7th workshop meeting of the IAMO China-IRG held on March 26, 2013
How do rural households react on increased long-term security of land rights? This is a major research question addressed in one out of six new (or fairly new) projects that were discussed during the seventh workshop of the IAMO China research group. New land rights institutions (particularly on land rental) as introduced under the “Chengdu Experiment” provided a unique chance for Kristin Leimer, PhD student in the research group, to collect data in Sichuan and use them to anticipate how land rights reforms may impact on household welfare, agricultural production and the ecology. The group discussed how different angles, from which farmers’ behavior could be looked at, implying different a priori assumptions, can complement each other in understanding complex systems.
Another view on farm household behavior, underpinned by ‘induced innovation theory’, is empirically tested by Yueqing Ji and Yanjie Zhang. Their research on organizational adjustments to increasing scarcity of farm labor due to out-migration of labor from rural areas models choices between investing into labor-saving machinery, participating in a market for agricultural services and shifting to labor saving production.
The objective of the workshop was to update each other on the ongoing work and to access expertise in the group on how to address challenges occurring in the individual projects. As in previous meetings, lively discussions inspired well-coordinated research and helped to foster the cohesion among group members. Eefje Aarnoudse, for instance, getting ready for field work on water resource management in Gansu, initiated lively discussions on ways to collect more reliable data on sensitive issues such as water allocation systems. Experience from earlier projects was reported showing that familiarity with research sites and thorough qualitative research should be regarded prerequisites of collecting meaningful quantitative data.
Three research projects presented during the workshop are based on large micro data sets compiled by CCAP, Beijing. Qiran Zhao, engaged in comparing alternative policies to improve elementary students’ nutrition, highlighted problems of measuring individuals’ knowledge on nutrition and anemia. Reliable measures of such knowledge can facilitate to assess potential effects of training parents on child nutrition. Lena Kuhn discussed pros and cons of statistical approaches combining data from two distinct sources (the CCAP Public Investment Survey with Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey) in order to gain insights into the distribution of material well-being in rural China. Lili Jia’ presentation on interrelations between rural roads and non-agricultural labor in Chinese villages inspired discussion on scale effects of this type of infrastructural endowment.
Two guests of the workshop provided additional input and food for thought: Marco Langrock of Halle University presented results of field trials in Inner Mongolia comparing yields and profitability of different management types on large state farms: currently pervasive large scale methods of soy and wheat farming were compared with decentralized farming on small household plots and with methods of modernized mechanization and management proposed in a Sino-German cooperation project (“Ganhe demonstration farm”). While it is clear that stable results on the effects of fertilization cannot yet be expected after the (first) three years of field trials the present preliminary evaluation does not establish clear cut results. Depending on the crop, weather conditions and market prices the ranking of the three farming systems in terms of profitability differs from year to year.
The second input from outside the group was provided by Uwe Hoering, political scientist and publicist from Bonn. The expert in global development issues highlighted recent developments of Chinese agricultural supplies and food markets which have seen fundamental changes in recent years (read German version). Increasing demand for food, feeds and renewable energy has resulted in a surge of Chinese feedstuff imports as well as considerable outward FDI in agricultural production in Central and Southeast Asia as well as in Africa. It remains difficult to assess to what extent modernization and re-organization of domestic farming in China can help meeting those challenges of increased demands. Most of the contributions during the workshop were touching aspects relevant for this big remaining question.
August 2012: Lili Jia selected as one of the top three candidates for T.W. Schulz award
IAMO researcher Lili Jia was prestigiously nominated for the T. W. Schultz award for the best oral contribution by a young scholar at this year's IAAE conference in Foz do Iguacu (Brazil). The nomination was granted for the paper ‘How land fragmentation affects off-farm labor supply in China: Evidence from household panel data’ by Lili Jia and Martin Petrick. Jia presented her paper in front of the plenary auditorium of the conference on 23 August 2012, together with the other two nominations.
Congratulations for this success!
Please find the paper by Lili Jia and Martin Petrick here.
April 20, 2012: Nico Heerink, Wageningen, joines IAMO China Center as an external member
Dr Nico Heerink, distinguished scholar in the field of Chinese rural development, has visited IAMO China Center on April 19-20. Dr Heerink, associate professor at the development economics group at Wageningen University and guest professor at Nanjing Agricultural University and Zhejiang University, discussed with IAMO China Center members on research activities and options for future collaboration in research and education. Dr Heerink is now an external member of the IAMO China Center. During his visit he also gave a presentation titled ‘Characteristics and Job Attitudes of China's New Generation of Migrants - Evidence from the Less-Developed Western Region’ and discussed with IAMO staff on the future agenda in Chinese rural development research.
