A Study On The Evolution And Innovation Of Agricultural Microeconomic Organizations In China Since The Reform And Opening-up

The innovation in agricultural microeconomic organizations constitutes a major topic in the process of China’s agricultural modernization. In this key phase when agriculture is transforming from traditional to modern in China, we should seek answers to an array of pressing and practical questions from the innovation in agricultural microeconomic organizations. These questions include:how do we build the micro-organizational foundation for agricultural modernization; how do we stabilize and improve the basic rural operation system; how do we address the enormous impact of highly organized international agriculture; and how do we solve the problems of "who shall farm" and "how shall they farm". In recent years, there have been many studies on agricultural micro-organizations, but the research into the evolution and innovation of China’s agricultural microeconomic organizations since the reform and opening-up policy was adopted from the angle of economic history can offer a new perspective for establishing a new agricultural management system and pushing forward agricultural modernization.The basic logic framework of this study:To obtain the elementary knowledge about the innovation in China’s agricultural microeconomic organizations from related theories and available literature, discover the regularity of such innovation based on historical evolution, learn the lessons and experience of organizational evolution from typical countries and regions, analyze the selection of part-time and professional operations by household agricultural organizations and the interactive logic between institutional innovation and transformation of agricultural management mode revealed in the process from cooperation to re-cooperation among farmers through typical case studies, and clarify the fundamental direction of China’s agricultural microeconomic organization innovation based on identified opportunities and challenges.A comparative study of countries and regions with modernized agriculture shows that:the evolution of agricultural microeconomic organizations in the U.S., France, Japan and Taiwan (China) has displayed varied characteristics, which are mainly influenced by the institutional environment, the degree to which the market principles have been adopted, the resource endowment, as well as other non-economic factors. Nonetheless, they also share certain commonalities, such as the long-term dominance of family agricultural operation, and the co-existence and high systematization of cooperative operational organizations and corporate operational organizations. Moreover, these microeconomic organizations tend to be corporatized, specialized, diversified and high-end. These findings have significant implications for the innovation in agricultural microeconomic organizations in China.The retrospect of historical evolution indicates that, ever since the reform and opening-up, the leading position of farmer households as microeconomic organizations has been reestablished, and the deficiencies shown in the rural household contract system has hastened the continuous innovation and diversification of agricultural microeconomic organizations. The institutional environments for these organizations mainly involve economic reshuffling, rural land system reform, adjustment in the relationship between industry and agriculture and improvement of laws and systems. The driving forces behind the evolution of agricultural microeconomic organizations primarily cover reducing the trading cost, addressing the real conflicts and obtaining policy support. In this process, the specific pattern of institutional evolution, the acquirement of "agreement", and the influence of ideology are all essential.Part-time and professional operations are two basic directions in which the development of household agricultural operation in China heads for. Professional operation enjoys comparative advantages in human capital, land output efficiency, productivity and operational performance. However, it is subject to policy changes, not to mention that most farmer households have no intention to develop into family farms. On the other side of the coin, part-time operation’s adverse effect on agricultural production is by no means insurmountable. The long-term existence of part-time small farmers is objectively necessary. In a nutshell, the professional and part-time operations of household agricultural operation in China are two different development directions that run parallel without conflict.By studying the typical cases of farmers’ professional cooperative union, the study shows that the transformation of agricultural managerial modes and institutional innovation is not only the result of interest coordination and organic integration between different stakeholders, but also that of constant "trial and error" and optimization under the current institutional environment constraints. In this case, the development of land trust and specialized cooperatives, as well as the improvement of serviceability of the cooperative union, exactly help to answer the questions of "who shall farm" and "how shall they farm" in modern agriculture.In the near future, the change of exterior environment and the continuous improvement of relevant policies and regulations will provide both new opportunities and practical challenges for the innovation in agricultural microeconomic organizations, which will show a basic pattern of diversification, integration and networking. Therefore, a clearer development direction, a better set of policies and a more favorable environment must be set and created for these organizations in China.