above, this study concludes that there are three core elements that have an impact on the administrative agricultural extension system of Hunan.
First, the most important influencing factor is the government policies on agricultural extension and administrative agencies. These policies originate as the national level (laws and policies), the provincial level (administrative policies or regulations issued by provincial government departments); and the municipal and county level (local policies or regulations based on national and provincial level documents). These policies have a direct influence on the administrative extension system of Hunan insofar as they provide the basic rules for the operation of the extension agencies.
61
Data resource: translated from the original map of River Bridge vegetable base with the interview with Mr. Wang and showed by him.
Second, a lack of farmers working the farm lands has affected the operation of the agricultural administrative extension system. Currently, because of the increasing out-going city workers from rural areas, in accordance with the field investigation in Hunan, there is a correlation between influencing force of extension agencies with local residents. This is due to the fact that young city workers have no need for agricultural technology and do not care about the work of local extension agencies. Indeed, my fieldwork revealed that many young rural residents did not know of the existence of extension officers..
Third, the limits on the knowledge of and technology available to workers in the local extension agencies has a negative impact on those local farmers who are keen to acquire agricultural technologies and science. This is an issue that both agricultural department officers and local farmers agree on. Moreover, based on the interviews in the field, the situation is exacerbated by the relatively low salaries and poor working conditions at local extension agencies, which are unable to attract the necessary skilled personnel.
4.2 Value chain and farmer participation perspective analysis on agricultural extension affairs and development in Hunan
This section, based on the value chain theory and farmer participation theory, analyses the reasons why the administrative extension system is in decline and the demonstration centres are rising.
Haggblade and Therault (2012) think that value chains not only offer a valuable visual framework with respect to input suppliers, processors, dealers and consumers, but also provide analytical instruments for recognizing profitable income-earning chances in the rural development area for people living below the poverty line.
Additionally, in this study, agricultural value chain is defined as a chain that consists of agricultural production, processing, packaging, transportation and marketing. The ultimate goal in analysing a value chain is to meet consumers’ demands, so as to maximize the value. In a specific agricultural project, the value chain must include all the stakeholders’ opinions and needs, but the needs of the farmers should be paramount.
Figure 2-3 (Chapter 2) details the process of the agricultural value chain approach and, according to the contents of this figure, the Hunan case study can be analysis as follows:
There are four main steps in this analysis: agricultural value chain analysis; agricultural value chain interventions; agricultural value chain development; and implementation of the project. The main goal of the first step is to identify all the elements of the agricultural value chain. In the Hunan case, the agricultural demonstration centre has all the requisite features: agricultural production, processing, packaging and marketing have all been taken over by the local farmers’ cooperatives.
For instance, in the Liuji Ornamental Fish Industry Park, the local farmers’ cooperatives are cultivating ornamental fish. According to the Liuji company, all the elements of the value chain are being taken seriously. The next step is about agricultural value chain interventions, this includes government macro-control and policy formulation and implementation, which embodies the governmental financial and technical support for the farmers cooperatives in the demonstration centres in Hunan.
The third step in the agricultural value chain development is the improvement and adjustment of its elements. In the Hunan case, the companies in the demonstration centres have been through several improvements and adjustments in relation to their markets and meeting the changing demands of customers.
The final step is the implementation of the project and taking into consideration every element in an agricultural value chain with the aim of adding value. In the Hunan case, this is demonstrated by the farmers’ participation in the operation of cooperatives. This also provides a platform for farmers to feel positive about producing agricultural products and learning about relevant technologies.
This analysis suggests that the agricultural demonstration centre is an appropriate model for Chinese agricultural development, increasing farmers’ income gaining, and for achieving the ultimate goal of Chinese rural development. The agricultural value chain approach shows that farmer participation is of great importance for the whole value adding system within the value chain.
However, the current administrative agricultural extension system only offers basic technologies and expertise to local farmers in the production
phase of the whole agricultural value chain. A lack of knowledge in other parts of the value chain leads to problems in the traditional administrative extension system in agricultural development.
On the other side, the cooperatives in the demonstration centres are operated by large-scale agricultural enterprises. These enterprises are not only involved with primary, but also put much effort into the processing and marketing parts of the value chain, which are the most profitable phases in the agricultural value chain. Local farmers can absorb all kinds of knowledge while participating in the cooperatives and they can also earn an income; therefore, it is not hard to conclude that the demonstration centres are more likely to deliver better options for local farmers than administrative extension agencies.
According to Chapters two and four, the farmer participation perspective is useful in agricultural development. Vermillion and Sagardoy (1999) think that participation focuses on the question ‘Who is best suited to implementing which management functions?’ Based on the field investigation in Hunan, the comparative operations of traditional administrative agricultural extension system and agricultural demonstration centres can be analysed as follows using farmer participation theory:
In the traditional administrative extension system, because of the limited knowledge of workers in the local level agencies, it is hard for farmers to actually participate in the operation of the system, and even if they do participate in the system, the necessary technologies are not available and it is difficult for them to make a profit.
In the demonstration centres, the enterprises and cooperatives are willing to absorb the needs and inspiration of local farmers, who participate fully in the diverse agricultural development activities. More importantly, farmers can earn much more money, which, in turn, increases their incentive to participate.
4.3 The role of agricultural demonstration centres in Hunan’s agricultural extension affairs
Beside the administrative system of agricultural technology extension, the various agricultural demonstration centres play an important role in both agricultural technology extension and agricultural development, especially at the national level. As the operations at the Changsha county national
agricultural demonstration centre and the Lianyuan county national agricultural demonstration centre show, they have had a positive influence on local agriculture in at least the following two aspects:
On one hand, these national demonstration centres generally consist of large-scale agribusinesses, enterprises mostly developed by local farmers. And, thanks to their operation and management, the local agricultural economy is growing. This is also because these companies need to hire employees to work in them and local rural residents are the first to benefit from this employment.
On the other hand, the majority agribusinesses of these demonstration centres follow a model of ‘enterprise + base + farmers’. Numerous agricultural cooperatives are being set up in this model and an increasing number of rural residents are participating in these cooperatives. The new agricultural sciences and technologies are applied to the production of these agribusinesses and cooperatives. From the case studies, it can be seen that agricultural demonstration centres are playing a more effective role in agricultural technology extension than traditional administrative extension agencies. Additionally, given the profitability of this model, the new technologies are more popular with local residents and agribusiness when it comes to effective agricultural development.
Hence, the role of the agricultural demonstration centres in Hunan can be seen as complementary to the traditional administrative agricultural extension system. In future, we may even see the demonstration centre model replace the current extension system as technology extension is one major function that already covered by the demonstration operative system and are positive effectively influence the agricultural economy.
Consequently, with the discussion based on both value chain and farmer participation perspectives in part 4.2, the traditional administrative extension system is not implemented well in the current period compared to national demonstration centres. With the hardly solved issues existed in the administrative extension system while demonstration centres seem to have more proper solutions, in Hunan, agricultural demonstration centres are a better option in agricultural technology and science extension.
