Nowhere To Go But Down? Peasant Farming and the International Development Game

Originally published in 1989, this book is a unique examination of subsistence farming in the developing world, and its potential for development. The author writes from the conviction that the farming system is limited in its potential for development by the energy value of manpower and that unless the plight of developing world communities is understood and the importance of manpower constraint recognized, inputs of development funds will be wasted. Clarifying the strengths and limitations of the subsistence farming system, the book makes clear the complexities and difficulties encountered in achieving agricultural development in the poorest countries – providing an informed insight into the inevitability of future famine.

1. Introduction Part 1: Subsistence Agriculture and its Development 2. Setting the Scene 3. Subsistence Agriculture 4. Development: Complexities and Constraints 5. The Future. Why Down? Why Not Up? Part 2: The International Agricultural Development Game and the Third World 6. Background to International Agricultural Development 7. Feasibility Studies for Agricultural Development in the Third World 8. Project Field Work and Report Assembly: Some Wrinkles and Reflections 9. Recapitulation, Conclusions and Recommendations.

Andrew S. MacDonald was for many years an academic, field-worker and development consultant.