Sceptical farmers, curious spectators: An eco-farm’s dilemma

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Foodthink’s Perspective

Organic farming is far from a pastoral idyll, a fact for which the young people participating in Foodthink’s Lianhe Ecological Agriculture Internship Programme had already mentally prepared. However, out in the fields, through day-after-day of labour and observation, they gained a completely new understanding of farmers, ecological farming, and farm management, as well as new confusions and reflections. These experiences are invaluable, whether they choose to pursue ecological agriculture in the future or simply become more conscious consumers. During the final semester of their final year, the author of this article became a second-batch intern, welcoming both university graduation and the end of their internship at the farm. Applications for the third batch of interns are now open; all are welcome to apply. There will also be an online ‘Open Day’ at 7 pm on 29 February, where some farm mentors and former interns will share their first-hand experiences of the programme. For more details, please see the poster at the end of the article.

I. The farmhands growing organic veg don’t buy into organic farming

I interned at the Letian Haiwan Farm in Shanghai, which has employed healthy, organic cultivation methods and committed to avoiding chemical fertilisers and pesticides since its founding in 2020. Other interns from the same cohort were even more eager than I was to prove the viability of organic farming to their hometowns and to a wider audience.

● April 2023: The second batch of Foodthink’s Ecological Agriculture Internship Programme had just arrived at the farm and were preparing a hotpot meal together. The author is second from the right. Photo: Wang Hao

However, the staff members who actually grow the organic vegetables didn’t seem to care, nor were they keen on the techniques and methods of ‘organic ecology’. Whenever a pest outbreak occurred, they would often offer a mix of complaint and suggestion: ‘If you don’t spray, the crops will be eaten clean’.

From leafy greens to yellow peaches and then to maize, this scenario repeated itself throughout my eight-month internship. In private conversations, despite watching the plants grow every day, they remained steadfast in their disapproval of this cultivation method.

I was curious and somewhat perplexed. Letian is a membership-based farm, renting out plots of 32–64m² for 3,000–5,000 yuan a year. All the year’s harvest belongs to the member, while the farm handles all the labour except for the picking. Members often leave with a bountiful harvest, many of whom are consumers who believe in organic principles. Rarely did I hear any dissatisfaction with the quality of the produce from them. This was a stark contrast to the views of the farm staff.

● These member plots, which appear to be ‘divided and managed’ separately, are actually tended to by local farmers in their sixties and seventies hired by the farm; however, they have not taken the farm’s organic philosophies and methods back to their own homes.

Thanks to a bit of linguistic knowledge, I began to understand more and more of their conversations in the high-frequency dialect environment. Also, thanks to opportunities to share meals, I saw the vegetables they grew at home, which led to chats about farming. Due to land transfer arrangements, the amount of land each household can manage for themselves is limited, and they truly lack the energy to tend to more land after work. Consequently, production is low, and most grow only what is needed for their own families. Most strikingly, the crops in the farmers’ own plots were more robust and plump, a clear contrast to those at the farm.

● The vegetables at Letian Farm are certainly difficult to describe as ‘pretty’. Photo: Xiaoshu
Some scholars use the term ‘one family, two systems’ to describe the current state of Chinese agriculture: using various pesticides and fertilisers for crops intended for sale, while avoiding them for crops grown for home consumption. However, I found that the reality is not quite so simple. While these local elders may not fully buy into the farm’s philosophy, they are entirely aware of the dangers of pesticides. Since they do not pursue high yields and grow the food for themselves, they limit the use of pesticides in their own plots, or avoid them altogether. This is also a matter of cost: saving wherever possible.

Some crops inevitably require pesticides, such as autumn maize. Local maize is grown in two seasons a year; in autumn, pest infestations are severe, and farmers must spray to ensure they have maize to eat in the autumn—a matter of practical necessity.

I didn’t know the specific types of pesticides, nor could I understand the names of the ones she chose, but I knew for certain that Letian Farm would not use such methods to handle pests. Unsurprisingly, Letian’s autumn maize was a pitiful sight. Although those who adhere to organic principles do not recoil at vegetables bitten by insects, there were few ears of corn left that were actually edible.

When the maize ripened, some members could not visit the farm and needed us to pick and courier the produce to them. One day, after scouring all the farm’s public maize fields, I managed to find barely 20 ears that looked presentable. But without exception, every single one harboured several cream-coloured larvae. An auntie taught me a trick: soak the maize in water to drive out all the bugs. In the process, I overcame my fear of insects.

I do not know if other organic farms have better production management techniques to grow healthy maize in the autumn. Of course, we could choose not to plant it, just as we don’t plant baby bok choy in the summer.

Having witnessed the pest damage to this pesticide-free maize year after year, it is no wonder local farmers do not believe in organic agriculture. Yet, in the minds of some, this is the price of ‘organic’; the idea that ‘the bugs eat half, and I eat half’ is part of the organic philosophy.

II. A farm that doesn’t rely on selling vegetables to survive

To these local elderly farmers, their own vegetables, grown with pesticides and chemical fertilisers, are superior to those at Letian. They also believe that most members renting land at the farm are ‘amateurs’ when it comes to farming and, as consumers, lack the ability to discern the quality of vegetables. However, this may be precisely the key distinction between Letian, as a new type of farm, and a traditional farmer: while Letian grows vegetables, it sells more than just produce.

