Agriculture and Industry - Early Changes in Agriculture Flashcards
Agrarian reform law
- launched in 1950
- aimed to destroy the ‘gentry landlord’ class
- landlords property seized and redistributed to peasants
- many sentenced to death
Agrarian reform law - problems of a national policy
• in the north only 10-15% farmers rented their land
• in the south where GMD had retained control before they fled, land reform had not yet begun
• many peasants didn’t want to seize land of family members in the clan
Changes in agriculture - attacks on landlords
• work teams trained and sent out to organise land reforms
• work teams organised peasants to help determine class of different members of the village
• peasants encouraged to round up landlords and subject them to struggle meetings - often sentenced to death
• landlords easy target - used as a scapegoat
The impact of land reform
- estimated 88% households took part
- agricultural production boomed - 1950 and 1952 increased 15% per year
- 1-2 million landlords executed
Different perspectives of land reform - peasants vs CCP
For peasants…
• represented dream of owning land free from landlord exploitation and indebtedness
• greater security from threats like famine
For CCP…
• land reform seen as first step in creating a socialist, modern and industrialised economy
Mutual aid teams (MATs)
• CCP introduced co-operative ownership of land
• MATs introduced across the country - peasants pooled resources such as tools
• MATs on a small scale - consisted of 10 or fewer households
• accepted amongst peasants as peasants already helped each other to benefit the community
Voluntary agricultural producers co-operatives (APCs)
- CCP aimed to further reduce economic freedoms
- APCs meant land reorganised into a single unit - peasants compensated using points system according to the value of contribution
- peasants received either grain or money in payment
*APCs comprised 3 to 5 MATs joined together - roughly 30 to 50 households - less popular - peasants didn’t want to share land - only 14% joined new units
Disagreements over collectivisation - gradualists
• Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai
• claimed China was not ready for large scale farming - China lacked mechanised equipment
• denounced the ‘premature’ establishment of APCs
Disagreements over collectivisation - Mao
• Mao demanded an increase in pace of reform towards full collectivisation
• believed slow agricultural growth would hinder industrial progress as exporting food was China’s way of paying for imports
• with his encouragement participation in APCs reached 96%
Growth of APCs
• by 1955, 63% peasant households part of APCs
• sometimes APCs encompassed whole villages
Enforced collectivisation
• by 1956, 80% households in APCs
• pragmatism completely abandoned
• privatisation completely abolished
• members only compensated for their labour
