GEOG 240

Topic 4: Agricultural and Industrial DevelopmentFrancis YeeCamosun College

Abbreviations

GNI – Gross National Income GDP – Gross Domestic Product FDI – Foreign Direct Investment NIE – Newly Industrialized Economies ASEAN – Association of Southeast

Asian Nations G7 – Group of Seven G20 – Group of Twenty GPN – Global Production Network

Asia-Pacific Agricultural and Industrial Development

I. Agricultural Systems, Growth and Food Security

II. Food SecurityIII. Patterns of IndustrializationIV. Industrial Development Factors

I. Agricultural Systems, Growth and Food Security

A. Agricultural Systems1. Shifting Cultivation2. Sedentary Farming3. Green Revolution4. Plantation

B. Agricultural Growth, Output and Employment

C. Food Security

1. Shifting cultivation a slash and burn

method, rotation of land, and common in forested

and upland areas; problems of

deforestation and forest fire,

declining in most places due to development, Raising of livestock is an

important agricultural activity in Tibet, China (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

2. Sedentary farming (Rice production) intensive use of

land, high productivity,

small plots, use of machines not common,

increasing use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides,

rice production in most parts of Asia Rice farming in Burma (Photo

by F. Yee 2005

3. Green Revolution high-yielding seeds

allow an increase in production of rice, wheat, and corn

Wide application of fertilizers and irrigation water;

increase landlessness due to rising costs of inputs

Green revolution was implemented in many parts of China. (Photo of farms in Sichuan by F. Yee, 2007)

4. Plantation production of single

crop for exports, introduced during

colonial times, use of imported

labour common, e.g. oil palms

Tea and tobacco now replace opium production the Golden Triangle, borders between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Photo by F. Yee, 2005)

B 1. Agricultural Growth in Asia: higher than global average

China Cambodia E Asia SE Asia World0

1

2

3

4

5

6

4.55.1

3.5 3.32.6

Agricultural Growth in Asia 2005-2010

Countries/Regions

Avera

ge A

nn

ual G

row

th

Rate

(%

)

2. Agricultural Output: the share of GDP by agriculture declined in most Asian countries and reduced its importance in the economy below ¼ in most countries.

China Indonesia Viet Nam Cambodia0

10

20

30

40

50

3024

4347

1015

21

36

Agricultural Output in Asia, 1980-2010

19802010

Countries

% o

f G

DP

Source: UNESCAP 2011

3. Agricultural Employment: major economic sector in absorbing employment but its share of total is declining; contributed to >2/5 of employment in SE Asia

Malaysia China* Indonesia Thailand0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

37

69

56

71

14

40 40 42

Agricultural Labour Force in Asia 1980-2009

19802009

Countries

% o

f Tota

l Lab

ou

r Forc

e

Source: UN-ESCAP 2012.

II. Food Security

A. Patterns of Hunger

B. Who are the Hungry?

C. Factors of Food Shortages

Rapid decline of farmlands occurred in the Pearl River Delta region due to industrialization and urbanization (Photo by F. Yee, 2005)

A. Patterns of Hunger

Timor Mongolia Cambodia China Vietnam0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

4038

40

21

47

38

24

17

129

Undernourished Population in Asia, 1991-2011

1991 2011

Countries

% o

f P

opula

tion U

ndern

ouri

shed

Source: UN MDG, 2013

1. Undernourished Population: below the minimum of 1800 calories per day

a) 11% of total population (>200 million) in E and SE Asia (below the developing countries’ average of 16%)

b) Varied from <5% in S. Korea to 38% in Timor.

c) Most countries experienced a drop in the proportion of undernourished population

2. Hunger Index: a combined indicator of % of children undernourished, % of children under 5 years of age undernourished, and mortality rate of children under five.

a)Low in S. Korea, Singapore, Japan, b)moderate in China and Malaysia, c)7 of the 10 SE Asian Countries have a

serious or alarming hunger problem.(Weightman, 2012)

3. Regional Variations – uneven hunger levels at local villages and regions

High incidents of hunger occurred in :a) Places with frequent tropic storms and

flooding (e.g. central Philippines)b) Tribal and hilly regions (e.g. N. Thailand)c) Drought-prone and poor soil (e.g. W

China)d) Remote areas with poor transport (e.g.

