Sustainable Agriculture in China
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Multiple pathways: case studies of sustainable agriculture in China Edited by Seth Cook and Lila Buckley Contributing authors: Qiao Yuhui, Qi Gubo, Seth Cook, Lila Buckley, Song Yiching, Zhang Yanyan, Zhang Li, He Xueqing, Friederike Martin, Yue Shizhong and Wang Zhen Multiple pathways: case studies of sustainable agriculture in China Edited by Seth Cook and Lila Buckley Contributing authors: Qiao Yuhui, Qi Gubo, Seth Cook, Lila Buckley, Song Yiching, Zhang Yanyan, Zhang Li, He Xueqing, Friederike Martin, Yue Shizhong and Wang Zhen About the editors Lila Buckley, senior researcher, China Team, Natural Resources Group, IIED. See www.iied.org/users/lila-buckley Seth Cook, senior researcher, China Team, Natural Resources Group, IIED. See www.iied.org/users/seth-cook Produced by IIED’s Natural Resources Group The aim of the Natural Resources Group is to build partnerships, capacity and wise decision-making for fair and sustainable use of natural resources. Our priority in pursuing this purpose is on local control and management of natural resources and other ecosystems. Published by IIED, 2015 Cook, S. and Buckley, L. (eds.) (2015) Multiple pathways: case studies of sustainable agriculture in China. IIED, London. See: http://pubs.iied.org/17579IIED Typesetting by: Judith Fisher, email: [email protected] Copyediting by: Fiona Hinchliffe, email: [email protected] and Mary Buckley, email: [email protected] Cover photo: Harvesting vegetables in Shanggula village © Simon Lim Printed by Full Spectrum Print Media, UK on 100% recycled paper using vegetable oil-based ink. International Institute for Environment and Development 80-86 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8NH, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 3463 7399 Fax: +44 (0)20 3514 9055 email: [email protected] www.iied.org @iied www.facebook.com/theIIED Download more publications at www.iied.org/pubs contents Contents List of tables, figures and boxes vii Acronyms, abbreviations and terms ix Acknowledgments xi 1 Back to its roots: sustainable agriculture in China 1 1.1 What does sustainable agriculture in China look like? 2 1.2 This study: aims and approach 8 2 Ecological agriculture in Henan province: a portrait of Nanmazhuang village 15 2.1 Background and characteristics of the case study area 15 2.2 Ecological sustainability 20 2.3 Economic sustainability 23 2.4 Social sustainability 26 2.5 The role of government 28 2.6 Motivation for ecological agriculture 30 2.7 Challenges faced 32 2.8 Conclusions 34 3 The development of organic agriculture in Wanzai county, Jiangxi province 39 3.1 Background and characteristics of the case study area 39 3.2 Ecological sustainability 48 3.3 Economic sustainability 51 3.4 Social sustainability 56 3.5 The role of government 58 3.6 Motivation for adopting organic agriculture 60 3.7 Challenges faced 61 3.8 Conclusions 63 www.iied.org iii Multiple pathways: case studies of sustainable agriculture in China 4 Linking rural farmer cooperatives with urban restaurants in Guangxi 67 4.1 Background and characteristics of the case study area 67 4.2 Ecological sustainability 71 4.3 Economic sustainability 72 4.4 Social sustainability 77 4.5 The role of government 78 4.6 Motivation for Community Supported Agriculture 78 4.7 Challenges faced 79 4.8 Conclusions 80 5 Food, farmers and community: a case study of Shared Harvest CSA 83 5.1 Background and characteristics of the case study area 84 5.2 Ecological sustainability 86 5.3 Economic sustainability 89 5.4 Social sustainability 93 5.5 The role of government 94 5.6 Motivation for Community Supported Agriculture 95 5.7 Challenges faced 97 5.8 Conclusions 100 6 Two case studies of sustainable agriculture in Huantai county, Shandong province 103 6.1 Agricultural development in Huantai county, Shandong province 103 6.2 Case study 1: Bishi Ecological Farm 107 6.3 Case study 2: Xincheng Chinese Yam Cooperative 116 6.4 Conclusions 126 7 Sustaining green farming systems: experience from Zengjipan village, Ningxia 131 7.1 Background and characteristics of the case study area 131 7.2 Ecological sustainability 137 7.3 Economic sustainability 139 7.4 Social sustainability 144 7.5 The role of government 144 7.6 Motivation for green agriculture 146 7.7 Challenges 146 7.8 Conclusions 147 iv www.iied.org Contents 8 Agricultural sustainability embedded in villagers’ livelihood strategies: a case study of Shuanghe village 153 8.1 Background and characteristics of the case study area 153 8.2 Ecological sustainability 161 8.3 Economic sustainability 164 8.4 Social sustainability 165 8.5 The role of government 167 8.6 Motivation for ecological agriculture 168 8.7 Challenges faced 170 8.8 Conclusions 173 9 Towards a viable and sustainable Chinese agriculture: lessons