An investigation of changes in the urban shadow of Beijing metropolis under agricultural structural adjustment in China

The purpose of this study is to clarify changes in agricultural production, especially medicinal crop production, in Zhengzhang Village, which is located in the urban shadow of Beijing Metropolis under agricultural structure adjustment. In addition, the reasons behind the changes were analyzed. This study discusses the prospects of the developmental trends of agricultural production and farm management in farm households in the urban shadow of Beijing Metropolis. The People’s Republic of China (hereafter, China) started to implement agricultural structure adjustment in 1999. In particular, to prepare for China’s entry in the World Trade Organization (WTO), the government strengthened the quality control on some agricultural products that constitute part of China’s agricultural structure adjustment. Zhengzhang has a tradition of medicinal crop production, and from the time the Reform and Opening Policy was introduced, farm households have developed the business of cultivating and processing medicinal crops in order to increase their income. However, since 1999, due to the lack of capital to improve processing facilities, some farm households have had to abandon the business. At the same time, other farm households that were short of farmhands abandoned medicinal crops and shifted to food crops, which provided lower but stable income. As a result, medicinal crop production in Zhengzhang Village is dwindling under the agricultural structure adjustment, and the income polarization among farm households is becoming more defined. These changes can be mainly attributed to government policy adjustments. Other factors, such as market forces, the social situation, and globalization, also played major roles. This study carried out a detailed field survey of land use and farm management in farm households.