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The Samoan Farmer: A Reluctant Object of Change?

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  • Per Ronnås

Abstract

Stagnation and a failure to break out of a subsistence‐oriented type of production continue to characterize the agricultural sector in Western Samoa. The lack of dynamism in agriculture has variously been ascribed to subsistence affluence and limited wants, the inhibiting impact of fa'asamoa – the Samoan way of life – and, more recently, to the effects of migration, remittances, aid and bureaucracy on economic development. This article suggests that the explanatory power of these factors by themselves is unsatisfactory. Instead, it argues that an absence of secure market outlets offering predictable and sufficiently attractive prices to farmers and the lack of rural‐urban links in general are at the heart of the problem. The economy seems to be caught in a vicious circle where farmers fail to commit themselves to production for the market because of a lack of secure outlets, while adequate downstream distribution and processing channels do not develop for lack of secure supplies. The interchangeable nature of commercial and subsistence production in agriculture, widespread access to overseas remittances, and the smallness of the domestic economy serve to perpetuate the deadlock.

Suggested Citation

  • Per Ronnås, 1993. "The Samoan Farmer: A Reluctant Object of Change?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 24(2), pages 339-362, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:24:y:1993:i:2:p:339-362
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7660.1993.tb00488.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael R. Ogden, 1989. "The Paradox of Pacific Development," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 7(4), pages 361-373, December.
    2. E. K. Fisk, 1962. "Planning In A Primitive Economy Special Problems Of Papua‐New Gyuinea," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 38(84), pages 462-478, December.
    3. E. K. Fisk, 1964. "Planning In A Primitive Economy: Prom Pure Subsistence To The Production Of A Market Surplus," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 40(90), pages 156-174, June.
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