Original scientific paper
Rural Societies and Technological Changes in Agriculture
Milan Župančić
; Institute for Social Research of the University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia - Yuqoslavia
Abstract
Food produetion, i. e. problems connected with the development of agriculture, is a very
good starting point for analyzing existing controversies concerning the future development
in the world. This problem is especially well-expressed in Third World countries, where
there is an increasing gap between the explosive population growth and the insufficient
agrarian produetion. Relevant world literature (futurological, neo-Malthusian) gives different
answers about the prospects for solving this problem in the future.
In the second part of the article the author considers the relation rural societies have towards
technological change. It is obvious that, for various reasons, such societies accept
innovations that bring to an increase of agricultural production very slowly and with great
difficulties. The breakup of village self-sustenance and the development of industry and
commerciaI produetion, where agriculture becomes an open segment of the economy, is
the most efficient solution for technological innovation in agriculture and the path towards
increasing food production on the world scale. This doe s not mean the destruction of all
social and culturai values of the rural society, but their adaptation to a new situation.
Keywords
technological changes; agricultural production; population growth; rural society
Hrčak ID:
99606
URI
Publication date:
21.9.2003.
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