Institute of Pacific Relations

Two New Farm Programs for ManchoukuoAuthor(s): J. R. S.Source: Far Eastern Survey, Vol. 5, No. 17 (Aug. 12, 1936), pp. 186-187Published by: Institute of Pacific RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3021609 .

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186 Two Farm Programs for Manchoukuo August 12

templating the establishment of their own cotton plan? tations in Shantung, but this has yet to be confirmed.

If favorable weather continues until the beginning of the picking season in September, the Chinese cot? ton crop for 1936 is expected to reach 3,000,000 bales of 500 pounds, equaling or even exceeding the record crop of 1934. This would be a 15% gain over last year, when dry weather in the north and floods in the Yangtze valley reduced the yield. Details are not

yet at hand which would indicate how large a share of

the total is to be ascribed to the regions under Japanese influence. In 1935 the five northern provinces supplied

49% of the entire crop, but in 1934, 61%. Chinese cotton imports from October 1, 1935 to

April 30, 1936 were 97,000 bales, against 143,000 in

the corresponding period of the previous season. Im?

ports of American cotton declined from 78,000 to

43,000 bales, and consumption of American cotton is

also reported to be at a low level relative to previous

years. M. S. F.

TWO NEW FARM PROGRAMS FOR MANCHOUKUO

Both the Government and the South Manchuria

Railway Company have announced programs aimed to

give some relief to the agricultural situation in Man? choukuo. These announcements have been followed by reports that "the 1936 area of all agricultural crops in Manchuria is expected to increase by 10% over that of 1935."

Agricultural conditions in Manchoukuo have been

poor since the inception of the new state, due to

"banditry," floods and the shrinkage of foreign mar? kets. This has weighed heavily on the rural popu? lation. In fact the rural depression, affecting mostly the Chinese, has stood in marked contrast to the urban

prosperity, benefiting mostly the Japanese, resulting from the influx of Japanese capital. (See Far Eastern

Survey, March 12, 1936, pp. 51-58.)

Recently, however, there has been some improve? ment in the farm situation. The last staple produce transportation season has been the best in several years due to last year's good crops and the measures taken to ensure quick disposal of "wet beans." From October to the end of March, shipments over the various railways in North Manchuria totalled 997,000 tons, the highest figure in the past four years. This season has also seen a large increase in bean prices. Furthermore, the position of soya beans?Manchuria's

staple product?has been strengthened by the recent barter agreement with Germany, which provides for a considerable increase in the latter's purchase of beans.

Despite the past season's improvement, the farm

problem continues to be of prime importance to Man? choukuo as ninety percent of the population is engaged in farming. In order to strengthen the position of

agriculture, the Manchoukuo Government in April 1936 announced a basic policy of farm development. Two main aims are evident in the program. First, it fosters diversification in order to reduce dependence on soya beans. Efforts are to be made to control bean

production to bring it in line with domestic and foreign demand, but the methods whereby this is to be accom-

plished have not been stated. The other crops which are to be stimulated in the place of beans are wheat, cotton, wild silk, sugar beats, hemp, flax, oil seeds,

and fruits. Secondly, the program provides for the

improvement of farm methods and facilities through farm education, increase in the number of model farms,

experiment stations and weather observatories, estab-

lishment of cooperatives and the creation of a system of farm warehouses.

This program will probably be carried into effect in

the next fiscal year. While it is sweeping in nature, it remains to be seen whether this "basic policy of farm

development" will provide a solution for Manchuria's farm difficulties. These are seen as two-sided and re?

quire first, the elimination of banditry and rural inse-

curity and secondly, the recovery of foreign markets for either soya beans or the proposed alternative crops.

The South Manchuria Railway Company is also

vitally interested in the farm problem. Not only is it

dependent upon the state of agriculture and the ex?

port trade in staple products for its rail revenues, but a special situation has also arisen in connection with the hundreds of miles of strategic railways it has built in the past few years. These lines are mainly in North Manchuria and traverse what are on the whole unde-

veloped regions. As commercial traffic is lacking, they are consequently a heavy drain on the resources of the S.M.R. Co. In order to make these lines self-support- ing, the Company is planning the development of the

regions through which they pass. It has sent experts abroad to study foreign experience in stimulating settle? ment along new railways, and in addition, is reported to be in the process of establishing the North Man? churia Agricultural Development Company, capital- ized at ?80,000,000.

