The Rural Voice, 1988-12, Page 27It is not unusual in China to see
families trying to raise a few chickens
or a pig by feeding it on the scraps it
can gather along the streets of a town.
Chickens are tied to a tree with a rope
around their legs. A family member
gets the job of walking the pig up and
down the street and along the high-
way. We were told that it takes these
families two to three years to raise a
pig for market. But it soon became
apparent why these animals are not
fed a regular amount of grain: they
are being raised without a contract.
For contracted livestock, farmers
China is the world's largest grain
producer, but it is also an importer
because it is more economical for
China to import wheat into the north
than to ship it from the south of the
county.
Food rationing and price control
help keep famine at bay. The state
subsidizes consumers by buying staple
foods for state stores at a higher price
than the food is sold for. About 750
pounds of grain (including beans and
sweet potatoes) is consumed by each
person in China on an annual basis —
about two pounds per person per day.
It is not unusual in China to see families trying to raise a few
chickens or a pig by feeding it on the scraps it can gather along
the streets of a town. Chickens are tied to a tree with a rope
around their legs. A family member gets the job of walking the
pig up and down the street and along the highway.
receive ration coupons to purchase
feed.
While rice is one of the most
commonly known crops of China, we
soon learned how important wheat,
corn, soybeans, millet, barley, sweet
potatoes, and other vegetables are to
Chinese people. China produces more
rice, millet, tobacco, barley, and sweet
potatoes than any other country. One-
third of China's total arable land is
devoted to rice production, while the
remaining two-thirds is used primarily
to grow wheat, soybeans, cotton, tea,
and rapeseed.
China has only two-thirds of the
land base that the U.S. has for agri-
cultural production but must support
a population four times larger. And
while agricultural production increases
yearly, consumption pursues it relent-
lessly. China has increased its output
by using chemical fertilizers and flood
control, eradicating pests, and intro-
ducing double and triple -cropping
methods as well as better plant
varieties and seeds.
Irrigation remains the most impor-
tant factor for about 111 million of the
280 million acres cultivated in China.
The importance of water is illustrated
by a Chinese proverb: "A good or bad
harvest depends on fertilizer, but
water will determine whether you get
any harvest at all."
(Although we were served several
meat dishes at every meal, we were
told that our hosts normally eat a meat
dish only once a week. A piece of
beef that we would serve to one would
be chopped up and served to five
people in China.)
China, despite its rich cultural
history, is a developing country
where labour-intensive methods are
commonplace. An average income is
about $350 a year. The Canadian
farmer's dream of having two or three
children and owning a farm and a car
is just that — a dream— to the
Chinese. A bike costs about half a
year's wage, strict birth control meth-
ods have been introduced, couples
usually have only one child (all the
government support available to a
couple with one child is lost if they
have two), and couples are on a wait-
ing list to apply to live in an apartment
or single dwelling of their own.
Owning a farm is simply not an option
— the government owns the Lahti.
As machines are introduced into
farming, Chinese villages are being
encouraged to engage in industrial
production to absorb the labour not
needed on the land. It is hoped that
this will relieve some of the pressure
on cities, where housing, transporta-
tion, and sanitation are already
strai ned.0
LEARN TO
INSEMINATE YOUR
OWN COWS
On Farm Courses
SELECT
For more information clip & mail
NAME:
ADDRESS:
PHONE:
BREED:
To: JAMES LUCKHARDT
R. R. 1 Chatsworth, Ont.
NOH 1G0
519-794-3883
TOMORROW'S GENETICS
DAWNING TO
CANADIAN
CO-OPERATIV
WOOL (,ROWERS.
LIMITED
WOOL CLIPS
PURCHASED
@ 750 per Ib.
* Skirted Fleeces
* Well Packed Sacks
PROMPT PAYMENT
For more information contact:
RIPLEY
WOOL DEPOT
John Farrell
R.R. 3, Ripley, Ontario
519-395-5757
DECEMBER 1988 25
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