Abstract: Taking County A in Southwest China as an example，this study discusses the transformation of the project system and its impacts in the context of the county- level consolidation of agriculture-related funds. The study reveals that，as the central government delegates fund management and project approval to county-level governments，the project system has transitioned from a primarily“departmental operation” to a “county-level operation” model，and has shown a heightened capacity for project mobilization and social integration. On the one hand，the county-level operation model has fostered broader intra-governmental cooperation. To meet higher-level government assessments for project fund management，operational departments（tiao） actively engage in coordination and leverage each other’s funds to fulfil their supporting roles. Local township governments（kuai） also employ various informal competitive strategies in project relations，partnering with higher level operational departments（tiao） to bid on projects. On the other hand， the county-level operation model mitigates conflicts stemming from project-related competition，and thereby promotes social cohesion. In the case of County A，project selection took into full consideration the collective developmental aspirations of the local community and the interests of various project bidders，thus achieved an effective balance between operational efficiency and utility. In conclusion，under the county-level operation model，the logic of project management has shifted from a focus on comprehensive control over grassroots society to an emphasis on the use of projects to mobilise local communities on a broad scale. Consequently，local society has been continuously restructured through government projects，and meanwhile the degree of social solidarity has also been increased as a result.

Key words: project system, agricultural-related funds, county-level operation, project mobilization, social integration