Jan. 27 - Mar. 04, 2012: visit from CCAP at IAMO
Ms. Yan Ma, research assistant at the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy (CCAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, is currently paying an academic visit to our institute. She has given a presentation on her ongoing research with the topic Self-employment and the Propensity of Permanent Residence in Urban China: Evidence from Twelve-City Migrant Survey.
Nov 7, 2011: Lili Jia received PhD for study on land fragmentation
Our group member Lili Jia has successfully defended her PhD thesis "Land fragmentation and off-farm labor supply in China" on Nov. 7. Dr. Jia, originally from Inner Mongolia, got her MSc from China Agricultural University and has worked on her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Martin Petrick since 2008, i.e. as one of the first IAMO China group members.
Her thesis theoretically and empirically identifies the effect of land fragmentation on off-farm labor supply. Drawing on data from three Chinese provinces, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Yunnan, the study finds that land consolidation can increase agricultural labor productivity but it fails to affect off-farm labor supply significantly.
Currently Dr. Jia is working on a cow hotel project in cooperation with CCAP colleagues.
Here is part of her work as contributed to the GEWISOLA conference 2011.
Oct-Dec, 2011: Guest researcher from Tsinghua University at IAMO
Dr. Boqiong Yang, researcher at the Department of Environmental Science & Engineering of Tsinghua University, Beijing came on October 22 for a two-months research stay at IAMO. Together with IAMO colleagues she works on a publication on foreign direct investment in China and its effects on the environment.
Oct. 16-20, 2011: Guests from Sichuan Agricultural University involved in new cooperative research plans
Invited by Dr. Daniel Müller and Dr. Zhanli Sun, two guests from Sichuan Agricultur University, Prof. Dr. Yuansheng JIANG and Dr. Ge HE, have visited IAMO from Oct. 16-20. Their visits were mainly funded by Robert Bosch Foundation under the “Science Bridge: Asia” program. Besides of detailed discussions with IAMO colleagues on a potential collaboration project on rural energy, Prof. Jiang also gave a presentation on biogas development in Sichuan province, and Dr. He gave a talk about carbon emissions.
Sep 4-10, 2011: Short term visit from CCAP at IAMO
Mr. Linke Hou, PhD student at CCAP, Beijing came to IAMO for a short time research visit after attending the EAAE congress in Zurich. Aside from discussing further cooperation with IAMO colleagues Mr. Hou gave a presentation on present research dealing with genetically modified crops: Hedonic price and yield effects of the GM trait: The case of Papaya in China presentation
August 18-22, 2011: SinoGerman Workshop 'Food Security in China and International Agricultural Trade' organized by IRG members
IRG group members Xiaohua Yu and Bernhard Bruemmer (both Göttingen University) have organized this workshop held in Goettingen on August 18-23, 2011. Researchers from China and Germany including several members of our group presented their research and discussed a wide area of issues relevant in the topical context. program
Mr Yanjie Zhang wins 2010 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad
Our group member Yanjie Zhang has been awarded the prestigious 2010 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad by the China Scholarship Council.
The China Scholarship Council is the Chinese Ministry of Education’s non-profit organization that provides student financial aid to Chinese citizens and foreigners to study abroad or in China. Founded in 2003, this award is based on academic merit with the purpose of rewarding the academic excellence of Chinese students overseas who are not funded by the Chinese Government. Only students with outstanding academic performance are considered by the award selection panel. The award further encourages students to return to China for work or to serve the country in other channels after receiving their degree abroad. In 2010, a total of 506 awards were given worldwide, with 36 Chinese students in Germany receiving awards.
Mr. Zhang works on his PhD at Goettingen University and IAMO. Congratulations to Yanjie for his outstanding achievements. picture
Dr Boqiong Yang - guest researcher at IAMO
Dr. Boqiong Yang, researcher at the Department of Environmental Science & Engineering of Tsinghua University, Beijing arrived at IAMO on October 22 for a two-months research visit. She works in collaboration with IAMO researchers on the effects of foreign investments in China on environmental quality.
