Production and marketing of 'Unpolluted vegetables' in China: The actual condition and future challenges taking an example of town A of Jiangsu province as leading agribusiness on contract cultivation

In recent years, the production of 'unpolluted vegetables' in China has increased continuously. This case study explains the contractual content of the cultivation of unpolluted vegetables, their sale modes, and the income levels of contract farmers. Unpolluted vegetables are mostly produced by the alliance of agribusiness and farmers. With agribusiness's technical guidance and other measures that lessen the economic burden on farmers, farmers have started to engage in the contract cultivation of unpolluted vegetables. Agribusiness guarantees the vegetables' security to a certain extent due to its participation in cultivation management. Moreover, when the market prices of vegetables drop down unceasingly, agribusiness still has to purchase the farmers' products according to the contract agreement on quantity and prices, which is advantageous for the increase of the farmers' income. Even if the farmers plant the vegetables according to the agribusiness's guidelines, the ratio of qualified products is still not high because of the farmers' relatively low technical skill level. Because the percentage of crop that qualifies for the agribusiness guideline is low, i.e. the passing ratio is low, the farmers' income is not stable. To raise the farmers' overall technical level is the biggest task at present. The best solution is to establish a technique-transmitting mechanism to improve farmers' skills regarding growing unpolluted vegetables. In the planting process for unpolluted vegetables, the accreditation authority encourages farmers to use compost actively. But the supply of compost is limited. In areas with insufficient supply of compost, farmers need to buy high-price fertilizers. As a result, the cost of production is increased. When the production scale of unpolluted vegetables is enlarged, the compound of district agriculture is also a problem we need to discuss.