Publication Type

Book Chapter

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

4-2025

Abstract

We propose a new model – “industrial agriculture of smallholders” – to conceptualize the agri-food system in China. These smallholders are embedded in “diversified clusters” in rural China, which also include rural industries and extensive rural-urban linkages. Their relationships with markets are more complex and dynamic than what is often portrayed under the linear framework of “commodity chains”. As an alternative to the globalized model of industrial agriculture, we argue that “industrial agriculture of smallholders” has greater resilience to external shocks. Using a village in northern China during the COVID-19 pandemic, we illustrate how economic diversity within this “diversified cluster” buffered the community from the devastating impact of external disruptions and allowed residents to devise effective coping strategies. Two other conditions further contributed to the community's resilience: first, the dense network of market relations that provided flexibility and adaptability, and second, the extensive use of technology that helped producers raise productivity.

Discipline

Agricultural and Resource Economics | Asian Studies

Research Areas

Sociology

Areas of Excellence

Sustainability

Publication

Commodity chains under pressure: Resilience through coping, adaptation, and transformation

Editor

ESPETER, Lara M.; HERING, Linda

First Page

78

Last Page

98

ISBN

9781035355297

Identifier

10.4337/9781035355303.00014

Publisher

Edward Elgar Publishing

City or Country

Cheltenham, UK

Copyright Owner and License

author

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035355303.00014

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