NORTHEAST AGRICULTURE EXPANDS RAPIDLY UNDER CCP LEADERSHIP

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070291-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 18, 2011
• Sequence Number: 291
• Publication Date: July 10, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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SECURITY INFORMATION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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Economic - Agriculture
Daily newspapers
Peiping; Canton
28 Nov 1951, 22 Apr 1952
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agriculture is rapidly expanding in the Northeast under CCP
leadership. Crop acreage in 1950, equaled the all-time high of
17,860,000 hectares for 1943. Work animals in 1948 numbered over
half a million less than 1943. By 1950 the number exceeded that of
1943. Food production rose from 13,200,000 tons in 1949 to 18,080,000
tons in 1950, or 99.48 percent of 1943 production. Production per
hectare rose from 1,615 catties in 1946 to 2,412 catties in 1950, an
increase of 13.93 percent over the 1943 figures.
In 1956 the area under cotton was 97.3 percent over 1949; in
1951, it was 91.9 percen` aver 1950. The soybean area c--so increased
in 1950 and in 1951. Cloth consumption by peasants rose from 4 mil-
lion bolts in 1919 to 9,020,000 bolts in 1950, or 12 times the 1947
consumption. Purchases of agricultural production materials in some
areas.Afose from 10.7-19 percent of total purchase in 1949 to 23-35.5
percent in 1950.
ThZre is now in the Northeast a preponderance of middle-class
farmers, running from 50 to 70 percent of the agricultural population.
Practically no poor farmers remain..
. New-style wealthy peasants are already appearing. This latter de-
velopment is inevitable at a certain stage in the revolutionary develop-
ment from feudalistic society to collectivized agriculture. It need
cause no apprehension. The peasants are being led from a disjointed farm
economy by way of mutual-aid teams and cooperatives to collectivization.
Use of women power in the fields is resulting in the release of hun-
dreds of thousands of men for urban industrial activities. Crop pest
land animal disease control and introduction of modern machinery are greatly
-benefiting agricultural production. A new mass production farm machinery
plant will soon be supplying all machinery needs. Production in 1951
reached 98.percent of plans. State farms number 542. Farm zoduction
.so"ler8?i.ves enrolled 32.9 percent of farm families in 1951]
REPORT
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DATE DIST. /0 Jul 1952
NO. OF PAGES 4
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SURVEYS NORTHEAST AGRICULTURE -- Peiping, Jen-min Jih-pao, 28 Nov 51
According to a special correspondent of this paper, Northeast agriculture
is making rapid strides under Chinese Communist leadership.
In 1943 [considered top year for agricultural production in the Northeast],
crop acreage was 17,860,000 hectares. In 1946, it was only 13,140,000. By 1950,
acreage had been restored to the 1943 figure. Work animals in 1943 numbered
4,270,000; in 1948, they numbered 3,760,000. By 1950, they greatly outnumbered
the 1943 figures.
In 1949, food production was 13,200,000 tons and in 1950, 18,080,000 tons,
an increase of 37 percent. This was 99.48 percent of 1943 production. Some
areas exceeded 1943 production. In 1946, average food production per hectare
was 1,615 catties and in 1950, 2,412 catties, an increase of 13.93 percent over
1943 figures. Food production in Su-lan Hsien in Kirin Province in 1943 was
139,566 tons; in 1950 it w^.s 166,568 tons, an increase over 1943 of 19.48.percent.
The area under cotton in 1950 was 97.3 percent over 1949; in 1951 the area
was 91.9 percent over 1950. The soybean area in 1950-,.as 28.17 percent over
1949; in 1951, it was 6.47 percent over 1950.
In Heilungkiang in 1950, the value of the output of supplementary agri-
cultural activities was the equivalent of 920,000 tons of food; the estimate
for 1951 is 1,100,000 tons,
The peasants' standard of living has steadily risen. In 1949, the state
stores sold 4 million bolts of cloth and in 1950, 9,020,000 bolts, which was
12 times the consumption for 1947. The peasants' purchasing capacity in 1950
was 133 percent of that of 1949. In 1949, one bolt of cloth was sold for each
14 persons; in 1950, one bolt for each 44 persons. Cooperative sales for the
first quarter of 1950. Cooperative sales amounted to 40 percent of total sales
in the area. In K'o-shan Hsien, Heilungkiang, in 1949, purchases of agricultural
production materials were 10.7 percent of total purchases; in 1950, 23 percent.
In Hu-lan Hsien, Sungkiang Province, production materials purchases in 1950 rose
from 19 percent of total purchases to 35.5 percent.
A, basic fact to be noted in agricultural expansion in the Northeast is that
there sow a -preponderance of middle-class farmers. In the earlier liberated
areas or'North Manchuria, they constitute 60-70 percent of the farmers and in
the more recently liberated areas of South Manchuria they run over 50 percent.
New-sty1dW4thy peasants also have appeared among them. Most hired and poor
farmere'have become middle class. Most of the remainder are making progress in
that direction. A few, through lack of labor power, illness, catastrophe, or
shiftlessness have fallen in the economic scale, but the total trend is definitely
upward.
Land reform is not the sole cause of improved economic conditions. After
land reform the farm economy was a scattered, individualistic, small farm economy.
As Stalin has stated, they stood "at the crossroads of capitalistic and
socialistic economy"; they could go either way. (cited from Socialistic Economic
Construction, Liberation Company Edition, Vol II, page 38). There is manifestly
no chance for the Northeast peasant economy to go capitalistic. Under the
leadership of the party, the government, and the city workers, it is moving up-
ward and toward unity with the city workers. It follows the path of the new
people's democracy.
