Labor, Markets, And Agricultural Production

Focusing on the complex and often contradictory relationships between agricultural production and markets, the author examines the micro-macro linkages between farm production, farm labour issues and the degree of autonomy or dependancy vis-a-vis markets. By comparing the case of farmers in Peru, generally regarded as peripheral agricultural producers, with European farmers able easily to access the centralized markets of the EEC, Dr van der Ploeg is able to draw general conclusions about the ongoing process of commoditization of agriculture and the roles farmers play in agrarian development.