15 - Agriculture, modernisation and seasonality

Summary

Introduction

Seasonal fluctuation is an obvious and important aspect of most human environments, producing changes not only in climate, but also in patterns of food intake, birth and conception, child growth, and disease (Chambers et al., 1981). Despite increasing research, the linkages between environmental seasonality and the seasonality of human responses are not well understood. Most societies have devised a range of counterseasonal strategies, including patterns of storage, exchange, and labour allocation (Colson, 1979; Messer, 1989). The scheduling of these economic activities affects in turn the timing and intensity of resource availability and exposure to environmental stressors. Potential biological outcomes include changes in health, nutrient reserves, and work capacity of both individuals and populations.

While human biologists have emphasized the adaptive nature of responses to climatic fluctuation, it is also important to understand the conditions under which seasonal strategies fail. History and tradition, as well as poverty and lack of power, may limit the repertoire of responses that any group can mobilize to deal with seasonality. Further, social and economic change may render traditionally adaptive strategies ineffective. This chapter addresses the impact of economic change in developing countries on the ability of traditional farmers to cope with seasonality. Because much of the impact of seasonality in developing countries is tied to the process of food production, the emphasis here is on seasonal and nutritional changes induced by agricultural development.

Traditional farmers in seasonal environments have a broad spectrum of strategies for coping with environmental and resource fluctuation. Agricultural development has paid little attention to these risk-aversive strategies, concentrating instead on technological change and increased production.