State-owned Farms Research Articles

The Importance of Measures Undertaken to Improve the Quality of Life in the Problem Areas: A Case Study in Warmia and Mazury Region in Poland

State agencies set up to manage the agricultural properties of the State Treasury, in subsequent years of their operation, have been implementing programs that are also intended to improve the social and living situation of the inhabitants of former state-owned farm villages. Such measures include non-refundable financial support distributed by the National Support Centre for Agriculture (NSCA). The research aimed to assess whether non-refundable financial aid improves the quality of life of local communities living in rural areas, particularly in former state-owned farm areas identified as problem areas. Another objective aspect of the research was to indicate the importance of this assistance in the opinion of the beneficiaries of this form of support (district authorities) and local communities. Improvement of the quality of life of rural inhabitants and support for the development of rural areas by local governments can be achieved by taking advantage of potential development factors and opportunities emerging in the environment and by being able to establish effective cooperation with various institutions. For local development to proceed smoothly, especially in rural areas, various institutions and economic players need to reach a consensus, become involved, and work together efficiently. A possible instrument to achieve this is the non-repayable financial support distributed by the National Support Centre for Agriculture (NSCA), which-according to the research-brings measurable effects.

Analysis of the rate of socio-economic changes in rural areas between 2010 and 2020. Polish case

The article presents the results of research on the transformation process in the Polish country-side between 2010 and 2020, taking into account those rural communes where the State-Owned Farms (PGR) were located. The study aimed to identify the spatial diversity of post-PGR communes on the grounds of socio-economic situation and to assess the rate of change in this situation in the surveyed communes over 11 years, as well as to answer the question how the socio-economic situation was influenced by the location of a given commune relative to province capitals. In the analyses, selected methods of descriptive statistics and multidimensional comparative analysis were applied. The results confirmed that in many post-PGR communes, also these days, we can observe financial problems, and that people experience significant difficulties with entering the labour market. The research also showed that in most cases communes located close to these cities were characterized by a better socio-economic situation than the communes located further away.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of lake wetland in the Wanjiang Plain of the Yangtze River basin, China during the recent century

Numerous floodplain lakes in the world have been shrinking and gradually transformed into semi-closed reservoirs under the control of sluices for the past century, which has led to substantial ecosystem services loss. In this study, historical topographic maps 1930s and 1970s and remote sensing images (1980s–2020s) are used to reconstruct the centennial evolution characteristics of typical lakes in the Central Yangtze Ecoregion, i.e., the Wanjiang lake group. Moreover, we focus on their driving factors from the perspective of sluice control and agricultural activities. Results showed that the lake wetland area in the Wanjiang Plain shrank remarkably in the 1930s–2020s, with an overall loss rate of 45.32 %, of which 84.19 % was mainly in the 1930s–1970s. The wetland loss was accompanied by the dispersion of large lakes, the extinction and newbirth of small lakes. The uneven distribution of the wetland loss in space led to the overall migration of the lakes to the Yangtze River. These results can be explained as follows: from the 1950s to the 1970s, sluices were built on waterways between 91.67 % of lakes and the Yangtze River for flood mitigation. The flood risk control further led to the surge of building state-owned farms and personal polders in the local area from the 1950s to the 1980s, which was the primary cause for the loss of lake wetlands and the regularization of lake shorelines. Since the 1980s, lake protection measures have promoted the restoration of wetlands and reduced the rate of lake shrinkage to a certain extent. Our findings can provide important guidance for the sustainable management and possible hydrological connectivity restoration project in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

A nexus between farmland rights, and access, demand, and amount of agricultural loan under the socialist system of China

