The Transformation of China’s Agriculture System and its Impact on Southeast Asia

• Main Authors: LUO, Phoebe Mingxuan, DONALDSON, John A., ZHANG, Qian Forrest
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2011
• Subjects: China; Southeast Asia; agriculture; land; Agribusiness; Asian Studies; Rural Sociology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1087; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/2343/viewcontent/IJCS_V2N2_final_luodonaldsonzhang_agriculture.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The increased role for agribusiness and larger scale production in China’s agricultural system is limited by China’s severe lack of arable land. The Household Responsibility System provides farmers a measure of power, hampering agribusiness from acquiring land needed for expansion. Some Chinese companies have sought cheaper and often more accessible land in nearby regions, including Southeast Asia. While such investments have the potential to deliver benefits, including increased productivity, structural constraints such as weak land ownership and environmental laws, highly unequal distribution of land and underdevelopment of peasant organizations prevent many poorer farmers from benefiting from these investments.