Constraints and Objectives of Peasant Producers

Abstract

Agricultural development starts at the farm level. It follows that a central criterion of agricultural development is the increase of productivity and income of as many small farmers as possible. Some degree of government intrusion into the agricultural sector will usually be necessary to foster and encourage the attainment of this criterion. However, if this intrusion is to make a positive contribution to the development process, the intruders require some understanding of the factors which influence agricultural development at farm level and some awareness of the relevance and impact of agricultural policies on this process. Agricultural policies should accord with and sustain chosen development strategies, if they are to have any hope of effective implementation. But, above all, they must be relevant to or be capable of translation into farm-level situations. This cannot be achieved without a knowledge of the technical circumstances of tropical peasant agriculture and an understanding of the determinants of farmer behaviour and his decision-making process regarding the allocation of farm family resources.