Rural Development in Chongqing: The “Every Peasant Household’s Income to Grow by 10,000 Yuan” Project
The “every peasant household’s income to grow by 10,000 yuan” project
in Chongqing’s “two wings” region is an important movement implemented
by the Chongqing government to spur development in the rural areas of
Chongqing’s poorest region. The project has two key components at the
policy level. The first is to promote agricultural “industry-ization” 产业化
and to construct corresponding chains of production, processing, and sales
in the two wings, thus forming the basis of growth in peasants’ income. The
second is the emphasis on people’s livelihood, which is based on the ambition
of accomplishing “balanced income growth” or “income growth for every
household.” The project includes both “drawing in business and investment”
招商引资 and “industry planning” 产业规划 as well as “cadres to go into
peasant households and support them directly” 入户帮扶. Some of the practices
of Chongqing cadres in supporting peasants show that the government
can improve the microeconomic environment for peasant households and
enhance the vitality of their small farms. This article first analyzes the policies
and practices of agricultural industry-ization in the income growth project
and the efforts of the Chongqing government to achieve “income growth
for every household.” The theoretical implications of the project, including the role of government in economic development and the vitality of small
farming in China, are then discussed through dialogue with social science
theories.
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