Mutual reinforcement of economic and social exchanges between new farmers and rural communities in China: Implications for alternative agriculture development

A growing number of well-educated individuals from urban middle-class backgrounds, often termed new farmers, are migrating to rural areas to pursue alternative agriculture. While prior research has acknowledged the existence of economic and social exchanges between new farmers and rural communities, the interdependencies between these exchanges and their impacts in shaping alternative agricultural practices remain underexplored. Drawing on three cases from the Pearl River Delta region of China, this study investigates how economic and social exchanges between new farmers and rural communities mutually reinforce one another and collectively influence the trajectory of alternative agriculture. Findings indicate that economic exchanges, such as farmland leasing, farmworker employment, and collaborative business ventures, not only generate direct economic benefits but also foster social relationships characterized by mutual trust, respect, and acceptance. These socio-economic interdependencies between new farmers and local communities, in turn, underpin more sustainable, enduring, and cooperative forms of alternative agriculture by reducing conflicts, stabilizing resource access, and promoting community integration. However, these benefits remain unevenly distributed and at times primarily symbolic. By elucidating these relational dynamics, this research contributes to a deeper theoretical understanding of how interwoven economic and social interactions shape alternative agricultural development among new farmers and rural communities. • Economic and social exchanges between new farmers and rural residents in China are mutually reinforcing. • Farmland leasing fosters trust via village official's patron-based mediation mechanisms. • Inclusive labour practices help embed new farmers into rural community networks. • Business cooperation promotes knowledge spillover and local socio-economic gains. • The integration of economic transactions and social relationships fosters more stable and sustainable alternative agriculture.