Tobacco,contract farming,and agrarian change in Zimbabwe

The growth of smallholder tobacco production since 2000 has been one of the big stories of Zimbabwe's post–land reform experience. Yet the implications for agrarian change, and the consequences for new relations between farmers, the state, and agribusiness capital have rarely been discussed. The paper reports on work carried out in the Mvurwi area of Mazowe district in Zimbabwe with a sample of 220 A1 (smallholder) farmers and 100 former farmworkers resident in compounds on the same farms. By going beyond a focus on operational and business dimensions of contract farming, the paper concludes with reflections on the implications for understanding agrarian relations and social differentiation in those areas of Zimbabwe where tobacco growing is now significant, with lessons more broadly on the political economy of contract farming, and the integration of agribusiness capital following land reform.     

The Post‐Privatization Role of Out‐growers' Associations in Rural Capital Accumulation: Contract Farming of Sugar Cane in Kilombero,Tanzania

Contract farming is widely promoted by multilateral agencies as an engine of economic growth in developing countries. The agencies often stress the need for governments to create strong farmers' organizations that can shoulder the risks associated with contractual relationships with large corporations. However, empirical studies of farmers' organizations in contractual schemes are few and tend to dismiss the performances of these organizations for not measuring up to donor expectations. This paper seeks to offer a more unbiased examination of what farmer's organizations actually do by recounting the development of out‐growers' associations in a contract farming scheme in central Tanzania. The paper explores the new space for social organization and business operations which emerged after privatization in 1998. It is argued that under certain conditions, out‐grower associations occupy a crucial position with regard to classic agrarian questions of land, labour and capital accumulation.     

城乡一体化进程中乡村土地利用效益评价

文章在实地(河北省邢台市)调研基础上,通过文献分析与成本分析相结合的方法对城乡一体化进程当中乡村土地利用效益进行系统的评价,并在此基础上揭示出目前我国在城乡一体化进程当中乡村土地利用过程当中存在的问题,并给予相应的建议。研究结果表明:我国城乡一体化进程当中,对我国乡村土地利用效益影响较大的主要因素有政府政策不合理、对于土地利用效益缺乏足够认识,这些原因直接导致在城乡一体化进程当中乡村土地耕地边际化现象严重、城市建设用地规模过大、土地生态效益低下及乡村土地配置不合理等现象的出现。基于对土地效益评价与我国目前乡村土地利用状况的深入分析,该文认为应从土地的经济效益、社会效益及生态效益对于目前城乡一体化进程当中存在的土地利用效益偏低的现象进行整改,例如提高土地的集约度,实行大规模的机械化生产进而提高土地的经济效益;通过合理规划商业用地、居民住房用地及农业用地的比例提高土地的社会效益;发展多种形式的生态养殖与特色旅游业促进土地生态效益的提高。     

The fragmented politics of sugarcane contract farming in Uganda

In the last decade, contract farming has regained momentum among policymakers and global development agencies as a tool to promote inclusive rural development and responsible investments. Integrating smallholders within global, regional and national agricultural value chains, we are told, represents the sine qua non for alleviating rural poverty. In Uganda, under the label of out-grower schemes, contract farming is currently undergoing massive expansion, driven especially by the boom in sugarcane cultivation. Drawing from three case studies of sugarcane contract farming in Uganda, the paper re-politicizes the debate around contract farming by looking at the power relations within which these schemes are embedded. We argue, what is seen in Uganda's expansion is a political dynamic derived both from the major dislocations and dispossessions required to establish the plantation estate and its work force, as well as from the effort to bring many smallholders using unimproved methods on land with sometimes unclear tenure arrangements into contracted arrangements for supplying sugarcane. The result has been highly contentious politics around sugar's expansion, where struggles over land dispossession merge with those around exploitative wage labour, around the loss and transformation of livelihoods, and around debt, power inequalities and environmental harm, a matrix in which state violence and co-optation are ever-present.     

