Les règles du jeu sur le foncier et la force de travail dans l'ascension économique et la stratification sociale des planteurs de Côte-d'Ivoire : quelques éléments d'analyse et signes d'évolution technique

The author makes an analysis of the social stratification of different ethnic groups induced by the plantation economy. During the «mining period», land and labour seem equally important. The «allochthonous» consider labour supply as crucial for settlement and land extension strategies. The autochthons on the other hand count on land to control labour. The degree of insertion of the autochthons into the new social system is determined by the historic period and its migration currents induced by the national policy and also by their capacity to control land which varies regionally. However, the role of techniques should not be overlooked. The Baoulé community owe their dynamism to the choice of cocoa and to their empirical technicality. In the second part, the author suggests certain signs which indicate a new phase of spatial saturation and reduction of increments whereby a market is developed for the two production factors. Hence, technical skill will become the limiting factor to economic success. A category of «modern» peasants emerge among the farms of 6 to 20 ha which are liable to be very dependant on hired labour.