During the land-reform period and the period of liberation struggle, the
agricultural economy split up. Manpower was lacking and much land went fallow.
The party has put forth great efforts to promote the mutual-old-team system in
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order to overcome the effects of this situation. It has put forth vigorous
educational propaganda to seek to avoid either the extreme of authoritarianism
on the one hand or that of laissez faire on the other. Various abe ant
theories have appeared, sucR7as the idea of an "average" individualistic peasant
economy designed as a socialistic approach that would prevent capitalistic
tendencies. The proposal heard in some quarters for a "common pot" is a re-
flection of these erroneous theories. Actually, in an expanding economy the
emergence of a new class of wealthy peasants cannot be avoided, nor should it
cause apprehension.
There has appeared in the Northeast mutual-aid-team movement a tendency to
try to compel people to join the teams by a policy of boycott of those who prefer
to operate individually (in the Northeast, a farmer operating individually re-
quires two or three horses), but the party has insisted that, as Comrade Mao has
taught, membership in mutual-aid teams must be wholly voluntary, and has put forth
much effort to educate the people along this line. However, at the same time,
the government each year has made liberal agricultural loans to the organized
peasants. Statistics for 1950 reveal 70-80 percent of all farm families as mem-
bers of the cooperatives, or more than 4 million families. According to Lenin,
an individualistic economy is very wasteful and all encouragement and support
should be given to cooperative activities. Hence, in the Northeast it is the
duty of the party to actively support the rural cooperatives in their efforts to
develop a new type of peasant economy.
It is also apparent that what has already been accomplished in the unification
of the scattered agrarian economy has been brought about by the working class and
their forerunners, the Communist Party, and not by any other class. It is also
evident that the agricultural revival and the rapid opening up of vast areas of
new land that has been accomplished during a few short years would bave been im-
possible without the rural cooperatives and mutual-aid to As. In the Northeast,
plowing requires from two to six horses. Without pooling of resources fin mutual-
aid team], it is very difficult to get this plowing done.
Introduction of women power into agricultural operations has greatly in-
creased the labor force and released many men to enter urban industrial plants.
Comrade Mao has said, "In China the agriculturists were the forerunners of the
industrial workers. In the future, scores of millions of farmers will enter
the urban industries. If China is to construct a great national industrial
economy and build modern cities, it will require a long range transmutation of
farmers into city dwellers." (Discussion of Coalition Government, Liberation
Press Edition, page 79.)
The experience of the Wang-then-t'ang mutual-aid team in Heilingkiang is
a good example of the economic advantages of the mutual-aid program. The amount
of land operated by this mutual aid team expanded steadily year after year, from
64.5 hectares in 1947 to 272 hectare: in 1951. In 1947, the group had ten
horses; in 1951 it had 76. The number of its work cattle grew from six in 1947
to 27 in 1951. In 1947, the group produced 180 ship of grain, and in 1950,
1,359 shih fl ahih equals 103.5 liter. The whole village of 32 families made
an economic advance during the period, with no retrogressions.
In the matter of reform of agricultural techniques, great advances are
being made. Over half a million antirenderpeat inoculations were given to
cattle in 1949, and over one million in 1950. :Pearly 43- million inoculations
for anthrax were given in 1950. At present, disease epidemics among work
animals have practically be... eliminated.
Since 1950, a new progressive policy on farm equipment has been adopted.
An appropriation of several tens of thousands of tons of grain has been made
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for the construction of an agricultural machinery factory in 1952 which will
be able to turn out in mass quantity the newest types of farm implements to
aid in stepping up production.
Food control, irrigation, and drainage are projects in vhich the ,arty
and government in Northeast China are much interested. Protective afforesta-
tion, as now planned as a 12-year project, will result in a protective belt of
trees from 30 to 50 meters wide every 10 kilometers on an area of 6,300,000
hectares.
What are the lessons to be learned from the increase of agricultural pro-
duction in the Northeast?
1. Only the working class, under the leadership of the party, has been
able to free the peasant masses from the shackles of feudalism and set their
feet on the road to high agricultural production.
2. Since the land reform, o'ly the working class and its political party
have been able to lead the peasantry step by step along the path from mutual-aid
teams through cooperatives toward collectivization. This is the only road to
steady expansion of agricultural production.
3. Only urban industrial expansion can create and improve the conditions
for technoy}ogical advance in agriculture; only nationaliza'.ion of industry can
push forward agricultural modernization.
4. Only by scrupulously carrying out the party's economic policy, par-
ticularly the price and taxation policies, can rural-urban mutual benefits be
realized and labor-peasant unity be promoted.
5. Only by industrial and agricultural expansion can the people's liveli-
hood be improved, the cultural level elevated, and the power of the people's
democratic government stabilized.
Canton, Nan-fang Jih-pao, 22 Apr 52
The People's Planning Commission for the Northeast hasrrereported th tthat, in-
spite of both drought and flood during 1951, a p orted
east China reached 98 percent of that planned for and exceeded 1950 production
by 3.3 percent.
Mutual-aid teams and agricultural production cooperatives were greatly
multiplied. There are now 456,106 year-round mutual-aid teams, which are 49.3
percent of all mutual-aid teams in the region.
Production cooperatives have enrollei 2,188,145 farm families. This re-
presents 32.9 percent of all agricultural families.
There are 542 state-operated farms which had a 41.3-percent increase in
planted acreage in 1951 over 1950. This acreage represents one percent of the
total planted acreage of the area. Of these state farms, 19 are more than 80
percent mechanized. They cultivated a total of 65,000 hectares in 1951.
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