Located in Fengxian in the suburbs of Shanghai, more than an hour’s drive from the city centre, the farm attracts three main types of members: urban organic consumers seeking food safety and quality, adults nostalgic for the land, and families wishing for their children to experience nature. Accordingly, the farm provides harvestable land, organic vegetables, a place for children’s weekend recreation, and a platform for adults to socialise or relax. Among the farm’s many functions, agriculture and agricultural produce are only a small part of its output.

● Many members rent caravans at the farm on a long-term basis for weekend getaways, with each vehicle accompanied by its own small vegetable patch. Photo: Xiaoshu

In truth, although the farm does sell vegetables at 15 yuan per half-kilogram, this is rarely the choice for most customers. Nor does the farm intend for vegetable sales to be its primary revenue stream. More often than not, the farm is happy to give a few kilograms of vegetables as a parting gift to every visitor attending an activity.

Given that the farm cannot, nor does it intend to, sustain itself by selling organic vegetables, and must provide a wide array of services to its customers, the question of how to allocate labour in a way that departs from traditional agriculture becomes a complex one. A previous intern’s description of the working conditions—“a carpenter who can’t farm isn’t a good electrician”—highlights some of the challenges the farm faces.

Consequently, when it comes to the matter of cultivation, Letian’s answer is this: the farm does not provide high-yield, visually appealing commodities. More often than not, the produce is intended to be part of the farm’s ornamentation—a scenic feature or an exhibit that fits the ‘organic’ label. Alongside the wooden fences enclosing the plots, unused enzyme composting bins, worm composting towers cluttered with members’ plastic waste, and children’s play equipment, coupled with regular nature education activities, it creates a multi-functional ‘eco-agriculture theme park’. This is perhaps the farm’s compromise with the market, a concession made by the countryside for the city, and a reflection of the constraints of limited manpower.

● The farm has put a great deal of effort into providing facilities for pastoral activities beyond just farming for its members. Photo: Xiaoshu

III. If the farm isn’t selling vegetables, what is it selling?

As for the cultivation itself, the primary goal is to ensure the satisfaction of the majority of members, most of whom come from the city. The farm promises to grow eight to ten or more varieties of vegetables in a single plot to meet the needs of the members’ dinner tables. For the members, the most satisfying moment is having some leisure time after a busy week and seeing their own plot overflowing with a wide variety of vegetables. The ‘overflowing’ part is key, as is the variety and the organic label; as for everything else, it often becomes a matter of superficial fascination.

● For members, spending a weekend experiencing farm labour is more important than actually buying vegetables.

Towards the end of my internship, as a semi-layperson who didn’t grow up in the countryside and had learned fragmented agricultural knowledge through practice and hearsay, I found I could speak fluently when faced with members’ questions about ‘farming’. After all, they were simply basic questions such as ‘how has the weather been lately’, ‘what pests or diseases have occurred’, ‘when can the vegetables be picked’, or ‘how to cook them’. This was true for new members as well as those who had rented land for a year or two.

Perhaps members can maintain a ‘sense of novelty’ from the different produce provided by the land throughout the four seasons. But over a longer period, will they develop a deeper interest in the land and agriculture? If not, and if the novelty of produce from their ‘own land’ continues to fade, will they still choose a plot of land an hour’s drive from the city centre after a year or two? I do not know.

● For urban consumers, is this sense of happiness enough to keep them returning to the farm? Photo: Xiaoshu

Of course, Letian Bay Farm will not remain static. The farm has always tried to continuously create a ‘sense of novelty’ for its members. Constantly updated facilities and a steady stream of new activities attempt to convey a message: the farm is vibrant, and every visit brings a new surprise. For most of my time at the farm, I was responsible for this part of the work, including but not limited to repairing facilities, arranging event venues, writing WeChat posts, and teaching children.

● The ‘work’ the author completed on their first day at the farm.

IV. Until our paths cross again

During my eight months at the farm, my body bore many marks of labour: mud on my clothes and shoes, tanned skin, calluses on my hands, fingers that no longer worked with fingerprint locks, and a biological clock that woke me up punctually early in the morning. Under the much milder October sun, before these precious marks disappeared, I took a photo with Master Ni, the oldest person at the farm, ending my internship and bidding farewell to this land.

● Master Ni, still working at 75, and I.

Foodthink Author
Qiu Tian
Part accountant, part confused Chinese literature graduate exploring the future.

 

 

About the Ecological Farming Internship Programme
The Lianhe Ecological Farming Internship Programme was launched by Foodthink in 2021. It aims to provide support for young people interested in ecological farming and for established ecological farms, allowing the youth to master farming knowledge and techniques through practice, while ensuring the experience of veteran farmers is summarised and passed down. At the same time, it provides farms with high-quality talent and injects vitality into rural communities. To date, two recruitment cycles have been completed, supporting over 40 partners in entering more than 10 ecological farms across the country for internships lasting from two months to one year. The third cycle of the internship programme is currently recruiting. Click here for details, or scan the QR code below to apply to be an intern for the next cohort!

Unless otherwise stated, all images are provided by the author

Editor: Tianle

Published by Foodthink