In the modern socialist system of China, the governments separated land ownership rights and land use rights to increase the access and demand for agricultural loans for the improvement of the social welfare of farmers. Therefore, the current study aims to evaluate the impact of farmland rights and land transfer on access, demand, and amount of agricultural loan under the socialist system of China. For this purpose, data from China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) were used to empirically analyze the objectives of the study using various econometric approaches particularly, the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method and Benchmark regression. Results depicted that farmland rights and land transfer-in positively and significantly impacted access, demand, and amount of loan. However, the land transfer-out reduced the demand for agricultural loan. Moreover, the land transfer-in found a positive mediating impact on access, demand, and amount of agricultural loan. While the negative mediating effect of the land transfer-out was only reflected in the access and demand for agricultural loan. The farm output of the previous year significantly and positively impacted availing the agricultural loan. While the age of farmers significantly and negatively impacted on availing the agricultural loan. The results also confirmed the regional differences regarding the impact of farmland rights and land transfer-out on availing the agricultural loan. Findings of the study suggest public authorities to increase capital input through state-owned farm assets to reduce the funding gaps and promote agro-environmental sustainability.

GEF Innovative Forest Management Plan—Taking Grassland Forest Farm in Fengning County as an Example

Currently, China’s forest ecosystem focus is shifting from a single management objective to multiple management objectives, aiming to improve forest quality and maximize the benefits of ecosystem services. Many difficulties and problems are encountered in the long-term development of most northern state-owned forest farms—for example, the fragmentation and degradation of forest landscapes caused by poor forest management and extensive land use—resulting in an ecosystem that is unable to provide optimal services. This research was conducted on the Fengning Grassland Forest Farm, which is based on the GEF project of state-owned forest farms. We applied lessons from international advanced concepts, such as landscape restoration, and combinecombined all types of existing data and supplementary survey data on forest farms. In addition, we used multivariate statistical analysis and geostatistical analysis methods to optimize spatial layout and forest landscape structure. Strategies of landscape restoration and optimization, forest quality improvement, and grassland ecological restoration were proposed. A forest growth model was established to predict the annual growth of forests, calculate sustainable levels of annual cutting, calculate biomass and carbon sequestration in the management period, and evaluate the value of the ecological service functions of forest ecosystems in forest farms. Finally, a set of forest management methods was developed to effectively improve the sustainable management level of state-owned forest farms and enhance the service function of forest ecosystems.

State-Directed Capitalist Agrarian Change in the Creation of China’s Biggest Tea County: Integrating Capital and Labor in Meitan County, Guizhou

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the reconstruction of a county tea industry in order to help map capitalist agrarian change in contemporary China. The concentration of the tea industry in Meitan County, Guizhou, that began in the 1930s was further centralized under a state-owned farm and factory after 1949. Following the 1990s decline of the state-owned industry, the tea industry reemerged in a new form under a process of state-directed capitalist agrarian change in the early 2000s. Contemporary Meitan’s almost 500 independent tea processors market their products to the changing tastes of Chinese consumers. With an increased attention to tea “quality,” capitalist processors have had to take greater control over the labor process of farmers. Thus the industry has taken on a complex structure through a process of vertically integrating tea growers and processors, making use of a county tea producers association, dragonhead enterprises, specialized cooperatives, contract farming, and new property forms.

Love during China’s Cultural Revolution: evidence from a ‘sent-down’ couple’s private letters 1968–1977

ABSTRACT This paper reveals how love and marriage were interpreted, negotiated and maintained by a young couple during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), by analyzing 200 love letters. It first introduces the letter authors, their experiences of being ‘sent-down’ to work at separate state-owned farms, and the comrade-style love they developed by following the Mao-era injunction to prioritize revolutionary politics over personal matters. It then shows how class struggle politics and associated political thought movements inhibited youth dating and romance. Many young adults had to choose between personal matters and political revolution, which led to the paradoxical existence of expressions of ‘self-restraint’ and ‘self-indulgence’ in sexual affairs. After China’s universities reopened in 1970, the couple pursued tertiary education and put their romance on hold. This period was accompanied by a weakening tie between ‘personal matters’ (love) and political revolution and a rising tension between personal matters and personal development (education and career). With China’s abandonment of the ‘send-down’ policy in 1978, the couple returned to Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang province in northeast China. They married after a decade of separation and correspondence about their tumultuous experiences. Analyzing their letters demonstrates the impact of Mao-era policies, ideas and practices in shaping love and family formation processes for the sent-down generation.

