The transformation of farmer training in China (1949-2022) : state, community, technology and the "new farmers"

Abstract

Farmer training has long been a focus of attention of government and scholars as one of the important means to help solve the “San Nong” (三农) issues. In 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture promulgated a plan to train at least 20 million “new farmers” by 2020. This is not the first time in the history of the People’s Republic of China that government policies imagined “new farmers.” In what way does the government see the training of “new farmers” a compelling mission now? What relationship do “new farmers” forge with the government, agribusiness, technology and rural communities? By examining the ways in which “new farmers” were shaped during the Mao-era of rural collective economy, the Reform-era of household responsibility system, and the contemporary “new-era” of socialism with Chinese characteristics, this thesis conducts a sociological study from a political economic perspective about the on-going training of “new farmers” in China. The study shows the choice of paradigms for agricultural modernisation in China at different periods. It also explores the social consequences of the formation of "new farmers" from the perspectives of ideological transformation and techno-politics. The study shows that the path of agricultural modernization in China has undergone a transformation from over-determination (多元决定论) to economic determinism. In terms of the understanding of modern farmers, it has undergone a shift from a popular mass line to a specialized elite line. And the role of farmer education has undergone a shift from the means of social revolution to the means of technological advancement. Moreover, the study found that the unequal distribution of power and authority in technological trends played the initial role within market conditions that drove the renewed polarisation of rural China. This force even predated the class differentiation caused by internal competition among farmers. At the same time, the study also proves the elaboration on the dialectical relationship between ideology and relations of production, superstructure and economic base of over-determination. That is to say, although state policy has a certain coercive effect on the formation of new ownership systems, the basis of their stable development lies in the relations of production. As a reflection of relations of production, the birth of new ownership systems in policy is not exactly the same as the establishment of new relations of production. When the ideology of the majority of people remains at the previous stage, it may become an obstacle to the development of the new relations of production, or even a decisive factor leading to the failure of new production relations. This process took place not only in the Mao-era when ideology was "politicized", but also in the post-Maoist era. This thesis argues that the establishment of relations of production and economic foundations is a complex process that does not entirely depend on a single factor such as economic conditions or science and technology, and the role of ideology in this process should be given due attention.