Modern Changes of Peasant Economy in Taiwan: The Commercialization of Dongshi Fruit Farmers

• Main Authors: Yeh, Sou-Li, 葉守禮
• Other Authors: Kao, Cheng-shu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/553q7h

碩士 === 東海大學 === 社會學系 === 103 === The significant growth of fruits economies is not only the most important development in Taiwan rural villages but the key to understand the modern transition in peasant economy. In Taiwan rural, peasants’ expertise is a valuable asset because the peasants, no matter how extreme the conditions may be, are capable of producing abundant, inexpensive, and various fruits. Dongshi, Taichung, the target of the field research, was originally an important lumbering village with paddy rice as its primary produce. After the transition to fruit tree in 1960s, Dongshi has transformed itself into a village noted for fruits. The transition, however, was prompted by poverty, which, as I call it, is the “make a living by commercialization.” Since then, under the pressure of providing for their families, the peasants, supported by ”intricate grassroots social network,” have exhibited their astounding abilities to cultivate fruits production. They also change the crop types with the most profits according to the ongoing market price. In other words, the peasants’ abilities have proved the fruit farming to be a unique form of “fruits economies for diverse domestic demands.” Around 1980s, with their strength to overcome multiple geographical and technical difficulties, the peasants in Dongshi successfully developed “star product” such as annual grafting pears, sweet persimmon, and murcott, which made Dongshi the most important cash crop region. This, notwithstanding, was an unintended consequence—it is safer to say that the result was a marginal revolution. However, owing to the market structures, the peasants’ revenues have been decreasing year by year. They fall into the vicious circle of overproduction; it is hard for them to get over growth without development. Even though commercialization is intensified and agricultural techniques are better, the peasants are still stuck in the abyss of poverty, with their income greatly lower than per capita income. Combining the perspective of social history, this thesis aims to find out how the peasants, during the transition, are able to maximize land productivity and innovate agricultural techniques on the basis of peasant economy in spite of the restrictions of the market structures that lead to the constant decline in the standard of subsistence living.