Dismantling The State Farm System and its Communities in Poland During the 1990s, and its Social Consequences

This article focuses on the social consequences of the liquidation of state farms in Poland in the 1990s. The creation and operation of state-owned farms was an unprecedented experiment: state farms were a ‘laboratory’, both in the economic sphere (creating a collective economy) and in the social sphere, forming a collective community, largely isolated from much of rural society, functioning within the framework of assigned patterns of work and life. With the collapse of communism in Poland (1989) and the construction of a market economy, the existence of 1,440 state-owned agricultural enterprises (managing 18.7% of the agricultural area in Poland) was questioned. A decision was made in 1991 to liquidate state-owned farms, by virtue of a relevant Act. Their employees (about half a million of them) and their families (in total about two million people) became victims of the economic transformation, for whom the state did not provide appropriate support, leaving them to themselves. The experience of losing a job and lifestyle organized by the socialist system (especially social security) became a traumatic experience for this community. This article shows the social dimension of this political decision. It also gives a voice to former employees of these farms, who never had any proper representation and were treated as ‘people without a vote’.

Land Tenure and Cotton Farmers' Land Improvement: Evidence from State-Owned Farms in Xinjiang, China.

The land system of state-owned farms in China is different from that in rural areas. Whether the land tenure of state-owned farms can play a role in protecting cultivated land is an important issue for the high-quality development of state-owned agriculture in China. This article develops a dynamic model to examine how land tenure influences farmers’ decisions on land improvement. It then analyzes this relationship based on cotton farmers’ household-level data from state-owned farms of Xinjiang in China. We applied methods that take into account the possible endogeneity of the land tenure. The results reveal that the stability of land tenure in the past will not affect the current behavior of farmers for they have a relatively stable expectation of current land tenure and a high degree of trust in the government and its policies. The intergenerational transfer of land tenure is not the key factor that affects farmers’ land conservation, and the relatively long-term duration of land tenure (possibly five years or more) during their careers is more important. Our findings also reveal that non-property factors, such as government intervention (e.g., technology promotion) that alleviates the limited rationality of farmers, cannot be ignored because they played a crucial role in past land improvement when land tenure was less stable.

Wang Zhen's Role in the Recovery of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corpus (Early 1980s)

The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) or Bingtuan originates to the ancient military settlements (Tuntian or Tunken) on the border territories. Their goal is to protect and develop border areas, restore and progress the economy. Tunken, regardless of historical conditions, has always been an exclusively state-owned economic system. Therefore, the XPCC, despite the fact that it originated in 1952; it is based on the long tradition of its historical predecessors. At the same time, during the Soviet period, Tunken absorbed communist ideals, the experience of Soviet state farms, scientific achievements in the social and national building and military defense. In the subsequent period, in the Cultural Revolution, Bingt^n fell into disrepair and was liquidated. A new stage in the history of the Xinjiang Corps came with the beginning of the era of reform and opening. But all over china, the time of Bingtuan has come to an end: many state-owned enterprises and state farms associated with the development of border territories have totally transformed into independent economic units focused on the market. Thanks to the activities of Wang Zhen, who was well aware of the social realities of the region, an exception was made for Xinjiang, in which Bingtuan was restored in the early 1980s. The paper examines Wang Zhen's role in the revival of the XPCC, the reasons that influenced his position.

Review of Infections With Bovine Herpesvirus 1 in Slovenia.

