Agricultural research in China : its institutional development and impact

This monograph traces the historical evolution of the country"s agricultural research system, describes its contemporary institutional structure, and discusses quantitative aspects of the system and its impacts on agricultural production. China"s present agricultural research system, established in 1957, was adversely affected from 1967-76 by the Cultural Revolution. Today"s institutional structure, an integrated effort which has evolved out of political struggles, ever-changing international relations, and the country"s economic vicissitudes, is organized in a rather decentralized manner and operated by various ministries and ministerial-level units. Generally, vertical linkages which allow different national, provincial, and prefecture levels to work together are well- formed and stable; horizontal linkages between departments of different yet equivalent institutes are more tentative. As for quantitative aspects, during the last 40 years both investments in agricultural research and crop yields have grown considerably; in fact, 20% of the growth in agricultural production is attributable to research investments. The rate of growth has slowed since 1985, however. Due to lack of sufficient data, this report is unable to make specific policy recommendations, but a concluding chapter does identify areas of policy concern. Includes 6-page bibliography.