What are the prospects of small-scale farming? Agricultural transition in marginal areas of rural China

Marginal areas of rural China are experiencing a significant shift from traditional small-scale agriculture to large-scale modern agriculture. The agricultural transition, driven by state and local actors, has led to changes in land use, labor regimes, and farmers' livelihoods. The process has raised concerns about the persistence of small-scale farming and the exclusion of smallscale farmers from the transition process. As a result, scholars and policymakers emphasize the need to advance rural economic prosperity while safeguarding farmers' livelihoods. This thesis examines the dynamics of agricultural transition in marginal areas in southwest China, to enhance our understanding of agricultural transition within China's distinct political and economic context. The analysis is framed through the agrarian political economy lens and is compared to similar transitions both within and beyond China. The central research question addressed is: Why and how did small-scale farming undergo a transition in marginal areas of rural China, and what implications does this have for communities and farmers here? To explore this question, the thesis has employed a political economy framework, combining contextualization with qualitative interpretivist methods to analyze agricultural transition in Shizhu County, a marginal rural area in Chongqing municipality, southwest China.

The short answer to the research question is that, the agricultural transition in these marginal areas, driven by the interaction of political objectives and capital dynamics, represents a shift from household-based small-scale farming to commercial agriculture, with land control as the central mechanism. Complex scenarios of losers and winners have emerged in this process. To provide a more detailed understanding of the agricultural transition, three key points emerged from my research. First, agricultural transition in marginal areas involves multiple accumulation dynamics. The intersection of political goals and capital logic simultaneously promotes and constrains the exploitation of small-scale farmers by large-scale capitalist agriculture. The concentration of land use rights and the extraction of land value through deepening commercialization, has accelerated capital accumulation within the agricultural sector. These intersections highlight the importance of considering specific political economy contexts when researching local challenges and opportunities. Second, a focus on nuanced forms of land control is critical for understanding the varied trajectories of agricultural transition. Despite formal protections of collective land ownership, farmers risk being marginalized in land use decisions and excluded from the benefits of value extraction, due to economic and extra-economic pressures exerted by large-scale producers and local political authorities. This thesis deepens our insight into how land control operates even when property rights seem secure. Third, the study focuses on intra-local power relations involved in land control rather than on the power dynamics between national actors and transnational investors, combined with the various resource allocation and livelihood strategies of small-scale farmers, offering a nuanced perspective on the complex implications of the agricultural transition. The theoretical and empirical findings of this thesis underscore that the coordinated effort of both top-down regulatory frameworks and bottom-up empowerment of farmers is crucial for integrating small-scale farmers into agricultural transition.