Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
farming methods in order to sustain livelihoods and to feed local commu-
nities. Although subsistence farming methods tended to be environmen-
tally sustainable, they were regarded as traditional and backward in the
post-independence era. In regions like the Caribbean, national attempts
to overcome widespread rural poverty in the 1970s centred on integrated
development
and
rural extension programmes (McAfee, 1991). Often led
by partnerships between the state and multilateral institutions, these
initiatives aimed to improve the agricultural production of small-scale
farmers and encourage diversification into non-agricultural activities
such as trading, small business and infrastructure (Pretty, 2002). Projects
were often large-scale, top-down and sought to drive technological solu-
tions to increasing agricultural production, which was identified as the
main solution to rural famine and poverty.
The Green Revolution, which refers to the introduction of High Yield
Variety (HYV) seeds selected to produce higher crop yields in wheat
and maize, also spread across parts of the global South from the 1960s
onwards (Williams et al., 2009). Although dramatic increases in yields
occurred in some regions, such as the Punjab, success was highly
dependent on the commercialization of agriculture, particularly the
use of fertilizers and irrigation, which led to increasing inequalities
within farming communities and dependence on Western expertise
and products. Despite the importance attached to rural development
by national governments, many newly independent nations were una-
ble to diversify away from export-oriented crops or grow sufficient food
for their local populations. In the immediate aftermath of the 1980s
debt crisis, scholars and practitioners started to question the relevance
of previous development policies for the majority of the rural and land-
less poor. In his ground-breaking topic,
Putting the Last First
, Robert
Chambers (1983) asked policymakers to rethink technological solu-
tions to underdevelopment by putting people back in the heart of
development policy and practice by adopting a 'livelihoods'
perspective.
As outlined below, livelihood approaches to poverty have continued to
dominate development praxis, and they have made substantial contri-
butions to understanding the everyday lives of communities in the
global South (Rigg, 2007).
In the current era, the terms of trade for developing countries
,
which
are increasingly influenced by neoliberal institutions like the World
Trade Organization (WTO) and dominated by free-trade discourses,
have led to price fluctuations, instability and falling revenues for many
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