Wages for Wives: Renegotiating Gender and Production Relations in Contract Farming in the Dominican Republic

This study analyzes the intersection of gender and production relations in small-scale contracting in nontraditional agriculture. The case of the processing tomato industry in the Dominican Republic exemplifies patterns found throughout the region. Building on a critique of unitary household models, I analyze the gendered relations mobilizing resources for contract farming. As appears common, contracting has heightened demand for women's farm labor. Contracting has simultaneously provided women with openings for contesting the appropriation of their unpaid labor and many women are claiming payment for work in contract farming. This case demonstrates the importance of gender issues in informing contract farming debates and policy interventions.     

Farm Strategy,Self-Selection and Productivity: Can Small Farming Groups Offer Production Benefits to Farmers in Post-Socialist Romania?

This paper addresses two questions: why are Romanian farmers continuing to place land in cooperative forms of farming when theory suggests that private farming is more productive and, are there efficiency gains to be had from cooperative farming endeavors? Results from an econometric selection model suggest that smaller, endogenously developed farming cooperatives, such as family societies, provide benefits over private farming strategies under certain conditions. This paper questions the wholesale rejection of cooperation around production and challenges policy to move away from the typically dichotomized presentation of agrarian structure as being a trade off between private small-scale farming and large-scale collective farming.     

我国农地规模经营中家庭农场优势的理论分析

文章从家庭农场经营比雇工农场经营更有效率、农业生产规模与农业产出效率关系、农业技术应用与农业生产规模关系、家庭农场经营易于制定以及执行较为严密的年度生产经营计划等几个方面对家庭农场的生产优势作了全面而深入的分析。文章认为,要实现农地规模经营,必须转变经营意识,配套实行土地流转、农业技术推广、农产品价格保护和农村社会保障等措施。     

Off-farm employment and time allocation in on-farm work in rural China from gender perspective

This paper sheds light on how the growing number of off-farm employees affects the labor allocation of female and male left-behind farmers in the Chinese agricultural sector. We find no direct effect of off-farm employment on left behind workers' total working time in farming, nor do we observe a gender difference in this respect. However, we do find that increasing off-farm work is associated with fewer days worked on staple crops, and in the harvesting and sales stages of the production process. Hiring labor and buying agricultural services also impact left behind workers' time allocation. Moreover, we find that in China, contrary to several other developing countries, there is no trend towards a feminization of agriculture, but rather a tendency in the reverse direction.     

打造以休闲农业为主的创意农业

创意农业是将农业生产同创意产业相结合的一种新型的农业产业化运作方式，对于解决我国“三农”问题和建设社会主义新农村具有重要意义。休闲农业是创意农业的一种表现形式。本文认为，要发展创意农业，必须以休闲农业为抓手，通过农业基础培育和政府的规划引导，带动民间投资，建设农业品牌，进一步实现农业的经济效应和社会效应。     

Linking agribusiness and small-scale farmers in developing countries: Is there a new role for contract farming?

This article examines a new role for contract farming in developing countries in the light of the industrialisation of agriculture and the globalisation of world markets. A theoretical rationale for contracting in developing countries is developed on the basis of adopting new institutional economic theory for the purpose of matching governance forms to market failure problems and transaction characteristics. The history of contract farming is reviewed, together with the advantages and disadvantages to the various players, for the purpose of developing a list of key success factors, problems and some possible solutions.     

改革开放早期我国“三农”政策的转轨及其特点

改革开放早期,我国的"三农"政策实现了历史性转轨:所有制上向公有制经济为主体,多种经济成分并存发展的转轨;经营制度上向以联产承包制为主要形式的农业生产责任制的转轨;生产结构上向农工商综合经营、农林牧副渔全面发展的多种经营的转轨;分配制度上向按劳分配为主、多种分配方式并存的转轨;政策范围上向农业、农民、农村全面覆盖和促进协调发展的转轨。这是不断解放思想的历史产物,是在不断争论中形成的实践结晶,是以调动农民积极性和发展生产力为导向形成的正确结论。     

Survival strategies of successful black farmers

Structural change in U.S. agriculture has resulted in a decline in farm numbers, increases in farm size, and the dominance of large-scale producers. Although the number of black-operated farms has fallen considerably since the 1950s, a small group of these farmers operate successful farms. A selected group of black farmers in Louisiana was surveyed to determine their strategies for success. The results indicate that success is directly related to (a) good management practices, (b) knowledge and early adoption of new technology, (c) strong work ethics, (d) love of farming, (e) size of operation, (f) participation in government programs, and (g) strong family support.     

