Agribusiness, Peasant Agriculture and Labour Markets: Ecuador in Comparative Perspective

What is it about?

The consolidation of capitalist agriculture in countries such as Ecuador has led to a recent revaluation of territories (central highlands) where cheap labour has facilitated agribusiness development linked to the world market. This process generates growth in the numbers of rural wage workers and the creation of a labour market that, in relation to others in several Latin American countries, has certain particularities: permanent jobs, gender balance, an absence of intermediaries and low levels of precariousness.

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Why is it important?

This study focuses principally on the characteristics of the current process of labour proletarianization, which is closely linked to peasant agriculture’s low capacity to retain family labour in territorial contexts that are characterized by the complementary presence of agribusinesses and peasant smallholdings.

Perspectives