“Politics of Scale”: The Shift from Small Migrant Farmers to Big Organizational Agriculture in Shanghai’s Suburbs

Abstract

Peri-urban agriculture is acquiring increasing interest in terms of food security. This chapter focuses on agriculture in the urban fringes of Shanghai which attracts a large number of migrant small-farmer communities for cultivation of vegetables in particular. But there has been a growing preference of urban policy makers in favor of large agricultural companies and cooperatives, much to the distress of small marginal farmers. Such a policy shift, the author finds, is not as much because of “economics of scale” that these large enterprises offer but because of the vested interests of the urban authorities toward recording “politics of scale” that is supposed to be reflected in terms of organizational effectiveness and better transaction costs. The chapter argues that the environmental sensitivity and dispersion of agricultural operations are needed in urban fringes. It is neither desirable nor fair to drive out small migrant farmers from the urban fringes.