浅谈农业产业结构调整的客观必然

农业产业结构调整就是要依据主、客观的需要,重新分配农业生产中各组成部分的比例关系,完成由简单再生产时期的单一种植业向包括农业、林业、牧业、渔业及服务业在内的大农业的过渡,进而形成更细分的多元化产业结构体系,使具有核心影响力的农业产业结构不断调整优化,以达到结构合理化、生态循环平衡化、经济效益最大化的目标.本文从四个方面简要探讨了农业产业结构调整的客观必然性.     

小农的种粮逻辑——40年来中国农业种植结构的转变与未来策略

基于已有文献对中国粮食安全问题的质疑与担忧,作者回顾了改革开放40年以来我国农业种植结构调整从"去粮化"到"趋粮化"的历史性转变。文章认为,2003年以来中国粮食长期且连续的增长,并非由外生的经济因素直接激发,亦非农业税减免和农业补贴政策的直接诱导,而是由农户在要素流动与卷入农业分工的过程中所内生的自我执行机制来决定的。理论与实证研究表明,中国小农的种粮逻辑是通过要素配置、地权预期、分工深化三个方面来共同表达的。小规模分散化的农业家庭经营格局并不构成中国粮食安全的阻碍,相反,却内含着重要的组织优势与可动员潜力。文章进一步讨论了保障中国粮食安全的基本策略与政策选择。     

Farmers, government, and the environment: the settlement of Australia's 'wet frontier', 1870–1920

Historical studies of Australian agriculture have tended to concentrate on the difficulties of farming in a dry environment. The extension of farming into high-rainfall, densely forested regions (what I term the wet frontierc ) has been almost completely overlooked. This article is an attempt to redress this imbalance. It concentrates on the settlement of the wet frontier between 1870 and 1920. Up to about 1890 settlement was slow and often unsuccessful because of the high cost of forest clearance, environmental problems, deficiencies in transport, and government hostility and indifference. However, after 1890 increased demand for butter and improvement in dairy production technology transformed the wet frontier into a highly productive agricultural region.     

关于加快发展怀化现代农业的思考

怀化农业大而不强、基础差、底子薄、农民收入不高。在当前和今后一个时期,怀化市要把推进农业产业化、加快发展现代农业作为一项重要任务,实现传统农业向现代农业转变。     

重庆烟农专业合作社主导模式及发展路径分析

发展烟农专业合作社,是现代烟草农业建设的重要抓手与关键环节。作为我国重要烟叶产区之一,重庆发展烟农专业合作社已有近6年的历史,逐渐形成了烟叶站点依托型、经理团队负责型、单一能人主导型、社队关系松散型等多种建设模式,但同时仍然面临基础条件不足、能人队伍缺乏、内生需求不足等一系列问题。基于此,应重点在适度规模种植、基础设施建设、能人队伍培育、规范内部管理等方面进行加强。     

What do subsistence farmers know about indigenous crops and organic farming? Preliminary experience in KwaZulu-Natal

The lack of published information on indigenous agricultural knowledge in South Africa frustrates the efforts of scientists who seek to enhance the creativity of subsistence farmers, and thus help their delivery from the cycle of poverty to commercialised farming. The term ‘indigenous crop’ is not clearly defined in the literature, and confusion about what is a traditional or an indigenous crop often arises even in conversations with local people. Perhaps the confusion stems from the generally accepted norm that a crop is associated with conventional production practices and commercialisation. Indigenous crop production and use of indigenous plants for food are generally not associated with conventional agriculture. Many subsistence farmers in South Africa have known only organic farming until recently, when they were introduced to ‘new seeds’ and agricultural chemicals. On-farm opinion surveys and physical farm appraisals were undertaken at the Msinga and Embo tribal areas in KwaZulu-Natal, in an attempt to assess the knowledge of subsistence and small-scale farmers about indigenous crops and organic farming. Results showed that the traditional definition of the term ‘indigenous crop’ may be broader than ‘African only’, at least in the context of indigenous South Africans. The findings also showed that subsistence farmers take organic farming to be a peasant's approach to food production, but its health and economic merits are recognised.     

