WHAT SHALL WE GROW; A CRITICAL SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE ON FARMERS" DECISION MAKING

The review is restricted to major English language publications which are available in the U.S. and which discuss peasant agriculture; farming in developed countries or in tribal communities is not covered. In Section I, significant literature dealing with the effects of various physical, economic, and political environments on decision making is considered. Section II contains critical analyses of studies on the impact of labor, population, capital, and risk factors on agricultural decisions, and emphasizes in particular the work of Boserup and Chayandov. Section III reviews studies of small farm efficiency and the degree to which personality, income, religion, and other sociological variables affect a farmer"s willingness to innovate. The fourth section specifies areas in need of further research; essentially, the range of reseach topics should be expanded, research questions should focus on farmer attitudes and behavior, and studies should always employ a variety of research methodologies rather than assuming the validity of a single technique. A list of references and an extensive annotated bibliography of works on land use are appended to the text.