Private and state-led contract farming in Zimbabwe: Accumulation,social differentiation and rural politics

Contract farming schemes often amplify existing patterns of socio-economic differentiation. In Zimbabwe, processes of differentiation were underway before the current expansion of contract farming and they have deepened through the Fast Track Land Reform process. This article examines how pre-existing dynamics of differentiation shape the forms of contract farming adopted, as well as which groups of farmers gain access and on what terms. Social differentiation partly explains the outcomes of contract farming, even if contract farming in turn results in further differentiation. This article contrasts private sector-led contract farming of tobacco and state-led financing of maize production (the ‘command agriculture’ programme) in two high-potential sites and across different forms of land use. Unlike in many other settings, contract farming in Zimbabwe is highly influenced by the state, through the regulation of private sector arrangements and the establishment of a state-led contracting programme. The state-led programme boosted maize production amongst medium-scale farmers and resulted in an embedding of patronage relations. Meanwhile, the private-led contract farming has supported a widespread boom of tobacco production, mainly amongst smallholders. We find therefore that contract farming is highly dependent on the contingent, politically mediated processes of social differentiation.     

土地权利保障对经济社会发展的作用

土地权利的安全保障能有效地促进社会、经济的发展。在发达国家,由于土地私有化、各种经济、法律制度的完善,这种机制运行得相对比较好。而在中国,由于历史、传统、法律方面的各种原因,农民得不到有力的土地权利保障,因此不能有效地促进社会、经济的发展,我国政府还需努力来改善这种状况,中央政府应采取一切手段,特别是法律手段确保农民在家庭承包制下的土地使用权,加强金融市场改革使农民可以方便地借贷资金对土地进行投资,支持土地市场发展,促进土地交易,加大土地执法力度。     

Farmers or Squatters? Collective Land Claims on Sisal Estates,Tanzania (1980s–2000s)

This paper offers a historically grounded analysis of the land question by analysing the political history of collective land claims in sisal estates in Tanga region, in north‐east Tanzania. The persistence of sisal plantations amidst failed attempts at land redistribution is explored by drawing on primary research in villages in the vicinity of three privatized sisal estates. I situate collective land claims in the wider politics of African socialism (ujamaa), to then explain their gradual demise throughout the 1990s as a consequence of neoliberal policies such as privatization and liberalization. Throughout the 2000s, the subsequent allocation of contested lands to commercial sisal contract farmers has fuelled further land disputes. An account of land claims over time, coupled with a class analysis of sisal contract farming, underlines the continuing relevance of the land question in areas of historical land dispossession.     

Twenty-five years of Living Under Contract: Contract farming and agrarian change in the developing world

The expansion of contract farming schemes through regions of the developing world in the era of the globalization of agriculture raises questions that are central to the study of agrarian political economy. Contract farming has extended the footprint of commodity production and integrated land and labour not otherwise captured in forms of direct production and marketing. 25 years after the publication of Living Under Contract: Contract Farming and Agrarian Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa, a foundational collection edited by Peter Little and Michael Watts, it is necessary to take stock of the most prominent developments in the practice of contract farming and in the political economy literature studying it. The ultimate contribution of Living Under Contract was framing contract farming as expressing the unevenness of power relations in agriculture and grounding it in specific political, historical and social contexts that were not examined in the mainstream accounts. This introduction to the special issue revisits the questions that have remained relevant or re-emerged in the political economy literature on contract farming; it raises new questions that reflect contemporary developments and it explains how the papers in this collection contribute to the expansion of the theoretical and empirical horizons of the research on contemporary contract farming in low and middle-income countries.     

Potatoes,Petty Commodity Producers and Livelihoods: Contract farming and agrarian change in Maharashtra,India

This paper explores the implications of contract farming for patterns of agrarian change in India. The paper draws on a detailed analysis of primary qualitative data from a case study of potato contract farming in the state of Maharashtra. It argues that debates on contract farming are often ideological in nature, leading to overly simplified narratives of “win–win” or “win–lose.” Instead, by combining the strengths of agrarian political economy and rural livelihood analysis, the paper offers a concrete exploration of the intersections between contract farming, livelihoods, and agrarian change. It finds that contract farming activities in the case study villages are focused on a group of petty commodity producers. However, rather than sparking dynamic new processes of accumulation among contract farmers or leading to new forms of exploitation, the paper argues that contract farming is contributing to processes of agrarian change “already under way.” These processes are intimately connected to livelihood diversification and the struggles of new classes of fragmented labour.     

