Economic growth and social exclusion in family farming in Argentina.

Abstract

This article focuses on the process of economic growth that Argentina underwent during the nineties and its effects on the Pampeana region’s farming sector. Its main goal is to contribute, from a sociological point of view, to the debate on the possibilities and limitations of family agriculture to reproduce itself in a context characterized by the implementation of structural ajustement programs. Firstly, the article describes the evolution of the most important economic indicators of Pampeana farming sector during the last decade. Secondly, it points out the different elements which both provoked the deterioration of the small farmers’ incomes and increased its social and economic weakness. Thirdly, it shows the growing debtment of Pampa farmers and, consequently, the reduction of the number of farms in that region. Finally, the authors offer some ideas on the process of social exclusion of small and middle farmers in a context of open markets where the role of the State is restricted. From starting of the European experiences, they propose changes for agricultural policies to be more sensitive to the social dimension of sustainability.