Tibet)

B. Who are the Hungry?1. Rural people - children in rural

areas are more than twice as likely to be underweight while income for rural women was too low to provide enough food for the family

2. Migrant workers – unable to pay for rising food prices due to low pay

3. Tribal groups – loss of access to their traditional lands and forests and other resource on which they depended for food and livelihood

4. Low social class – often being discriminated against and unable to have adequate access to food

Children in rural Burma has a high hungry index (photo by F. Yee 2005 in Tachilek, Burma)

C. Factors of Undernourishment1. Global economic crisis: many people suffered from

unemployment and loss of income which rendered them unable to buy food

2. Higher food prices: global supply are dwindling and prices increased by 50%, many poor people were priced out of the food market and forced to sell their land

3. Reduced crop yields – due to global warming and unsustainable practice

4. Changes in Production – a shift away from farming for human consumption to crops for biofuels and cattle feed

(Weightman 2012)

III. Patterns of Industrialization in Asia

A. Industrial GrowthB. Industrial

EmploymentC. De-industrializationD. Export processing

zonesE. High- tech industry Workers’ housing in a Batam

industrial park, Indonesia (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

A. Industrial Growth: higher growth than other sectors, moderate to high rates of growth in most countries

Japan Thailand S. KoreaViet Nam China-202468

101214

-1

4 5

8

12

0

4 4

7

11

Industrial Growth Rates in Asia, 2005-2010

IndustryGDP

countries

Avera

ge A

nn

ual G

row

th

Rate

(%

)

Economic Structure – declining share of industry in Japan and S. Korea but rising in Chin and Vietnam

 Japan S. Korea  China

1970 46 26 40

1990 40 42 41

2008 32 37 49

2.5

7.5

12.5

17.5

22.5

27.5

32.5

37.5

42.5

47.5

Industrial Sector in Asia Pacific, 1970-2008

% o

f G

DP

B. Industrial Employment

New international division of labour - relocation of industrial jobs from developed countries to NIEs 1980s-1990s – the ASEAN-4 (Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, and

Indonesia) 1990s on – China, Vietnam

Labor intensive industry & employment in NIEs Low capital and technology requirements: textiles,

clothing, footwear, and electronics assembly

C. Export Processing Zones

Objectives: attract foreign investment Generate employment Transfer of technology Increase exports of industrial products

Policies: tax incentives, serviced lands and buildings utilities and transport infrastructure, reduced government red-tape

Results major centre of industrial production and

exports. provided large #of employment opportunities Generated significant foreign exchange

earnings through exports “Successful” Examples

Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, etc.

Shenzhen was established as one of China’s Special Economic Zones in 1979 (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

D. High-tech Industry

High-tech Industry: some NIEs attempted to upgrade from labour intensive to high-tech industry (e.g. computer chips) since the 1980s as labour costs increase

High-tech initiatives: Science Park in Singapore Super Multimedia corridor in

Malaysia Beijing High-tech Park

Super multimedia corridor was promoted by Malaysia to promote high tech industry located S of Kuala Lumpur (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

IV. Industrial Development Factors

A. Industrial Policies

B. Role of State

C. Cultural and Social Factors

D. Foreign Trade & Investment

 

A.        Industrial Policies

Industries received high priority for government investments

Industrialization became a national goal and means to achieve (Western) modernization

Singapore’s Industrial Strategy “Intelligent Island” – develop a

network of fiber-optic & digital communication system

Computer industry – a key producer of computers;

TNCs - 7000 TNCs employing 60% of Singapore’s workforce and produce 80% of its exports

Industrial hinterland - investments in China, Malaysia and Indonesia as part of Singapore’s industrial hinterland

Science Park in Singapore (Photo by F. Yee 2007)

B. Role of State

Active involvement by government in industrial development Taiwan (government

controlled enterprises); S. Korea (close

relationship with chaebols);

Japan (led by Ministry of International Trade and Industry)

Singapore, an Intelligent Island, increasingly focused on high-tech development. (Photo by F. Yee,

2007)

China’s Open Door Policy and Industrialization

Open Door policy – adopted to encourage foreign investment and trade in 1978

Special Economic Zones - were created to promote foreign investment, increase employment, accelerate technology transfer and facilitate exports.

Coastal Cities: were opened since 1984 to expand the open door policy

FDI: a cumulative total of almost US$300 billions of FDI were received and millions of new industrial jobs were created

An electronics factory in Dongguan, China (Photo by F. Yee, 2005)

C. Cultural and Social Factors

Rapid industrial growth was attributed to: The presence of a

highly disciplined work force

Extensive influence of Confucianism: hard working and conforming

The provision of basic education to the general public, including industrial workers

A group of university graduates in Singapore (photo by F. Yee 2007)

D. Foreign Trade and Investment

Neo-liberal approach: encourage private business and welcome multinational corporations

Foreign trade and investment were strongly supported by government and World Trade Organization A Japanese IT company in

Singapore’s Science Park (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

Malaysia industrialization An outward looking

strategy was adopted since 1980s

Free trade zones were established to encourage FDI

Manufacturing is the largest employment sector (50%)

Multi-media super corridor was constructed in Cyberjaya (S of Kuala Lumpur) to promote knowledge-intensive industries

A new university in Cyberjaya, Malaysia to support high tech development (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

Readings

Weightman, ch. 5.