The Political Economy of West African Agriculture

The Political Economy of West African Agriculture - Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology

Paperback (07 Jan 1982)

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Publisher's Synopsis

West Africa's agriculture has, for 150 years, been heavily geared toward export, yet the region is one of the world's poorest. Keith Hart examines this question, focusing particularly on how this situation has affected the indigenous peoples of West Africa. Commerce has grown impressively, but productivity remains low and capital accumulation is retarded. The reasons exist primarily in internal conditions shaping social institutions. Before, during, and since colonialism, the particular problems of these preindustrial states have shaped agricultural development more than the pressure supposedly emanating from the 'world system' of international capitalism. This book, following the classical economists as well as Marx and Lenin, argues for the necessity of rapid capitalist penetration into West African agriculture. The book is also a readable introduction to the history and ethnography of the region as a whole.

Book information

ISBN: 9780521284233
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Pub date:
Language: English
Number of pages: 240
Weight: 330g
Height: 228mm
Width: 152mm
Spine width: 17mm