In the 1950s, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis/infectious pustular vulvovaginitis (IBR/IPV) disease was clinically detected and documented in cattle for the first time in Slovenia. The bovine herpes virus 1 (BoHV-1) was confirmed several times from infected herds by virus isolation on cell cultures. To keep the IC virus-free, high biosecurity measures were introduced. Before entering the IC, all calves are serologically tested and quarantined. Bulls in Slovenian insemination centres (IC) have been negative for IBR /IPV infection since 1979. From 1985 to 1991, few large-scale studies of the prevalence of IBR/IPV were carried out. In 1985, a high percentage (56.9%) of serologically positive animals were found in large state farms with Holstein Friesian cattle. Epidemiological studies in farm with bulls' mother herds were also carried out in the farms with Simmental and Brown cows. Antibodies against BoHV-1 were detected in the serum of 2.3% of Brown cattle and 3.5% of Simmental cattle. In the year 2000, 3.4% of bulk tank milk samples from 13,349 dairy farms were detected BoHV-1 antibodies positive. The highest percentage of positive animals was found in regions with an intensive grazing system (6.2% positive) and the lowest percentage in the east part of Slovenia (0.9% positive) on farms with mostly Simmental cattle. In 2006, a total 204,662 sera of cattle older than 24 months were tested for the presence of BoHV-1 antibodies and positive cattle were detected in 3.6% of tested farms. These farms kept 34,537 animals that were potential carriers of the BoHV-1. Most of the positive farms kept Holstein Friesian cattle, descendants from the state-owned farms, which were privatised or closed after 1990. In 2015, the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary and Plant Protection issued a rule that describes the conditions for granting and maintaining the status of BoHV-1 free holdings. The rule provides a voluntary control programme for breeders who want to obtain BoHV-1 free status and are willing to cover all the cost of acquiring and maintaining that status. There has been very little response from breeders.

Mobility and immobility: the fluctuation of citizenship of resettled Vietnamese refugees in China

Contradicting the existing refugee studies literature criticizing China’s passive engagement in international refugee protection, China accepted as many as 300,000 Vietnamese refugees (难侨) of Chinese descent in the wake of the Vietnam War and resettled them on state-owned farms in southern China. By focusing on Vietnamese refugees on a state-owned farm on the Leizhou Peninsula, South China, this study examines the (im)mobility experience of resettled Vietnamese refugees in China, through which the fluctuation of citizenship is reflected. This paper brings the ignored dimension of the state into the analysis of (im)mobility. While showing how the resettlement regime shapes the mobility and immobility experience of Vietnamese refugees in China, this study demonstrates their agency in relation to the desire for four statuses of mobility and immobility. Meanwhile, this paper demonstrates the fluctuation of citizenship of the group of resettled Vietnamese refugees over the past four decades. In doing so, it expands the scope of existing literature on migration and refugee studies to an understudied country of destination, China, and helps us better understand the complexity of refugees’ experiences within broader socio-economic and politico-institutional changes.

The Impact of Transformational Changes on the Socio-Economic Conditions of the Rural Population. An Example of Poland

The aim of the article is to show that in rural areas, with particular emphasis on former state-owned farms, which were created as a result of changes in the forms of land ownership, mainly in Central and Eastern European countries, the economic situation of households is still worse than in the areas where there were no State Agricultural Enterprises (PGR). Research in Poland served as a case study. Selected methods of descriptive statistics and multivariate comparative analysis were used in the analyses. The results presented in the study at different levels of aggregation (voivodeships, poviats, and communes) allowed the identification of the regularities in the situation of rural areas. Among the beneficiaries of social assistance, most of the people live in rural areas and have a high unemployment rate; the problem of unemployment especially concerns those areas where the rural population with lower education levels predominates. Moreover, in former state-owned farms, the total disposable income per person is lower than in other areas, and the funds from the government program “Rodzina 500+” constitute a significant contribution to household budgets.

Evaluation of Self-Development Ability and Study of Its Obstacle Factors for State-Owned Forest Farms: Applying the SEM–PPM

State-owned forest farms (SOFFs) help maintain forest ecological security and hold an important strategic position in China’s development. In this study we used 1305 sample data from 16 provinces, a structural equation model (SEM), and a projection pursuit model (PPM) to evaluate the self-development abilities of SOFFs, and used the obstacle model to analyze factors hindering these abilities in various provinces, at different development levels, and with different subordination relationships. The results show that (1) the self-development abilities of SOFFs remain weak, and there are many more provinces with low than with high levels; (2) the subordination relationship significantly affects the self-development ability, which is the highest for municipal SOFFs; and (3) social services, people’s livelihood security, management ability, and forest resources are the main constraints for SOFF’s self-development abilities, and people’s livelihood security has the greatest influence for SOFFs with high self-development abilities, while social services are the most important for those with low self-development abilities.

