Vegetable management expansion and profitability comparison in China: A case study of Shauguan area, Shandong Province

In China, the reorganization of the agricultural marketing system and the establishment of more production sites in the countryside have brought about a tremendous expansion in vegetable production levels. Specifically, there is a growing interest in extensive, in-house vegetable production. This change in the gricultural production system is best exemplified by the shift from traditional grains cropping to vegetableproduction. This shift in production systems was due primarily to higher profit from vegetable production. However, in-house vegetable production characteristically requires more inputs and capital, and is labor intensive. Our study on the expansion of in-house vegetable production and profitability focused on Shauguan Area of Shandong Province. Our results showed : (1) one village that has been in vegetable production for about ten years and is nearer to a wholesale market is able to produce from 2 to 3 crops a year. As a result, household income has dramatically increased. Economies of scale were also evident in that larger, in-house production sites had lower production costs. (2) In contrast to No.1, one village we studied experienced a number of shifts in its cropping system; first, from grains to cotton, and then, from cotton to vegetables. Vegetable production only started about 5 years ago. This village is far from any wholesale market. Since shifting to vegetables, the farmers have observed that their household income has been steadily increasing. However, agricultural income does not come solely from vegetables because other income sources such as grains and swine exist. (3) The access and availability of wholesale markets affected the nature of the production systems in the villages we studied. Especially, for in-house vegetable management, land productivity was high. However, this type of production is both labor and capital intensive