Peasants by preference? socio-economic and environmental aspects of rural development in Tanzania

Abstract: Development is not always an entirely positive process in which the gains are equal to the risks. Rural development implies a penetration of the existing peasant mode of production by alternative systems. History has shown that this penetration creates its own barriers. A successful rural development policy must therefore be geared towards unblocking these barriers. Peasant societies are not static. On the contrary they are constantly exposed to challenge. In order to adapt, peasants do not repulse all change, but they maximize the positive and minimize the negative effects of development, The decisions they make in the course of thus adapting are quite rational, although the agents of change often perceive them as ‘irrational’.The aim of the present study is to stimulate a deeper knowledge and understanding of African peasant societies. It is shown here that ‘the peasants’ are a far from homogeneous group of people, a fact that must be recognized in development planning. The importance of demographic and ecological factors as determinants of change are also stressed.The study is based on extensive original data from an area in northern Tanzania. This material is used in seeking an answer to five major research questions: what type of society are we dealing with, what type of agricultural system dominates, what is the relation between man and his physical environment, what is the role of the natural hazards in development and, finally, what factors determine the current socio-economic stratification?To be able to analyse the present mode of production, and in particular its constraints in relation to change, it is necessary to transcend current social science paradigms. This dissertation represents an attemt to analyze an African society on its own terms.