K. This is the 1st working draft of vol. VI. It still ... - From Marx to Mao

318 MAO TSE-TUNG
people and the troops opening new lands and improving agricultural
methods.
Our third agricultural policy is to increase the planting of cotton.
The entire Border Region needs 3 million jin of cotton. If on
average each mou of land can yield a net total of 20 jin of raw cotton,
we only need 150,000 mou of land for cotton. If each mou can
only yield a net total of 15 jin or even less, we shall need 200,000
mou. We should prepare our cotton land according to the latter estimates.
But because households planting cotton for the first time
lack experience and faith, even if we expand the area planted to cotton,
the harvest will not live up to expectations. Therefore it is not
possible to attain the full target for cotton production in a single
FROM MARX
TO MAO
year and we should increase cotton land by 56,000 mou in 1943.
⋆
Together with the previous 94,000 mou, the total will be 150,000
mou making it possible to increase production to 2,250,000 jin.
There is no problem over land and seed for planting this area of
cotton, but there is a great shortage of cotton-ginning equipment.
If each ginning machine can gin 60 jin of cotton per day on average,
we need 300 machines in order to be able to gin 3 million jin of
cotton in half a year. In 1943 there will be 2,250,000 jin of cotton
to be ginned. For this we need more than 200 machines. However,
at present there are only a hundred or so broken and old machines of
which only fifty can be NOT used every FOR day. If we attempt to gin 2 million
jin of cotton on fifty machines we will need two whole years.
Therefore solving the problem of ginning the cotton is a vitally necessary
part of the COMMERCIAL
policy of expanding the planting of cotton. A further
point is that up to the present the peasants of the Border Region
have still not learned to press cotton-seed oil. With 2 million jin
cotton we will also get 4 million of cotton seed. Each 100 jin can
produce 12 jin of DISTRIBUTION
cotton-seed oil. If we can solve the problem of
pressing the oil, then the returns to the peasants growing cotton will
increase. Their enthusiasm for growing cotton will also rise. In
relation to the above needs, in 1943 the government should do the
following work to expand the planting of cotton. (1) Allocate the
planting of cotton to peasant households with suitable land so as to
make a total of 150,000 mou. Help the households planting cotton
with seed, manure and techniques. Those who have difficulties with
draught animals and implements should be given credit. (2) Construct
cotton-ginning machines and spare parts, and supply them to
the peasants planting cotton. Help them to repair old machines. At