China Agriculture

In 1952, gradually consolidating its power following the civil war, the
government began organizing the peasants into teams. Three years later,
these teams were combined into producer cooperatives, enacting
the socialist goal of collective land ownership. In the following year, 1956,
the government formally took control of the land, further structuring the
farmland into large government-operated collective farms.

In the 1958 "Great Leap Forward" campaign initiated by Chairman of the

Chinese Communist Party Mao Zedong, land use was placed under closer
government control in an effort to improve agricultural output. In
particular, the Four Pests campaign and mass eradication of sparrows had a
direct negative impact on agriculture. Collectives were organized
into communes, private food production was banned, and collective eating
was required. Greater emphasis was also put on industrialization instead
of agriculture.
______
Note: Commune - (The people's commune was the highest of three administrative levels in rural areas of the
People's Republic of China during the period from 1958 to 1983, until they were replaced by townships.
Communes, the largest collective units, were divided in turn into production brigades and)
 The farming inefficiencies created by this campaign led to the Great
Chinese Famine, resulting in the deaths of somewhere between the
government estimate of 14 million to scholarly estimates of 20 to 43
million.

Beginning in 1978, as part of the Four Modernizations campaign, the

Family Production Responsibility System was created, dismantling
communes and giving agricultural production responsibility back to
individual households. Households are now given crop quotas that
they were required to provide to their collective unit in return for
tools, draft animals, seeds, and other essentials. Households, which
now lease land from their collectives, are free to use their farmland
however they see fit as long as they meet these quotas. This freedom
has given more power to individual families to meet their individual
needs. In addition to these structural changes, the Chinese
government also engages in irrigation projects.
By 1984, when about 99% of farm production teams had adopted the
Family Production Responsibility System, the government began further
economic reforms, aimed primarily at liberalizing agricultural pricing
and marketing. In 1984, the government replaced mandatory
procurement with voluntary contracts between farmers and the
government. Later, in 1993, the government abolished the 40-year-old
grain rationing system, leading to more than 90 percent of all annual
agricultural produce to be sold at market-determined prices.

Since 1994, the government has instituted a number of policy changes

aimed at limiting grain importation and increasing economic stability.
Among these policy changes was the artificial increase of grain prices
above market levels. This has led to increased grain production, while
placing the heavy burden of maintaining these prices on the
government.
As China continues to industrialize, vast swaths of agricultural land is
being converted into industrial land. Farmers displaced by such urban
expansion often become migrant labor for factories, but other farmers feel
disenfranchised and cheated by the encroachment of industry and the
growing disparity between urban and rural wealth and income

The most recent innovation in Chinese agriculture is a push into organic

agriculture. This rapid embrace of organic farming simultaneously serves
multiple purposes, including food safety, health benefits, export
opportunities, and, by providing price premiums for the produce of rural
communities, the adoption of organics can help stem the migration of rural
workers to the cities.
In 2018:
It was the 2nd largest producer of maize (257.1 million tons), second only to the USA;
It was the largest producer of rice (212.1 million tons);
It was the largest producer of wheat (131.4 million tons);
It was the 3rd largest producer of sugarcane (108 million tons), second only to Brazil
and India;
It was the largest producer of potato (90.2 million tons);
It was the largest producer of watermelon (62.8 million tons);
It was the largest producer of tomatoes (61.5 million tons);
It was the largest producer of cucumber / pickles (56.2 million tons);
It was the largest producer of sweet potato (53.0 million tons);
It was the largest producer of apple (39.2 million tons);
It was the largest producer of eggplant (34.1 million tons);
It was the largest producer of cabbage (33.1 million tons);
It was the largest producer of onion (24.7 million tons);
It was the largest producer of spinach (23.8 million tons);
It was the largest producer of garlic (22.2 million tons);
It was the largest producer of green bean (19.9 million tons);
It was the largest producer of tangerine (19.0 million tons);
It was the largest producer of carrots (17.9 million tons);
It was the 3rd largest producer of cotton (17.7 million tons), second only to India and
the USA;
It was the largest producer of peanut (17.3 million tons);
It was the largest producer of pear (16.0 million tons);
It was the 4th largest producer of soy (14.1 million tons), losing to the US, Brazil
and Argentina;
It was the largest producer of grape (13.3 million tons);
It was the 2nd largest producer of rapeseed (13.2 million tons), second only to
Canada;
It was the largest producer of pea (12.9 million tons);
It was the largest producer of melon (12.7 million tons);
It was the 8th largest producer of sugar beet (12 million tons), which serves to
produce sugar and ethanol;
It was the 2nd largest producer of banana (11.2 million tons), second only to
India;
It was the largest producer of cauliflower and broccoli (10.6 million tons);
It was the 2nd largest producer of orange (9.1 million tons), second only to Brazil;
It was the largest producer of pumpkin (8.1 million tons);
It was the largest producer of asparagus (7.9 million tons);
It was the largest producer of plum (6.7 million tons);
It was the largest producer of mushroom and truffle (6.6 million tons);
It was the largest producer of grapefruit (4.9 million tons);
It was the 15th largest producer of cassava (4.9 million tons);
It was the 2nd largest producer of mango (including mangosteen and guava) (4.8 million tons),
second only to India;
It was the largest producer of persimmon (3.0 million tons);
It was the largest producer of strawberry (2.9 million tons);
It was the largest producer of tea (2.6 million tons);
It produced 2.5 million tons of sunflower seed;
It was the 3rd largest producer of lemon (2.4 million tons), second only to India and Mexico;
It was the largest producer of tobacco (2.2 million tons);
It was the 8th largest producer of sorghum (2.1 million tons);
It was the largest producer of kiwi (2.0 million tons);
It was the largest producer of chestnut (1.9 million tons);
It produced 1.9 million tons of taro;
It produced 1.8 million tons of fava beans;
It was the 3rd largest producer of millet (1.5 million tons), second only to India and Niger;
It was the 8th largest producer of pineapple (1.5 million tons);
It produced 1.4 million tons of barley;
It was the largest producer of buckwheat (1.1 million tons);
It was the 6th largest producer of oats (1 million tons);
It was the 4th largest producer of rye (1 million tons), second only to Germany, Poland and
Russia;
It produced 1 million tons of tallow tree;
In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products.
• China's trade pattern in agricultural commodities follows its comparative
advantage: it tends to import land-intensive commodities (soybeans, cotton,
barley, rubber, and oils made from soybeans and palm kernels), and it
exports labor-intensive commodities (fish, fruits, vegetables, and processed
agricultural goods).

• China is the world's largest importer of soybeans and meat, and is among
the leading importers of dairy, wine, and other food products and
beverages. In terms of service trade, travel and transportation-related
service imports took up the largest share of all service imports in China.

• China's demand for soybeans has skyrocketed in recent years, in large part
because the crop is an important source of animal feed for livestock. From
2000 to 2018, Chinese soybean imports grew from $2.3 billion to nearly $38.1
billion, leaving China as the world's largest importer of the legume, by a
wide margin.