Key topic 2: Economic policy, 1949–65 - 1 Early changes in agriculture,…

The idea

Following the initial redistribution of land, the CCP began gradual moves towards agricultural cooperation to increase efficiency and prevent the re-emergence of a wealthy peasant class. The process started in 1951 with Mutual Aid Teams (MATs), where small groups of up to ten peasant households shared tools, draft animals, and labour, while retaining private ownership of their land. By 1953, this progressed to lower-level Agricultural Producers' Cooperatives (APCs), comprising 30 to 50 households. In APCs, land was pooled and farmed collectively, and profits were distributed based on both the amount of land contributed and the labour provided. These gradual steps aimed to accustom peasants to socialist farming methods without provoking the resistance seen during Soviet collectivisation.

What earns the marks

• Identify Mutual Aid Teams (MATs) as the first step, involving the sharing of labour and tools among small groups of households.
• Explain the progression to lower-level Agricultural Producers' Cooperatives (APCs), which pooled land from 30-50 households.
• Describe how profits in lower-level APCs were distributed based on both land contribution and labour.
• Explain the CCP's rationale: increasing agricultural output and preventing the rise of a new 'rich peasant' class.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Confusing Mutual Aid Teams with full communes.

  Put it right: Ensure you distinguish between the early, small-scale MATs (sharing tools/labour) and the later, massive communes of the Great Leap Forward.

• Stating that peasants lost all private property in the early cooperative stages.

  Put it right: Emphasise that in MATs and lower-level APCs, peasants still retained private ownership of their land.

• Assuming the move to cooperation was entirely forced from the beginning.

  Put it right: Note that early moves like MATs were largely voluntary and built on traditional peasant practices of seasonal sharing.

Exam tips

• Trace the chronological progression clearly: Land Reform to Mutual Aid Teams (MATs) to lower-level APCs.
• Explain why the CCP felt cooperation was necessary after land reform (e.g., small plots were inefficient, fear of capitalism returning).
• Use specific numbers, such as MATs involving around 10 households and lower-level APCs involving 30-50, to show precise knowledge.