The Agricultural Reform of 1981 and the Competition for Resources Between Peasant Farms and State-Owned Farms in the 1980s

Abstract In the economy of the Polish People’s Republic in the field of agriculture, the key resources which were a subject of competition included: land; production assets (machines, devices, tools for agricultural production, fertilizers, plant protection chemicals) and people necessary to work on farms and for farms. The command economy of the times of the People’s Republic of Poland was an example of an economy of permanent shortages, which increased in times of crises of the entire system. The collapse of 1979-1982 was such a socio-economic crisis. The Trade Union of Independent Farmers’ “Solidarity”, which was part of the great social protest movement in 1980-1981, forced a change in the communist regime’s approach to the peasantry and, together with other pressure groups, contributed to the implementation of the agricultural reform covering the entire sphere of agriculture and not only its state farm segment. The reform of 1981, initiated by the Rzeszów-Ustrzyki agreements, gradually changed the living situation of farmers and, above all, led to changes in the profitability of agricultural production and the legalization of trade in meat products at marketplaces as well as the release of prices for food products in 1989. Peasant farms won the competition with state-owned farms for capital resources – new production factors, and they expanded their land acreage (land factor). Farmers, however, were losing competition for workers in confrontation with industry and services in cities and state-owned farms, where farm workers could count on very generous social benefits.

Determinants of the Socio-Economic Situation of Living Standards in Areas Previously Occupied by State Farms in Poland: A Case Study

Purpose: The research objective was to diagnose the socio-economic situation in areas formerly occupied by a state-owned farm in Poland, using the Province of Warmia and Mazury as an example. Design/Methodology/Approach: Both a quantitative method and a qualitative one was employed. The research was conducted among residents of areas previously occupied by state-owned farms using a poll approach and a questionnaire designed by the research authors. Findings: A combination of factors, individual, cultural, and macrosocial ones, contributed to the situation when former state-owned agricultural farms in Poland are now an area where many negative, interconnected issues, such as unemployment, poverty, marginalization, lack of prospects and hope for the future, are concentrated. One of the major problems in these territories' labor market is the low occupational activity level among residents. Despite the high unemployment rate, nearly ¾ of the surveyed persons were not interested in improving their labor market position. Practical Implication: The practical implication arising from the research is the possibility of using the results in creating a regional policy in areas affected by the negative consequences of the operation and subsequent dissolution of state-owned agricultural farms. Originality/Value: It is still necessary to conduct studies in the areas formerly dominated by state farms in agriculture and search for new system-scale solutions, especially because the current interest in residents' situation in these areas is now waning. Rural areas, with their specific characteristics, for example, the occurrence of hidden unemployment, are distinguished by a large untapped human potential.

供热企业对以票控税政策的财务敏感性探究——以国有农场供热站为例

供热企业对以票控税政策的财务敏感性探究——以国有农场供热站为例

The Dairy Industry in Southeast Asia: Perspective, Challenges and Opportunities

Southeast Asia has low to moderate milk sufficiency and most countries rely on importation to meet the demand of the rapidly growing population. The region is the biggest market of milk and milk products coming from OECD countries. Smallholders constitute a large portion of the dairy industry in Southeast Asia while privately-owned and state-owned farms constitute the other portion. The lack of dairy animals with good genetic merit, shortage of good quality feed, limited knowledge and skills of dairy farmers, high cost of inputs and difficulty in marketing are some of the challenges of the local dairy industry. Opportunities in dairy abounds and these are driven by the rapid increase in population, increase in income and urbanization among others. Programs are in place and government has provided support to ensure development of the dairy sector. Multisectoral and collaborative approach, and international assistance could help hasten development of the dairy industry in the region.

