Photo: A bulldozer clears agricultural land in Xiaogang Village
Source: Huanhu Chenkan (环湖晨刊)

By Zhong Ang (种昂)
Issue 621, May 27, 2013
Nation, page 9-10
Translated by Chi Yi
Original article: [Chinese]

In 1978, 18 farmers from Xiaogang Village (小岗村) in Anhui Province risked being labeled "counter-revolutionary" by dividing village-owned land into private family plots. They each farmed their own plot, giving part of their yield to the collective and the government, but keeping the rest for themselves.

The farmers believed doing this was the only way for the village to survive another potential famine. So they signed (or thumb-printed) a secret agreement that said if any of them should get caught and put to death for their capitalist-like activities, the others would raise their children.

Five years later, they were shocked when their actions were not only recognized by the central government, but held up as a model to be practiced across the entire country. In 1983, 93 percent of China's production teams adopted this new method of agricultural production. But while Xiaogang is often considered the birthplace of reform that kick-started three decades of rapid industrialization and economic growth, the village itself hasn't actually changed much.

Village elders say it's remained just another typical village like others in the area. While it has enjoyed nationwide fame for its 1978 reforms, because of its remote location, it never really developed any industry beyond basic farming like other famous villagers such as Huaxi and Nanjie.

That's starting to change though.

"There are 32 major projects going on in Xiaogang Village," said the local Communist Party chief, Zheng Shurui (郑树锐). "The whole village is one huge construction site."

The village is pursuing three paths in order to improve its economy: improvements in farming efficiency, new agricultural businesses and tourism.

Tourism projects include museums commemorating the landmark reforms of the late seventies and a commercial pedestrian street. Total investment in all these projects is projected to reach over 2 billion yuan with the support of surrounding cities and counties. When they’re completed this September, Xiaogang will barely resemble its former self.

When it comes to improving the efficiency of farming, just like 35 years ago, locals have decided to turn to their most precious asset: the land.

Living on the Land

Yan Jinchang (严金昌), a former pig farmer who was one of the 18 who signed that historical pledge back in 1978, told the EO that he's slowly begun to realize that that household system is no longer enough to motivate farmers, "grain prices are too low, farming can only solve the most basic necessities of life."

Yan explained how the income of farmers had been held down over the past 30 years. First there was excessive taxation, which finally ended after agricultural taxes were abolished in 2006. Food prices have also been held down in order to help promote industrial growth in the cities. This has meant that farmers no longer have as much incentive to produce grain, especially given the pace at which their input costs like fertilizer and machinery are increasing.

However, it's not just a story of rising costs and stagnant prices for produce, key elements of the village's labor force have been drawn to cities to seek manual labor positions.

Yan told the EO how 10 years ago, 2-3 months pay at the factory at which his son worked was still not equal to the annual revenue the family made from the farm, but now his son is able to make more in a month than he can earn off the land in a year.

Most men of working age have gone to the cities to work, leaving behind women, children and older people to work the land. The shift to land leasing has its roots in this exodus of labor.

Leasing Land

In 2008, Xiaogang Village merged with two other nearby villages. As a result, the amount of arable land doubled and the population shot up ten-fold from 400 to over 4,000.

At the same time the local government backed a new policy of encouraging farmers to lease their land.

Many farmers in Xiaogang Village were initially wary about leasing their land to companies. They were worried that when the lease came up they'd have trouble getting their land back. They were also worried that the work done on the land, such as the removal of traditional paths connecting fields, would make it difficult to tell exactly where the boundaries of their land lay when the lease ended.

In the early days there were also no standardized contracts, leading to conflicts about compensation.

Another problem with the system was that developers were not interested in leasing many small plots scattered throughout the village. There was also disagreements about the length of contracts, with developers preferring long-term contracts while many farmer wanted to renew agreements on an annual basis.

"Re-collectivizing" the Land

To overcome some of the problems mentioned above, the leaders of Xiaogang Village have stepped in to act as an intermediary between the small farmers, who have land-use rights (rather than owning the land outright) and the developers.

The village has set up a company that has agreed to lease 4,300 mu (286 hectares) of arable land from a pool of over 300 families. The company will manage the land on their behalf and has agreed to compensate farmers with 350 kilograms of grain each year for every mu (666 square meters) of land, which at 2012 prices works out at about 875 yuan per mu each year.

Xiaogang Innovative Development Corporation (小岗创新发展有限公司), which is a local government financing platform, was set up to take charge of the land transfers. The company has leased the land until 2027.

The village government faced a few difficulties in pushing this scheme through. Firstly it needed to complete a thorough survey of land-use rights in the village, clarifying who had the rights to each parcel of land. After this process was completed, they also had to deal with a lot of community resistance to the issue of clearing the farms of tombs.

Currently, Xiaogang Innovative Development Corporation is still searching for a company willing to sub-lease the land and manage agricultural production on their behalf.

Links and Sources
Spiegel Online: China\'s Rural Revamp: The Legend of Xiaogang
Hoover Institution (China Leadership Monitor): Tackling the Land Issue - Carefully (PDF)