Up to his thighs in mud behind the straining bulk of his water buffalo, the farmer is a familiar figure on hillside terraces that were worked by his father and grandfather. Most of Sichuan's population still lives off the land. The last half century has brought many changes - communes, brigades, production teams - but some things remain the same: the farmer still generally lives in a mud-walled house shaded by plumes of bamboo and works tirelessly, cultivating the summer rice and winter wheat that are the staples of the nation.