John W. Longworth

Food safety and development of the beef industry in China

Food safety concerns have escalated in China as they have elsewhere, especially in relation to meats. Beef production and consumption has increased proportionately faster than all other meats over the last two decades. Yet the slaughtering, processing and marketing of beef remains, for the most part, extremely primitive when compared with Western beef supply chains. By comparing the economics of household slaughtering with that of various types of abattoirs, this paper explains why household slaughtering and wet markets still dominate beef processing and distribution in China. The negative economic, social and industry development implications of enforcing more stringent food safety regulations are highlighted. The willingness/capacity of consumers to pay the added cost of better inspection and other services to guarantee food safety is investigated. In this context, the paper also evaluates the market opportunities for both domestic and imported Green Beef. The paper questions the merit of policy initiatives aimed at modernising Chinese beef supply chains for the mass market along Western lines

State Sector Reform and Agriculture in China

Chinas state sector reform process is examined through the key sector of agriculture. A preview of aggregate statistics and broader reform measures indicate the declining role of the state. However, a systematic analysis of administrative, service and enterprise structures reveal the nuances of how the state has retained strong capacity to guide development of the agricultural sector. State and Party policy makers aim not only to support the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of farmers, but also to pursue agricultural modernization in the context of rapid industrialization. These goals are unlikely to be achieved through a wholesale transfer of functions to the private sector, so the state has maintained or developed new mechanisms of influence, particularly in the areas of service provision and enterprise development.

Grassland degradation and livelihoods in China's western pastoral region: A framework for understanding and refining China's recent policy responses

Purpose - China has embarked on a major concerted strategy to arrest grassland degradation and livelihood problems in the western pastoral region. The paper aims to provide a framework through which this strategy can be understood and refined into the future. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based on a typology of grassland policies – technical, administrative, and management – and a discussion of the emphasis that China has and should place on each policy category. Data are drawn from policy documents and interview material collected through extensive fieldwork in large tracts of Chinas western pastoral region. Findings - China has appropriately pursued “top-down” technical and administrative policies to address major and immediate degradation-livelihoods problems. However, longer term solutions to the problems require the strengthening of management structures from the “bottom-up”, especially amongst herders themselves and other economic factors. Practical implications - The paper proposes a series of concrete recommendations that may be considered as China refines its grasslands strategy into the future. The emphasis in the paper on the relationships between multi-dimensional policies is of particular value in addressing multi-dimensional grasslands-livelihood problems. Originality/value - Despite the magnitude and implications of Chinas recent grasslands strategy, there is a dearth of English language studies on the subject, which this paper aims to fill. The paper includes numerous micro-level insights gained from extensive fieldwork in the western pastoral region that are not evident in more macro-level studies.

Forage-livestock policies designed to improve livelihoods in Western China: a critical review

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show how the promotion of integrated forage/ruminant-livestock industries forms a key plank in efforts to improve rural household livelihoods in Western China. Design/methodology/approach - The paper critiques how this industry development has proceeded in the case of Qingyang prefecture in Gansu. The way in which the industry policy has manifested from central to local levels of government is outlined along with how the industry policy relates to other measures intended to improve household livelihoods. Findings - The outcomes of this forage-livestock industry policy do not always match the intention, and the paper examines the various disconnects that arise between government agencies, government and households and households and the market. The foremost challenge for policy makers is in connecting households and markets. Originality/value - Identifying the impacts of policy and institutional settings associated with forage-livestock systems is crucial if improvements are to be made and as these systems become more widespread in Western China.

Rural Development in China: Insights from the Beef Industry

Introduction: The challenge of industry and rural development. Industry Dynamics: Market, household, enterprise and administrative reforms Industry organisational structures and participants Industry growth and segmentation Emerging market structures and industry integration. Institutional Transitions: Types of institutions Horizontal government structures Vertical hierarchy. Policy Reforms: Production support - critique of a specific industry policy Value adding and vertical integration Market support systems Poverty alleviation and environmental policies Food safety and inspection. Conclusion: Forging industry and rural development in China.

Australian Wheat Policy 1948–79: A Welfare Evaluation

Australian wheat policy has remained relatively unaltered for thirty-one years. This paper evaluates its major effects on wheat growers, taxpayers, wheat users, and others. Conventional Marshallian policy analysis was augmented with production and price uncertainty. When policy gains and losses were expressed in net terminal values as of 1979, wheat users gained

AGRICULTURAL MODERNIZATION AND STATE CAPACITY IN CHINA

1,122 million, wheat growers lost

Rural development in China: Industry policy, regionalism, integration and scale

995 million, taxpayers contributed

Specialty products, rural livelihoods and agricultural marketing reforms in China

1,009 million, and the net social welfare loss was

“Second generation” problems associated with economic reform in the pastoral region of China

882 million. For growers, the interrelationship between production uncertainty and policy was unfavorable and much larger than the favorable price uncertainty/wheat policy interaction.