Przemiany w zagospodarowaniu terenów popegeerowskich województwa łódzkiego – studium przypadku

Koniec ubiegłego stulecia to dla Polski okres szeroko rozumianych przemian ekonomiczno-społecznych. Wprowadziły one nowe regulacje prawne dotyczące m.in. rolnictwa, które przez niemal 40 lat podzielone było na sferę prywatną i państwową. Państwowe Gospodarstwa Rolne (PGR) były reprezentantem wprowadzonego ustroju socjalistycznego w aspekcie gospodarowania terenami wiejskim. W wyniku zmian dokonanych po 1989 roku a także przyczyn obiektywnych (jak np. złej lokalizacji w stosunku do bazy surowcowej) i subiektywnych (związanych ze złym lub biernym zarządzaniem) uległy one likwidacji. Głównym celem artykułu jest ukazanie przemian w zagospodarowaniu obszarów rolnictwa państwowego w województwie łódzkim opierając się na studium przypadku. Artykuł obrazuje ponadto, rozmieszczenie i specjalizację PGRów, tym samym stanowi pierwszą, całościową identyfikację tych jednostek w badanym województwie. Metody badawcze, które użyto w pracy pozwoliły na dogłębne spojrzenie na poruszany problem. W znaczącej części analiza oparta jest o inwentaryzację terenową oraz wywiady swobodne prowadzone na wybranych obszarach. Niezbędnym materiałem badawczym okazały się dokumenty, które pozyskano z archiwum Krajowego Ośrodka Wsparcia Rolnictwa (KOWR, niegdyś, Agencja Własności Rolnej Skarbu Państwa, AWRSP). W świetle przeprowadzonych badań wykazano iż niemal 50% zasobu przejętego z terenów popegeerowskich z województwa łódzkiego, zostało trwale rozdysponowane (głównie poprzez sprzedaż). Przemiany, które zidentyfikowano mają bardziej charakter odnowy i adaptacji do funkcji wcześniej istniejących na tych obszarach.

Przestrzenne zróżnicowanie zaległych zobowiązań finansowych osób fizycznych w Polsce

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie stopnia zadłużenia Polaków w ujęciu przestrzennym oraz próba wyjaśnienia przyczyn tego zjawiska. Wnioski z przeprowadzonej analizy wskazują, że zaległe zadłużenie jest wynikiem splotu przyczyn, spośród których dwie wydają się mieć zasadniczy charakter – są to przyczyny gospodarcze (strukturalne) i kulturowe. Przyczyny gospodarcze odnoszą się głównie do dużej liczby państwowych gospodarstw rolnych na obszarze Polski Zachodniej i Północnej w okresie przed 1989 rokiem. Natomiast przyczyny kulturowe są powiązane z pierwszymi i odnoszą się ponadto do kwestii związku z miejscem zamieszkania oraz prawem własności. Mieszkańcy Polski Zachodniej stanowią ludność napływową, słabo związaną emocjonalnie oraz prawnie z miejscem zamieszkania. Przeciwieństwem są mieszkańcy Polski Wschodniej, którzy często są związani z tym samym miejscem od pokoleń. Nie bez znaczenia są również aspiracje wpływające na zachowania finansowe ludności, kształtowane przez sąsiednie kraje. Bogate Niemcy kreują inne (wyższe) standardy konsumpcji na zachodzie Polski, aniżeli niezamożna Ukraina na wschodzie. W artykule wykorzystano elementy analizy historycznej oraz posłużono się badaniem związków przyczynowo- skutkowych. Informacje w nim zawarte pochodzą z opracowań naukowych oraz raportów na temat zaległego zadłużenia w latach 2007–2017. Ze względu na złożoność podjętych zagadnień ustalenia w artykule mają głównie charakter kierunkowy i stanowią punkt wyjścia do dalszych pogłębionych badań.