Increasing Socio-economic Differentiation in Agriculture
In spite of the widespread dissatisfaction with the rather
limited achievements of 50 years of development efforts –
which is certainly justified in view of the still existing
and even increasing poverty among millions of people –
one cannot overlook many important changes in the general
framework conditions in most of the Third World countries.
Without going into detail or striving to achieve completeness,
these changes can be described by the following key terms:
the transition from stagnation to a dynamic situation; industrial,
commercial and agricultural development in many regions; emerging
non-agricultural jobs; world market integration; increasing
population growth; political instability; poor administrations;
and institutional vacuum in many cases. With all that in mind,
one can say that the expectations of the 50s have not been
fulfilled, but at the same time the situation in these countries
today is not comparable with that of some 50 years ago.
These changes have had repercussions on the character of
the farms and the socio-economic situation of the agricultural
households. The people to land relation has been differentiated
considerably.
next: 5.1 Types of Farm Households in the 50s
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