“三权分置”下农业经营的实践形态与农地制度创新

"三权分置"是农地制度改革的重要成果,为提升农业经营效益提供了制度保障。农业经营的实践形态显示,土地经营权的设立并未提升资本化耕种的农业经营收益,也难以提升村集体范围内农地产权正式转移的水平。农业经营体制在"统"的层面缺乏可操作性的产权制度方案,阻碍了农地产权设置在"分"的层面发挥出高效的制度效能。切实回应农地利用中实际耕者的地权诉求,解决农地细碎化、村集体内土地经营权流转价格过高、土地经营权配置不充分、土地经营权流转后的社会纠纷等问题,需要围绕农地高效利用,在"三权分置"下充分发挥集体土地所有权的管理权能,以集体土地所有权统合土地承包经营权和土地经营权。     

Contract Farming in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Survey of Approaches,Debates and Issues

The paper provides a selective survey of the most significant literature on the rise of contract farming in developing countries, with a focus on sub‐Saharan Africa. The review of the literature illustrates ideological debates around the meaning and significance of contract farming and whether it is good or bad for small‐scale farmers. The paper then divides the review of the literature into three key themes. First, it addresses the quantitative significance of contract farming in Africa, which may not be as important as it is often portrayed. Second, the paper highlights the substantial diversity of contract farming in Africa and problems with excessive generalizations. Third, it discusses the various drivers fuelling the spread of contract farming, which reflect new production conditions and existing constraints, tendencies and counter‐tendencies, and both economic and political responses to changes in production and market conditions in the era of liberalization and globalization. The variety of drivers is substantial and defies generalizations about the emergence of contract farming. Finally, it briefly suggests research questions that tend to be absent in most of the literature on contract farming, and which are important in order to understand the current dynamics of agrarian change and transitions to capitalism in African countries.     

其他方式承包的农村土地经营权征收补偿案例探讨

研究目的:分析农村土地利用中以其他方式承包农村土地经营权征收补偿问题,探讨如何对土地征收补偿的法律框架进行适当调整。研究方法:案例分析法。研究结果:在确认其他方式承包的土地经营权为物权的基础上,分析了土地征收补偿现有分配方案的缺陷,以天津市郊区某葡萄园被征收为例,探讨了由于土地征收导致承包合同终止后,土地发包方给予承包方适当经济补偿的理论依据和测算方法。研究结论:补偿数额的确定应以可预见的损失为依据。     

农地非农化的经济学分析

农地非农化是城市化和工业化发展的必然产物，本文在分析农地非农化实质的基础上，探讨了农地转用价格过低的原因，认为要充分考虑到农地的生态价值、社会价值、选择价值以及产权意义上的价值，把农地的正外部效应充分内化，修正扭曲的农地资源价格体系，在一定程度上可以抑制非农用地的数量。并且运用农地非农化土地一级市场的模型，认为存在农转非市场失灵，政府要在多目标决策的前提下进行干预，通过提高价格来降低农地市场供给曲线的弹性，从而起到控制农地非农化的数量。     

农地非农化的经济学分析

农地非农化是城市化和工业化发展的必然产物.在分析农地非农化实质的基础上,探讨了农地转用价格过低的原因,认为要充分考虑到农地的生态价值、社会价值、选择价值以及产权意义上的价值,把农地的正外部效应充分内化,修正扭曲的农地资源价格体系,在一定程度上可以抑制非农用地的数量.运用农地非农化土地一级市场的模型,认为存在农转非市场失灵,政府要在多目标决策的前提下进行干预,通过提高价格来降低农地市场供给曲线的弹性,从而起到控制农地非农化的数量.     

