Abstract
Throughout much of the developing world peasant agriculture represents a millstone around the neck of economic development. This study
considers the problem as it is represented by small farming on the
Caribbean island of Grenada and indicates some of the factors which
contribute to this situation. Consideration is first given to the hypothesis that different levels of social -economic development affect the
level of farming practice. To this end each of the island's six parishes
was considered as a distinct statistical unit having its own level of
development and farming practice. From preliminary analysis it was
evident that the social - economic environment was not the most important influence on small farming and that the social background of the
farmer had greater significance in this study. By classifying the farms
as non -commercial, semi -commercial, commercial or miniature estates,
and then by studying the nature and structure of these categories of
farms, it was possible to observe the human and physical characteristics associated with the growth of small farms. The findings showed
that most small farmers are old and poor, have a low social status
and employ traditional methods of cultivation which are inefficient
of space and time. Those who emerge as the more successful had
obtained a certain level of education, had often worked overseas in
order to save the capital necessary for purchasing land, and are the
more highly motivated members of the small farming community,
partly as a result of their religious beliefs and racial association.
It is by identifying some of the social factors which restrict and
retard the development of small farming in Grenada that this study
makes its main contribution to the understanding of peasant agriculture.
