Agroecological Farming Systems in China 219Since December 1978 the notion of a highly collectivized and egalitarian society
has gradually been repudiated. China has moved towards the creation of a mixed,
state-owned, marketing economy with rural reforms giving more flexibility to
individual householders. This has led to decollectivization of many agricultural
practices, transforming the status of the individual family to the basic rural eco-
nomic unit from de facto to de jure.
As a consequence of these reforms, most areas in rural China now practise
some form of responsibility system, with land and production contracted either to
individual households or to the production team. Since 1981 the government has
devoted much effort to stabilize the present ownership structure of hills and for-
ests, allotting hillsides to peasants for their private use and setting up the forest
production responsibility system throughout the country. Barren hills and flood
plains owned by the collectives have been offered partly or entirely to peasants to
be used privately in a way consistent with their desires and management ability.
The trees and grass growing on lots belong to the landholders, who are entitled to
manage their allotments on a long-term basis. Allotments can also be inherited,
and young trees and half-mature trees on these may be exchanged for money. Trees
of economic value, e.g. bamboo groves and shelterbelts owned by a collective, can
be either contracted to specialized teams or groups or to households. The opening
and development of free markets has encouraged farmers to produce diversified
products. In addition, rural village industries have developed rapidly. Some 1.56
million ‘township enterprises’ have been established, employing around 70 million
workers. These are capable of processing some agricultural products. All these
reforms and policies not only are economically successful but also promote the
enthusiasm of the farmers to develop a diversified IFS in China.
Support and incentives from the government
The support and incentives provided by the government are indispensable for the
rapid development of IFS. Because the concept of ecoagriculture conforms to the
basic strategy for development of agriculture, the Chinese Government attaches
great importance to its development. In 1984, the State Council formally promul-
gated a decision on further expanding ecological agriculture in China. Soon after
that the Eighth Five-Year National Development Plan decided to develop demon-
stration engineering for ecological agriculture. The requirement for conservation
of national resources and development of ecoagriculture has been explicitly deline-
ated in the Ninth Five-Year Plan for development of the national economy and
society. The comprehensive management for sustainable agricultural development
has been emphasized in China’s Agenda 21, a significant national document for
further domestic economic growth and medium- to long-term development and
was approved by the State Council on 25 March 1994 in the form of the White
Paper on China’s Population, Environment and Development in the Twenty-first
Century. Due to stimulation from government at various levels, ecoagriculture has
been developed rapidly and profitably from household, to village, to county, as