and policy recommendations 179 9.1 Lessons 181 9.2 Policy recommendations 188 References 193 www.iied.org v List of tables, figures and boxes Table 1.1 Organic, green food and hazard-free production standards compared 4 Table 1.2 Summary of the case studies 11 Table 2.1 Profits from hazard-free rice versus off-farm work over four months in 2013 (yuan) 24 Table 2.2 Net profits of Happy Pig production compared to conventional pigs, 2013 (yuan per pig) 24 Table 2.3 Training received by members of Nanmazhuang Cooperative 26 Table 2.4 Key Henan province policy documents on sustainable agriculture 29 Table 3.1 Farmers interviewed in Wanzai county during the field survey, 2014 42 Table 3.2 The main companies engaged in organic production, processing and trade in Wanzai county 47 Table 3.3 Use of agroecological practices in organic and conventional households in Wanzai county (average per household) 49 Table 3.4 Rice yields of different farmer groups during the field survey, 2014 52 Table 3.5 Net economic value of rice per land unit (yuan/mu) 52 Table 3.6 Profitability of rice on an annual basis (per unit of land area and per household) 53 Table 3.7 Average annual income sources compared, 2014 (yuan/household) 54 Table 4.1 Demographic and agricultural trends in Shanggula village 68 Table 4.2 Eco-vegetable production and marketing in Shanggula village 74 Table 4.3 Pig farming and marketing in Shanggula village 75 Table 4.4 Rongyan Cooperative CSA production, income and marketing, 2014 76 Table 5.1 Shared Harvest organic and conventional yields compared 89 Table 6.1 Nutrient inputs, outputs and budget of yam grown by Xincheng Cooperative (kg/yr) 119 Table 7.1 Crops planted in Zengjipan village, 2013 133 Table 7.2 Animal husbandry in Zengjipan village 134 Table 7.3 Annual income and expenses for Zhanying’s family, 2013 140 Table 7.4 Annual income and expenses of Fengshan’s family, 2013 143 Table 8.1 Crops and livestock in Shuanghe village, 2013 156 Table 8.2 Technologies and methods used by villagers in production and daily life 163 Table 8.3 Profits from ecological versus non-ecological rice production, 2013 164 www.iied.org vii Figure 2.1 Resource mapping of Nanmazhuang village, done by Mr. Fan on 17 July 2014 16 Figure 2.2 Circular agriculture in Nanmazhuang village 21 Figure 2.3 Key external actors and their role in ecological agriculture in Nanmazhuang 31 Figure 3.1 The case study area 40 Figure 3.2 Use of agroecological practices by small-scale and large-scale organic farmers (% of farmers) 51 Figure 6.1 Map of Huantai county, Shandong province, China 104 Figure 6.2 Diagram of ‘pig, biogas and vegetable’ 3-in-1 ecological greenhouse 109 Figure 6.3 Annual nutrient cycling at Bishi Ecological Farm (kg) 111 Figure 6.4 Distribution of input costs for Chinese yam production 120 Figure 7.1 Zengjipan’s circular farming system 136 Figure 7.2 The geographical logo for ‘Yanchi Tang Yang’ 137 Figure 7.3 Factors influencing the sustainability of green agriculture in Zengjipan 138 Box 1.1 Defining sustainable agriculture in this study 9 Box 2.1 Methodology 15 Box 2.2 The effects of ecological farming from a woman’s perspective 27 Box 4.1 Participatory Plant Breeding in Guangxi 71 Box 4.2 Farmers’ Friends: linking producers and consumers 78 Box 5.1 Beyond organic certification… 88 Box 6.1 Biogas: central to circular farming systems 106 Box 6.2 Are land transfers socially sustainable? 113 Box 6.3 Ecological farms in Huantai county 114 Box 7.1 Livelihoods in Zengjipan Village 137 Box 7.2 The contribution of green farming to livelihoods: a small farm case study 140 Box 7.3 The contribution of green farming to livelihoods: a large farm case study 142 Box 8.1 Research methods 154 Box 8.2 Villager innovations for ecological farming 162 Box 8.3 Farmers’ stories 165 viii www.iied.org Acronyms, abbreviations and terms CAU Chinese Agricultural University CCAP Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy CEA Chinese Ecological Agriculture CNCA Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China CSA Community Supported Agriculture GMO Genetically modified organism CGFDC China Green Food Development Center Ha Hectare IPM Integrated pest management K Potassium MOA Ministry of Agriculture Mu Traditional Chinese term for land area, equal to 1/15 of a hectare N Nitrogen NGO Non-governmental organisations P Phosphorous PAR Participatory action research PGS Participatory guarantee systems PPB Participatory Plant Breeding SAAS Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences SRI System of rice intensification T tonne Yuan Unit of Chinese currency; equivalent to RMB or CNY www.iied.org ix Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to Barbara Adolph and Bill Vorley, who helped to shape the methodology and overall direction of this research, as well as providing feedback on the manuscript.