The peasantries of the twenty-first century: the commoditisation debate revisited21Jan Douwe van der Ploeg

rediscovery-(re-emergence)reconstitution

Introduction: from old to new forms From land to ecological capitalFrom subsistence to self-provisioningFrom partial integration to actively constructed distantiationFrom fixed regularities and routines to co-productionFrom subordination to multiple resistanceFrom community to extended networksRebalancing commodity and non-commodity relations Synthesis: why peasants should still( or again) be considered as peasantsCan the new peasantries feed the world?

Introduction: from old to new formsre-grounding of farming on naturethe development of multi-functionalityreversalsruptureat the farm enterprise levelre-patternedpeasant agriculture

Introduction: from old to new formsclassical realities1990(new food regime)(re-emergence)ShaninreshapedFollowing Shanin, I argue that the peasantry should be understood as a process(1973,64); that the peasantry is constantly being reshaped.

Introduction: from old to new formsModernisation: excludes majority of farmers, destroy those farmers who have followed the modernisation script and converted themselves into agrarian entrepreneurs. unattractive and materially impossible peasant-like farmsentrepreneurial trajectory(re-creation)(peasant trajectory)(collective memory)

Some of the major avenues through which peasantries are being reconstitutedFrom To Land ecological capitalSubsistence self-provisioningPartial integration actively constructed distantiationRoutine dynamic co-productionSubordination multiple resistance Community extended networks and new marketplaces capacity)

From land to ecological capitalThe possession of land constituted one of the main defining elements of the peasants. Longing for land also triggered many peasant movements Land represented autonomy and the opportunity to create a livelihood through often hard and bodily struggles with a hostile environmentHaving land was a major line of defence.A metaphor for having access to all the necessary natural resources and the possibility to pass these on to the next generation.

From land to ecological capitalmodernisationConverted land into a commodity, symbolically as well as materially, creating a rupture with the past.(Land ceased to be a bastion of autonomy and increasingly became a link in longer chains that tied the farmer to exogenous and often more powerful interests and projects.(Being rooted in the land stopped being the main decisive feature of agricultural production.(At the same time land also lost its value as an em-ancipatory tool.In synthesis: land seemingly lost its importance and relevance.(

From land to ecological capital21major issue):object of peasants struggles)It is also evident in the way in which land is now being considered as ecological capital)co-production)A non-commoditised exchange with nature allows the building of an important line of defence: (construction of new network)autonomy

From land to ecological capitalThe new peasants opt for it (the land as ecological capital is increasingly a choice that reflects agency and preference) 1Entrepreneurial farming replaces natural growth factors (e.g. soil biology, manurevarieties and breeds adapted to local eco-systemsand multiple cropping as a means to suppress pests and plant diseases) by process of production it does so as a commodity.23-the reconstruction of local knowledge)

From subsistence to self-provisioningfirst circuit of reproduction(subsistence)peasant condition)the concept of self-provisioning embraces the provisioning of all the resources required for the unit of production (as opposed to the unit of consumption)Friedmannpenetration into reproduction of commodity relations,autonomy

From subsistence to self-provisioningsecond and again highly important circuit of reproductionPart-time engagement in the labour market (often refered to as pluriactivity)pluriactivitypluriactivitydemocratic relations)

From subsistence to self-provisioninganother circuit of reproductionplural activitiespluriactivitymultifunctionality21 783%345

From partial integration to actively constructed distantiationEllispeasants are only partially integrated into incomplete marketscompetitiveundistortedare governed by an invisible hand).monopolistic networks) so much for the illusion of complete markets)

From partial integration to actively constructed distantiationonly partially integratedFriedmannpartial integration into marketsfarmers)(peasants)(decom-moditised)(co-production)reciprocity)Halamskaspace-primary production)the will of the political centrethe political strength of the peasantry itself

From fixed regularities and routines to co-productionShanin : nature operates in peasant agriculture as a powerful corrective to input/ output relationsShaninmodernisation paradigmbasically sees agriculture as an application of physical and economic laws, which feed into the design of new resources that embody a new and optimised use of these lawsagro-ecological approach:basically views agriculture as co-production between man and living nature. Growing is( as a co-activity of humans and nature) is seen as central.

From fixed regularities and routines to co-production Altieri: co-production represents the ongoing combination, interaction, and mutual transformation of social and material resources which constantly differentiates and transforms agriculture.regularities)fixed),universalCo-production is intrinsically dynamic)Peasant agriculture is not a derivate of assumed laws: it is constructed, moulded, and remoulded through practice.Regularities should not be understood as deterministic laws. There is no suggestion that they will also occur under changing conditions.

From fixed regularities and routines to co-productionPeasant studies the victim of badly understood laws)shortcomings of peasant agriculture) (agronomyrural sociology)farm labour processresource-use efficiency (distantiation)efficiency)raw-like nature)

From subordination to multiple resistanceresistance)overt struggle)covert resistance)1960-techno-institutional structures)

From subordination to multiple resistancelocal solutions to global problems)direct confrontations)counterproductive)global solutions)takes multiple forms)(inspiring)powerful)have the potential to change the panorama)

From community to extended networksShaninplace);market relations)two social realities)Due to globalisation and liberalisation, the world market has become a mode of ordering that regulates and co-ordinates most flows of agrarian and food products-wherever they are located.essentiallyresponse)(alternative)(new markets)peasant marketplacesnon-virtualpeasant marketplaces

From community to extended networksnew circuitsvalues that are shared by)these new circuits represent a new kind of community)the construction of relative autonomy)7direct marketing 25

Rebalancing commodity and non-commodity relations (reshuffling)large upstream markets)on the downstream side

Synthesis: why peasants should still( or again) be considered as peasantsreservoirs of despair)a refuge sectora last resort)21continuity)1(omnipresence) 21new frontier)entrepreneurial farming)expansion)(diversification)

Synthesis: why peasants should still( or again) be considered as peasantsconstituted)manifestations)21in terms of resistance)obscure any specificity)but in a relational perspective)Borras 200913

Synthesis: why peasants should still( or again) be considered as peasantsdependency-relations, marginalisation, and deprivationnature and logic)regulatory schemes)the newly created circuits of reproduction),

Can the new peasantries feed the world?political implications)feeding the empirecountervailing power )Entrepreneurial and capitalist farming ;

Can the new peasantries feed the world? peasant farming revitalise these uncompetitive areas)revitalisation) peasant agriculture)steadily enlarged)endogenous quality)triggered by external interventions)

re-,

2010.04.14