Abstract
Numerous low-income countries foster the commercialization of smallholder agriculture to achieve development outcomes and improve the lives of the rural population. The effects of commercialization policies, however, are measured using a limited set of indicators. This paper exemplifies a new approach to the study of agricultural change: analyzing commercialization effects through a local concept of the Good Life. In our case study of East Nepal, we first elicited a local concept of the Good Life through qualitative interviews and participatory photography. In the analysis, we disaggregated the data between men and women, elderly and young, farmers and laborers as well as members of different castes. Second, we applied the resulting Good Life concept to the evaluation of agricultural commercialization. Our results show that the local concept of the Good Life is multidimensional and includes both subjectively and objectively measurable dimensions. Respondents across all socio-economic groups consistently emphasized the notion of hardship (dukha) in both their Good Life concepts and their perspectives on agricultural change. Commercialization was evaluated positively predominantly because it reduced physical and financial hardship, in addition to tangible improvements in other domains. However, respondents also pointed to the limitations of commercialization in contributing to the Good Life: the ultimate reduction of hardship was associated with the prospect of non-agricultural employment. The notion of hardship elicited through the perspectives of the Good Life offers a nuanced perspective on commercialization. Including local views in analyses of agricultural change enables researchers and policy makers alike to direct their efforts to those aspects of agricultural change that are most meaningful to the local population.
Highlights
Agricultural systems worldwide have undergone drastic changes in recent decades
In the global South, the first Green Revolution policies were implemented in the 1960s (Birner & Resnick, 2010)
While some scholars argue that investments in both large-scale and small-scale farms would be the most promising strategy for rural development (Collier & Dercon, 2014; Glover & Jones, 2019; van den Broeck & Maertens, 2017), many are convinced that smallholder-based agricultural commercialization is the most effective poverty reduction strategy
Summary
Agricultural systems worldwide have undergone drastic changes in recent decades. Commercial agriculture has enabled states to feed their growing populations, and average per capita food amounts have risen (Federico, 2009). Today, sustained productivity increases are still necessary for feeding the growing world population, for contributing to the elimination of poverty, and for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (Barrett et al, 2018; Collier & Dercon, 2014). Raise farm incomes, create rural employment, and eventually transform their economies (see Dawson et al, 2016; Emran & Shilpi, 2018; Ivanic & Martin, 2018). In these countries, the agricultural sector accounts for nearly 60% of total employment (World Bank, 2019). Changes in agricultural policies affect millions of people in different parts of the world
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