Industrial development and benefit sharing of mountain agriculture: The Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) industry in Southwest China

Abstract

In the context of corporate-led agricultural industrialization, the agricultural systems in the mountainous areas of Southwest China are undergoing significant transformations, profoundly impacting the local agroecological environment and farmers’ livelihoods. This study aims to investigate how the “company + farmer” model influences the cultivation of buckwheat in the Liangshan Yi region in Southwest China. The study hypothesizes that while this model provides market opportunities for farmers, it also marginalizes them from equitably benefiting from industrial growth, leading to the abandonment of traditional crop production and negative impacts on the local agroecological environment and food culture. Drawing on anthropological fieldwork, this study gathers qualitative data from participant observation and interviews to analyze the socioeconomic and ecological implications of these changes. The findings revealed that the push for agricultural industrialization has resulted in the replacement of traditional food crops, including buckwheat, with cash crops, fostering a monoculture system that undermines biodiversity and local food security. The study concludes that future rural development efforts must prioritize the cultural and ecological roles of traditional farming communities and promote a farmer-centered, diversified agricultural production system.

Keywords

Mountainous agriculture landscapes / Agricultural industrialization / Food culture / Food security

Funding

This study was funded by the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Project of Guizhou Colleges and Universities (2023GZGXRW160).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare they have no competing interests.

References

[1] Wan J. Zhun zongxiang yiti hua, guanxi zhili yu heyuan lvxing-yi nongye chanye hua jingying de wenshi moshi wei li [Quasi-vertical integration, relational governance, and contractual performance: The case of winsor model of agricultural industrialisation]. Manag World. 2008;12:93-102,187-188.

[2] Wolpe H, editor. The Articulation of Modes of Production: Essays from Economy and Society. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul; 1980.

[3] Ka CM. Mitang Xiangke: Riben Zhiminzhuyi Xia TAIWN de Fazhan yu Congshu [Contradiction between Rice and Sugar Farming: Development and Dependency in Taiwan Under Japanese Colonialism]. Taipei: Socio Publishing; 2003.

[4] Yan HR, Chen YY. Agrarian capitalization without capitalism? Capitalist dynamics from above and below in China. J Agrar Chang. 2015; 15(3):366-391.

[5] Borras SM, Liu J, Hu Z, Li H, Wang C, Xu Y, Ye J. Land control and crop booms inside China:Implications for how we think about the global land rush. In: BRICS and MICs: Implications for Global Agrarian Transformation. United Kingdom: Routledge; 2020. p. 134-151.

[6] Xu Y. “Taken-left” dynamics? Rethink the livelihood changes of affected villagers in the era of the global land rush. Agric Human Values. 2023; 40(3):1171-1184. doi: 10.1007/s10460-022-10404-4

[7] Ruan C, Ding L. Jinronghua shidai nongye ziben jilei fangshi de zhuanbian: Jiyu zhongguo xinan gaodi maka chanye fazhan de minzu zhi yanjiu [Transformation of agricultural capital accumulation mode in the era of financialisation: An ethnographic study based on the development of the Maca industry in the southwestern highlands of China]. Sociol Res. 2023; 38(2):135-157, 229.

[8] Wu CY, Ye JZ. Zuowu fanrong jincheng zhong de nongzheng zhuanxing: Guoji shiyu xia de shijian fansi yu fazhan qishi [Transformation of agrarian politics in the process of crop prosperity: Practical reflection and development insights in the international perspective]. J Guangxi Univ Natl (Philos Soc Sci Ed). 2024;1:50-61.

[9] Ruan C. Yunnan Xiaoliangshan Yizu Kuqiao Wenhua de Huanjing Renleixue Yanjiu. [An Environmental Anthropological Study of the Buckwheat Culture of the Yi Ethnic Group in Xiaoliangshan]. China: Yunnan University; 2012.

[10] Ye NG, Guo GQ. Classification, Origin and Evolution of the Genus Fagopyrum in China. In: Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Buckwheat. Taiyuan, China: Agricultural Publishing House; 1992. p. 19-28.

[11] Ohnishi O. Search for the wild ancestor of buckwheat III. The wild ancestor of cultivated common buckwheat, and of Tatary buckwheat. Econ Bot. 1998; 52(2):123-133. doi: 10.1007/BF02861199

[12] Murai M, Ohnishi O. Diffusion routes of buckwheat cultivation in Asia revealed by RAPD markers. In: Current Advances in Buckwheat Research. Japan: Shinshu University Press; 1995. p. 163-174.

[13] Zhou M, Tang YU, Deng X, et al. Overview of buckwheat resources in the world. In: Buckwheat Germplasm in the World. United States: Academic Press; 2018. p. 1-7.

[14] Campbell C. Buckwheat: Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. Promoting the Conservation and Use of Underutilized and Neglected Crops. Vol. 19. Rome: Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben/International Plant Genetic Resources Institute; 1997.

[15] Lin R, Yan C. Production, Research, and Academic Exchanges of China on Buckwheat. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Buckwheat; 2007. p. 7-12.