Contractual Practice and Land Conflicts: The ‘Plant & Share’ Arrangement in Côte d'Ivoire

This paper tackles the broad issue of agrarian contracts, property rights and conflicts in the context of rural Côte d'Ivoire. Since the beginning of the 2000s, a new type of contractual arrangement has been developing rapidly: the ‘Plant & Share’ contract. Through such a contract, a landowner provides the land to a farmer who develops a perennial tree crop plantation; when production starts, the plantation, the plantation and the land, or the product is shared. The aim of the paper is to discuss the conflictive features of the arrangement. I argue that this contract, in spite of its potential for tensions and conflicts, constitutes an alternative to the much more conflictive land sales that currently dominate extra‐familial land transfers in the country.     

中国征地中的双重委托代理问题

研究目的：运用委托代理理论和博弈论方法论证中国征地过程具有双重委托代理的特征及存在的问题。研究方法：归纳法，博弈分析法和图示分析法。研究结果：违法征地频繁发生的原因：（1）显性契约中的地方政府通过政治手段将隐性契约中的委托代理关系瓦解，致使显性约束力明显占优；（2）各利益主体在规则选择上存在不确定性。研究结论：征地制度的双重委托代理关系，使国家监督处于低效状态；行政权利过大，地方政府利益的一致化及隐性契约缺乏监控和惩罚机制都给违规征地创造了条件。     

对农村土地承包经营纠纷仲裁制度的反思

研究目的:分析中国农村承包土地经营纠纷仲裁制度存在的问题,提出完善中国农村土地承包经营纠纷仲裁制度的修法思路。研究方法:逻辑分析和规范分析。研究结果:中国现行农村土地承包经营纠纷仲裁制度有着浓厚的行政化、诉讼化的色彩,单方启动、强制管辖、一裁非终局等特点也有悖仲裁法的基本原则。农村土地承包经营纠纷仲裁的案件分流功能未能实现。研究结论:完善农村土地承包经营纠纷仲裁制度首先应当明确该制度的法律属性,在此基础上实现去行政化和去诉讼化的改造,实现与民事诉讼的合理对接。     

重庆市土地利用与经济发展耦合关系分析

利用重庆市1996-2005 年数据,从耕地、建设用地的变化及其与经济发展的相互关系角度探讨土地利用与经济发展之间的耦合关系.分析表明:①重庆市地区生产总值、一产产值均与耕地面积变化呈显著负相关;②地区生产总值、非农增加值与建设用地面积耦合关系均呈极显著正相关;③重庆市固定资产投资与建设用地面积之间相关性达极显著水平;④土地利用与经济发展耦合关系只是历史上某一时期区域经济增长方式的表征之一,是土地利用集约和节约的水平的一种表现.     

中国发达地区耕地保护观念的转变和机制探讨

分析中国经济社会快速发展过程中面临的耕地保护问题，为突破当前耕地保护瓶颈提供新的思路。研究方法：综合分析、实证分析、比较分析和统计分析法。研究结论：通过对发达地区经济社会发展和土地利用关系的分析，论证了发达地区土地利用和经济发展的特殊性以及耕地保护观念转变的必要性；探讨了发达地区耕地保护观念转变的重点：（1）耕地保护到农地保护的拓展；（2）数量平衡到生产能力平衡的提升；（3）食物生产功能到生态服务功能的换位。讨论了发达地区耕地保护机制：农地保护的转换机制；宜耕农地异地代补机制；耕地占用以质补量机制。     

对构建中国城乡统一的土地市场的思考

建立城乡统一和公开竞争的土地市场,是完善城乡土地统一管理的核心。只有建立城乡统一的土地市场,才能发挥市场对土地资源配置的基础性作用,才能在征地过程中彻底消除集体土地和国有土地的产权歧视,从而从根本上阻止征地冲突。构建我国城乡统一的土地市场应分三步走。第一步,解决城乡统一的土地市场的市场主体问题;第二步,在农村集体土地产权清晰的基础上,推进农村集体建设用地使用权出让市场,农村集体农地承包经营权流转市场和农村集体土地所有权的建设;第三步,农村集体土地和城市国有土地在同权下自由竞争、平等交易,达到自然融合。