ABSTRACT
In the twentieth century, agricultural modernization became a central goal of governments and societies all over the world. This orientation toward agriculture derived from two broad historical processes in the rural sector: the early-twentieth-century economic and political crises, and the latertwentieth-century competition for economic development. Never before in history have so many groups, within and outside of governments, made such consistent efforts to improve farming and farmers’ lives. Yet never before had so many farmers abandoned farming to live and work in cities. The old dual subordination was mitigated and changed, but remained in effect. In the early twentieth century, agriculture played a central role in a series of
economic and political crises. These crises inspired often dramatic efforts by governments, businesses, and public organizations to transform agricultural practices and even whole agrarian societies. These agencies had the objective of solving problems of food supply and agrarian economy and life. In many cases, however, their objectives went beyond this pragmatism, as several countries attempted substantial reform and even revolutionary changes in agriculture and its relationships to those outside rural life. The first section of this chapter provides the environmental context for the
entire twentieth century, for this chapter and the next. This environmental history is better documented and understood than any previous period, and that understanding contributed to policies to aid farmers. The rest of the chapter examines the main agrarian trends and decisive turning points of twentieth-century agrarian life before the Second World War.