This Company will encourage immigration into North Manchuria, provide credit facilities for farmers, and introduce mechanized agriculture. In this connec? tion the S.M.R. Co. is reported to have selected two immense tracts of land in North Manchuria, totalling 1,225,000 acres on which to establish experimental farms for mechanized farming. Modern agricultural methods are seen as a necessity for the intensive devel?

opment of North Manchurian resources, and if suc-

cessfully introduced, will revolutionize farming in

Manchuria which has hitherto employed primitive

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1936 Chinese Government Taking Control of Fish Industry 187

methods of cultivation. A very important problem is the nature of the immi-

gration to be stimulated by the development program. Is it to be Japanese, Korean or Chinese? If the first, the costs of development will be considerably higher. At any rate, various plans for encouraging Japanese

immigration into Manchuria are being broached. The

plan of the Kwantung Army calls for the settlement of 1,000,000 Japanese families over a twenty-year period. In contrast, immigration for the current year will be only 1,000 families and for the next fiscal year is set at 5,000 families. J. R. S.

CHINESE GOVERNMENT TAKING CONTROL OF FISH INDUSTRY

The Chinese Government is taking steps to encour-

age the fishing industry. Since 1931 when the industry was first brought under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry, fishing has been under a four-year plan. In May of this year the first concrete steps were taken to realize this plan. A Central Fish Market was opened in Shanghai and a banking syndicate was formed to finance the industry.

Fish is an important item in China's food supply. At present a considerable amount is imported, despite the fact that China has a wealth of fish products in its rivers, lakes, and along the sea coast. In 1935 im?

ports of fish products totalled $19,028,281 (Chinese), not including smuggled products. If the technique of the native industry were improved the necessity for these imports would be reduced.

According to Chinese officials there are three prin? cipal reasons for the backwardness of the Chinese fish?

ing industry: (1) lack of financial assistance, resulting in the perpetuation of obsolete fishing methods; (2) inadequate protection for trawlers against pirates, etc.; and (3) inefficient marketing systems.

To remedy the first defect, the Banking Syndicate for the Fishing Industry was established by the Min?

istry of Industry and a group of twelve banks in

Shanghai. Beginning in July 1936, the Ministry of

Industry was to provide $200,000 annually for the fixed capital of the Syndicate. The circulating capital is placed at $800,000 for the fiscal year 1936-37, subject to change by the Syndicate. The object of this

organization is to promote cooperative societies among fishermen, to extend loans to groups and to construct modern fishing vessels to be leased to the fishermen.

The Government's steps to improve the marketing facilities include the offering of the new Central Mar? ket in Shanghai (Yangtzepoo) on May 12th. This market cost $1,000,000 and is equipped with refriger- ating plants, wharves, storage facilities, etc. As a project it has met with resistance since its inception. To quiet those who charged that the Government was interfering with private commercial interests, $300,000 worth of the shares was sold to the public. Further opposition to the scheme became apparent after the Market had opened. On May 26th there was a strike

among the dealers because the authorities had tried to

monopolize the transportation to and from the Mar? ket. The strike was settled satisfactorily the next day, by establishing standard practices and lowering the

charges on transportation. Despite these difficulties, the Market made a profit of $855,737 in the first twenty days of its existence.

Official statements to the contrary, it would appear that the Government is trying to centralize, if not

monopolize, the fishing industry. It is true that to date all the work with the industry has been done by the Central Government in Shanghai. However Shanghai is a large market for fish and is an entrepot for the trade of the Yangtze valley. After June 11th all fish?

ing vessels entering Shanghai must dock at the Central Fish Market. This establishes machinery for complete control of the distribution of fish.

The reasons for the official steps are not entirely clear. It may be due to the fact that with the develop? ment of refrigeration and fish preserving the internal market for fish may increase significantly, in which case government control of the industry would be an excellent source of revenue. On the other hand, it may be done in order to prevent similar action by other

groups. In Kwangtung parallel action has been taken

by the local provincial authorities. A fish market has been established in Canton and one in Swatow, finan? cial aid is being advanced to fishermen, and patrol boats will accompany the trawlers to protect them. Uniform

prices are to be fixed in the markets and taxes on fish are to be consolidated. In short, the Kwangtung Provincial authorities have taken just as absolute con? trol as have the central authorities in Shanghai.

A further clue to the reason for this sudden interest in fishing may be found in the statement made by the

manager of the fish market in Shanghai. He stated in an interview to the press that "the slightest en- croachments upon China's fishery areas by foreign trawlers was enough to deal a severe blow to the al?

ready undeveloped industry . . . Close cooperation be? tween the fishing fleet and the fishmongers is the first essential to the development of the hitherto untouched

seven-eighths of our fishing resources." H.M.

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