[16] Hudek C, Putinica C, Otten W, De Baets S. Functional root trait-based classification of cover crops to improve soil physical properties. Eur J Soil Sci. 2021;73:e13147. doi: 10.1111/ejss.13147

[17] Płażek A, Dziurka M, Słomka A, Kopeć P. The effect of stimulants on nectar composition, flowering, and seed yield of common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench). Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24:12852. doi: 10.3390/ijms241612852

[18] Farrell DJ. A nutritional evaluation of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). Anim Feed Sci Technol. 1978; 3:95-108. doi: 10.1016/0377-8401(78)90038-X

[19] Kayashita J, Shimaoka I, Nakajyoh M. Hypocholesterolemic effect of buckwheat protein extract in rats fed cholesterol-enriched diets. Nutr Res. 1995; 15(5):691-698. doi: 10.1016/0271-5317(95)00036-I

[20] Li SQ, Zhang QH. Advances in the development of functional foods from buckwheat. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2001; 41(6):451-464. doi: 10.1080/20014091091887

[21] Kreft I, Zhou M, Golob A, et al. Breeding buckwheat for nutritional quality. Breed Sci. 2020; 70:67-73. doi: 10.1270/jsbbs.19016

[22] Nong Y, Zhao M, Chien H. Path relationship of consumers’ perceived susceptibility and severity of health problems with their purchase of buckwheat functional foods in China. Heliyon. 2022;8:e10671. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10671

[23] Bulan MTS, Posner JL, Peng D, Emshwiller E, Wang X, Li J, Stoecker R. Old crop, new society: Persistence and change of Tartary buckwheat farming in Yunnan, China. Hum Ecol. 2017;45:37-51. doi: 10.1007/s10745-016-9871-4

[24] Qian LS, Chen JH, Deng T, Sun H. Plant diversity in Yunnan: Current status and future directions. Plant Divers. 2020; 42(4):281-291. doi: 10.1016/j.pld.2020.07.006

[25] Li W, Sun L, Chen K, Zhang Z, Chen J. Diversity and conservation of higher plants in Northwest Yunnan- Southeast Tibet. Glob Ecol Conserv. 2023;42:e02396. doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02396

[26] Jones MK, Liu X. Origins of agriculture in East Asia. Science. 2009; 324(5928):730-731. doi: 10.1126/science.1172082

[27] Zhu SZ. Lishi shiqi sichuan Liangshan yizu diqu zhuyao nongzuowu de zhongzhi yu chuanbo [The cultivation and spread of major crops in the Liangshan Yi region of Sichuan during historical periods]. Chin Agric Hist. 2006; 27(2):12-21.

[28] Lin Y. Liangshan Yijia [The Yi of Liangshan]. Kunming: Yunnan Ethnic Publishing House; 2003.

[29] Li S. Lun minzhu gaige qian Liangshan Yizu shehui de dengji jiegou [On the caste system in Liangshan Yi society prior to democratic reform]. In: Liangshan Yizu Yanjiu 1 [Research on the Liangshan Yi 1]. Beijing: The Ethnic Publishing House; 2011. p. 65-72.

[30] Cheung SC. The social life of American crayfish in Asia. In: Re-Orienting Cuisine: East Asian Foodways in the Twenty- First Century. New York: Berghahn Books; 2015. p. 221-237.

[31] Ruan C. Nongye chanye hua fazhan yu Liangshan Yizu nongmin de pinqiong: Dui Liangshan zhou kuqiao chanye fazhan de kaocha [Agricultural industrialization development and poverty of Liangshan Yi farmers: An investigation of the tartary buckwheat industry in Liangshan prefecture]. Open Times. 2017; 31(2):206-223.

[32] Liu D. Liubian de chuantong: Zhujiang sanjiaozhou diqu de Yizu jiazhi zaizao [Fluid tradition: The remaking of Yi clans in the Pearl River Delta]. Open Times. 2013; 2: 203-213..

[33] Zhong M. Kuqiao Tuwei “Sanchongmen” Nongmin Bu Quexi [Tartary Buckwheat Breaks through Difficulties, Farmers Benefit Too]. Sichuan Daily Website. 012. Available from: https://dzb.scdaily.cn/2012/11/22/2012112265235 [2017 Feb 15].

[34] Min Q, Zhang Y, Jiao W, Sun X. Responding to common questions on the conservation of agricultural heritage systems in China. J Geogr Sci. 2016; 26(7):969-982. doi: 10.1007/s11442-016-1310-3

[35] Jiao W, Min Q. Reviewing the progress in the identification, conservation and management of China-Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (China-NIAHS). Sustainability. 2017; 9(10):1698. doi: 10.3390/su9101698

[36] Ye J, He C. Poverty alleviation practice and theoretical exploration based on small-farm household production: A case study of a small-farm “nested market” poverty alleviation trial. Soc Sci China. 2020; 41(3):152-172. doi: 10.1080/02529203.2020.1806490