ABSTRACT
The shift from farm to non-farm described in Chapter 5, and the social changes that underpin this shift set out in Chapters 4 and 6, have had profound implications for agriculture. In many quarters these changes have been characterised in negative terms. Land has been abandoned or, at best, a process of disintensification has been set in train. Labour shortages have undermined cooperative work arrangements and allowed productive land to suffer degradation through lack of upkeep. Mechanisation has snatched traditional employment opportunities from marginal groups, forcing them to leave the countryside to survive. Women have seen their jobs evaporate as agriculture is 'masculinised'. And elderly people have found themselves struggling to maintain their farms as young people depart for the city and leave households and villages short of human resources and the vitality of youth.
