Peasants and the Art of Farming: A Chayanovian Manifesto

ICAS Book Series on Agrarian Change and Peasant Studies

by Jan Douwe van der Ploeg

Many impressive studies on the changing nature of the global food system have been published, and nearly all address changes at the macro level. The far less visible changes occurring at the micro level have received relatively little attention, especially in the realm of critical rural studies. This book is a reflection of the far reaching and complex transformations of food systems that have occurred as a result of liberalization and globalization.

This book focuses on the structure and dynamics of peasant farms and the historically highly variable relations that govern the processes of labour and production within the peasant farms. Jan Douwe van der Ploeg argues that peasant agriculture can play an important, if not central, role in augmenting food production and creating sustainability. However, peasants today, as in the past, are materially neglected. By building on the pioneering work of Chayanov, this book seeks to address this neglect and to show how important peasants are in the ongoing struggles for food, food sustainability and food sovereignty.

168 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2013

Reviews

[Laya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful framework

[Achmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku penting tentang sosio-ekonomi pertanian (agronomi sosial), khususnya buat Indonesia yang mayoritas masyarakatnya bermata pencaharian sebagai petani. Meskipun berfokus pada analisis mikro, elaborasi buku ini tetap mengaitkannya dengan konteks makro.

[Haroon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this book on my shelf for several months, but only today have gotten round to reading it. I should have read it sooner -- this is a fantastic little book on the unique characteristics of peasant farms and peasant societies. Extraordinarily well-written and clear, every single page of the book is backed with insights. It is as if Jan Douwe van der Ploeg, whom I have known for almost 20 years, has taken a lifetimes' worth of work and distilled it into this punchy volume. If you want to understand the farmers that I have worked with over the years, this is the book for you.

[Pierre-Olivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good contemporary update about the Chayanovian analysis grid. I really liked the part about the external balance relations between peasants farms units, the market, the socio-politico context and the state.The intensification process of the peasant unit compare to the capitalist one is also really interesting. Good book.

[Achmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku kecil dengan gagasan besar ini sangat relevan buat pembaca Indonesia: mengupas secara teoretis ekonomi mikro pertanian rumah tangga (kecil dan tradiaional). Pertanyaan mendasar yang hendak dijawab buku ini yakni: apa yang membuat pertanian skala kecil berbasis rumah tangga tetap berrahan di tengah arus sirkuit ekspansi kapital pertanian skala besar yang semakin kencang berpusar? Maka pembaca disuguhi elaborasi yang padu seputar teori keseimbangan yang terus dibangun dan dijaga oleh rumah tangga petani. Keseimbanagan antara konsumsi dan pengerahan tenaga kerja, salah satunya. Penulisnya percaya, pertanian skala besar tidak mungkin bisa mencukupi kebutuhan pangan penduduk dunia, tanpa hidupnya pertanian skala kecil rumah tangga.

Nantikan edisi Indonesianya~

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

- GREAT BOOK to understand farming theoretically such as:
a. understanding dynamic between farmer <> farmer's family
b. knowing what to prepare for farming such as external & internal resources
c. even country's policy in "traditional" farming

- I respect farmer MORE because farming is wholly complex: you need to know your soil, how to take care your "ground", deciding to add the correct resources including people, seeds, etc! this makes me kinda sad bc in my country i don't think farmers are being taken care delicately (education, market policy, research, etc.) while whole country depends on them for food :(

- if you want to know farming in real action like how to pick the correct ground, how many m or cm to plant the seeds; this is not the book you seek since the book discuss about farming theories

[Ikang Maulana Mas'ud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku ini cocok bagi yang ingin mengusahakan lahirnya kembali kaum tani yang berdaya, kaum tani yang tidak melulu berorientasi kapital serta mampu memenuhi kebutuhan pangan dengan cukup. Penulisnya sendiri melakukan analisis yang cermat dari tesis Chayanov terkait ini.

[Logan Streondj · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book going at some depth as to how and why peasant farming is better than industrial/capitalist/entrepreneurial farming.

Certainly worth archiving. I may read it a second time to get more of the points down.
But basically peasant farmers use the free labour of their family, and grow their own food, so they are more economical and more resilient than entrepreneurial farmers.