How the smallholder pattern can move harmoniously toward scaled-up operation

“Joint cultivation and joint planting” is a reform innovation originating from the agricultural and rural work practice of Sheyang County, Jiangsu Province. On the basis of stabilizing the household contract responsibility system, it adopts the “farmers + farmers + cooperative” approach, organized uniformly by villages and groups, to break down the drawbacks of land fragmentation and achieve specialized services, scaled-up planting and market-oriented efficiency as a new type of cooperative land operation model. This reform initiative, which began in Sheyang, has been welcomed by the broad masses of farmers since large-scale pilot exploration began in 2013, has received affirmation and support from leaders at all levels, and has demonstrated extremely strong vitality in straightening out production relations, adapting to the market economy and advancing modern agricultural development. This newspaper has repeatedly reported on the relevant progress in key reports over the past two years. It is understood that at present all 9 counties (cities and districts) of Yancheng City, where Sheyang County is located, have leading groups for joint cultivation and joint planting work to deploy and advance joint cultivation and joint planting, and Yancheng City has already promoted this operation model on 2 million mu of cultivated land, accounting for 1/3 of the total cultivated land area. More places in Jiangsu Province and even other provinces have also promoted this model to varying degrees.

From March 21 to 22, Sheyang County, Jiangsu Province, held a seminar on the joint cultivation and joint planting model and the 2015 wheat new-type business entity training meeting. Xiao Shihe, chief scientist of the National Wheat Industry Technology System, Cheng Shunhe, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Wang Lejun, deputy director of the Department of Rural Economy and Management of the Ministry of Agriculture, Chen Liangbiao, deputy director of the Rural Economy Research Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, Han Yijun, director of the Industrial Economics Research Office of the National Wheat Industry Technology System, Dang Guoying, director of the Macro Office of the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Zhu Baoping, deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Agricultural Commission, attended the seminar.

The participating experts fully affirmed the joint cultivation and joint planting model. The meeting held that Sheyang County used village two committees to organize the vast number of scattered farmers, remove field ridges and cooperate among households to form a “multiple households, one field” scale, created a market, activated local private capital, and required farmers to invest no additional funds, while service organizations only needed to purchase equipment and provide good services, thus advancing the rapid construction of the service system. Compared with the drawbacks of other forms of scaled operation to varying degrees, the highlight of joint cultivation and joint planting lies in its ability to integrate the scale advantages of organization, land, services and technology into one. Joint cultivation and joint planting conforms to the direction of national policy, is conducive to safeguarding food security and protecting farmers' interests, has a low threshold, is easy to organize, can be replicated and is easy to promote, and can become a shortcut for traditional agricultural areas to realize scaled operation without land transfer.

More than 30 years have passed since the household contract responsibility system was implemented. When the energy of institutional innovation brought by the household responsibility system was fully released, the inherent drawbacks of the smallholder economy gradually became exposed, inevitably requiring new institutional innovation to raise the degree of farmers' organization and cooperation and to connect it with the inherent requirements of agricultural industrialization and rural modernization.

The Sheyang County Party Committee, county government and agricultural departments attach great importance to the joint cultivation and joint planting model. “Fragmented operation by each household makes it difficult to achieve mechanized scaled farming, and it is also difficult for improved new technologies to take root.” Dai Rongjiang, secretary of the Sheyang County Party Committee, said that joint cultivation and joint planting was forced into being after the household responsibility system developed to a certain stage. Dai Yaping, a relevant responsible person of the Sheyang County Agricultural Commission, introduced that joint cultivation and joint planting has driven the promotion and application of large agricultural machinery and new implements, promoted the use of integrated technologies, solved the problem of sowing at the proper time, and brought cost savings, efficiency increases, stable yields and increased production. At the same time, because it has realized straw return to the field, it is not only conducive to reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but also improves the agricultural ecological environment. The practice in Sheyang County shows that in this way, because field ridges and mechanized farming roads are reduced, wheat yield per mu increases by about 200 jin.

It is understood that in September 2013, the Sheyang County People's Government issued the "Opinions on Implementing Joint Cultivation and Joint Planting and Advancing Comprehensive Straw Utilization in Whole Villages," organized more than 600 people from 200 villages in 13 towns to participate in joint cultivation and joint planting business training, trained county and town agricultural technicians and college student village officials as instructors stationed in each village, compiled and printed tens of thousands of copies of "Agricultural Technology Information" and the ten-sentence mnemonic for joint cultivation and joint planting, and cumulatively taught nearly 1,000 class hours for farmers, focusing on advancing the process of joint cultivation and joint planting. In the pilot promotion throughout the county, it received a positive response from farmers in pilot villages and groups, and the county party committee and county government advanced it at the appropriate time. Afterwards it received affirmation and support from leaders at all levels, and Yancheng City is also promoting it comprehensively.

During the meeting, experts and scholars visited the county's Haihe Town joint cultivation and joint planting seedling cultivation and supply base, Sanhe Village in Haihe Town, and the joint cultivation and joint planting site in Xinnan Village for the joint cultivation and joint planting model seminar, as well as the Sheyang County Phoenix Ten-Thousand-Mu Vegetable Base. Haihe Town has the largest area in Sheyang County at 243 sq km, the most cultivated land at 240,000 mu, and is also currently the town with the largest area under joint cultivation and joint planting production. Deng Haifeng, mayor of Haihe Town, told reporters that at present the town's joint cultivation and joint planting area has reached nearly 100,000 mu, is expected to reach 80% of the cultivated land area this autumn, namely 180,000 mu, and plans to achieve full coverage of joint cultivation and joint planting in 2016. Asked whether there were difficulties in the promotion work, he replied that farmers' enthusiasm is generally very high, and resistance comes from a small number of farmers with small agricultural machinery who fear that small machinery will be eliminated and their interests harmed. As targeted work is carried out, these problems should be resolved well. Xinnan Village in Siming Town is one of the earliest villages to pilot and promote joint cultivation and joint planting, and the work has advanced relatively quickly, with high enthusiasm among the masses and broad participation. The reporter noted that Liu Jinghua, secretary of the Party branch of Xinnan Village, introduced to everyone the relevant situation of joint cultivation and joint planting in the village over the past two years. He had also once introduced his feelings about joint cultivation and joint planting to local media as follows: “Village and group cadres are the main promoters of joint cultivation and joint planting. In the early stage of promotion, everyone was hesitant. But when we saw its benefits of abundant grain and enriched farmers and full straw return to the field, we were still moved. Every year during the three summer and three autumn periods, the pressure to prohibit straw burning is very great. Although we strictly watch and guard, even a tiger sometimes dozes off, and if we are not careful we end up criticized and notified, making people afraid to sleep day or night. Now none of the fields under joint cultivation and joint planting burn straw, the environment is better, and the village appearance is better too.”