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Land Transfer and the Pursuit of Agricultural Modernization in C hina
Author(s) -
Ye Jingzhong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of agrarian change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.63
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1471-0366
pISSN - 1471-0358
DOI - 10.1111/joac.12117
Subject(s) - modernization theory , arable land , peasant , agriculture , livelihood , agricultural land , state (computer science) , order (exchange) , government (linguistics) , economic growth , population , natural resource economics , business , economics , agricultural economics , economic system , geography , sociology , finance , archaeology , linguistics , philosophy , demography , algorithm , computer science
Agriculture, countryside and peasantry have been priority concerns of the C hinese government, with land and agriculture being the most crucial. With a growing population, less arable land and often relatively low‐quality land, C hinese peasant agriculture has been undergoing a form of modernization. While peasants enjoy land‐contract rights as a result of the H ousehold R esponsibility S ystem ( HRS ), the state has been promoting transfer of land‐use rights in order to promote modern agriculture. This paper seeks to understand recent developments in land and agriculture, particularly exploring the transitions of land and agricultural institutions since 1949 and land transfers since the HRS . In so doing, this paper reveals that the state has been strategically responding to various challenges in order that land institutions and policies are always geared to achieving agricultural modernization. During the state's continual drive for modernizations, particularly agricultural modernization, peasants' livelihood is impacted and needs to be protected.