农业私营企业发展的问题与对策

农业私营企业的发展是我国现阶段的国情和市场经济体制所决定的,是巩固农户家庭在我国农业微观组织中主体地位的前提下,自下而上的自组织创新。同时也是有效利用潜在资本,大幅度提高资本社会化程度的重大制度变革。为研究其共性与个性,我们基于128家企业的分析,提出促进农业私     

The gender division of labour in early modern England

This article presents new evidence of gendered work patterns in the pre-industrial economy, providing an overview of women's work in early modern England. Evidence of 4,300 work tasks undertaken by particular women and men was collected from three types of court documents (coroners’ reports, church court depositions, and quarter sessions examinations) from five counties in south-western England (Cornwall, Devon, Hampshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire) between 1500 and 1700. The findings show that women participated in all the main areas of the economy. However, different patterns of gendered work were identified in different parts of the economy: craft work showed a sharp division of labour and agriculture a flexible division of labour, while differences of gender were less pronounced in everyday commerce. Quantitative evidence of early modern housework and care work in England indicates that such work used less time and was less family-based than is often assumed. Comparisons with gendered work patterns in early modern Germany and Sweden are drawn and show strong similarities to England. In conclusion it is argued that the gender division of labour cannot be explained by a single factor, as different influences were at play in different parts of the economy.     

Surplus mobilisation in farm agriculture: A comparison of Java and Japan, 1870–1940

This paper compares the degree to which farm agriculture surpluses in pre–World War II Java and Japan were mobilised for non-agricultural investment through taxation, landlordism and private savings. It also compares government efforts in both countries to spur productivity and farm income in rice agriculture through improvements in irrigation structures and the development and dissemination of seedfertiliser technology. The pressure of the land tax, the spread of tenant farming, and the degree to which rural savings were deposited were significantly lower in Java than in Japan. Pre-war conditions in rice agriculture were less conducive in Java than they were in Japan to the development and dissemination of seed-fertiliser technology, which could spur farm productivity and contribute to surplus mobilisation.     

我国“三农”问题的再认识与研判

本文在分析"三农"问题的现状及产生原因的基础上,对当前农村、农业、农民的问题进行了重新认识和梳理,提出了认识和解决"三农"问题的核心观念,即在农村问题上要抓住农村经济组织的建设和强势发展;在农业问题上要大力推进乡镇域经济的构建和发展;在农民问题上要建立产权清晰、流转自由的农村土地制度,激发农民的生产积极性以提高土地的使用效率。这三个问题当属目前"三农"问题的三个核心问题。     

Risk and risk management in English agriculture, c. 1750–1850

This article scrutinizes the claim that the residual claimant in English agriculture was the fixed rent tenant farmer rather than the landlord. Examination of methods of agricultural insurance and risk management indicates that the income risks of farming were sizable, not straightforward to manage, and largely borne by the tenant. Thus the farmer's profit appears to have fluctuated by more over time and space than did the rent paid to the landlord. Attempts are made to assess changes over time in the nature and size of the production and price risks to which farmers were exposed.     

农村劳动力回流、就业选择与农地转出——基于千村调查的经验研究

农村劳动力回流趋势增强,不可避免对农地流转产生影响。文章在理论层面深入剖析了回流劳动力的就业选择与农地转出关系,并采用上海财经大学"千村调查"的数据资料,实证检验了农村劳动力回流特征变化和回流劳动力就业选择对农地转出的影响。研究发现,受非农就业不稳定的推力作用和与家人团聚的拉力作用,越来越多的外出劳动力选择回流,西部外出劳动力回流率最高,达到47.2%。回流劳动力的农地转出率普遍高于非回流劳动力的农地转出率,回流劳动力从事非农生产的就业选择对农地转出存在促进效应,而兼业和务农的选择对农地转出存在抑制效应,这意味着回流农村劳动力并非一定会选择农业生产,也可能选择在更小的地理半径内从事非农就业,并且长期外出从事技术工的经历进一步增强了劳动力回流对农地转出的抑制效应。虽然回流劳动力更倾向非农就业,但回流劳动力规模的扩大,使得兼业和纯务农的比例增加,对农地转出的抑制效应呈增强趋势。研究还发现,个人特征、家庭因素、社会网络也是影响劳动力就业选择和农地转出的重要因素,基层政府和地方政府在推动非农就业的政策合力上存在部分抵消,对农地转出产生了抑制作用。文章为农地流转进程缓慢提供了新的解释,推进农地流转需要关注农村劳动力流动特征新变化,同时兼顾各层级政策目标的衔接性。