Haciendas and cooperatives : a preliminary study of latifundist agriculture and agrarian reform in northern Peru

Most of the time was spent on the north coast, interviewing people on, or familiar with, the haciendas of the Lambayeque Valley. The last six months of stay in Peru were spent in Lima, gathering secondary data, interviewing members of landowning families and agricultural technicians, and working with hacienda documents at the Centro de Documentacion Agraria. PartII summarizes very briefly the agrarian history of northern Peru, emphasizing changes in production patterns and hacienda organization in the last century, and the central role played by sugar in the agricultural growth of the region. PartIII deals specifically with the haciendas of one of Peru"s largest landowners, the Piedra family. Changes in production patterns and hacienda organization are described in detail and related to local natural condition, technological advance, market forces, and social and agrarian legislation. PartIV analyzes the effects of agrarian reform and cooperativization on these estates. PartV summarizes the above, relates the findings to the work of other students of agricultural organization and collectivization, and draws some conclusions of theoretical and practical importance.