Agriculture, Poverty and Reform in Iran (RLE Iran D)

Introduction

As in many developing countries, the prospects for land reform in Iran seemed promising. It was expected to improve rural poverty and stimulate agricultural development by replacing the traditional landlord-peasant system with more peasant-biased, modern farming.

Economic Consequences

This book assesses the economic consequences of land reform, focusing particularly on its effect on the living standards of the rural poor. Amid describes a biomodal system of large and small farms that emerged after the reform.

Large and Small Farms

Large farms, with government support, modernized and grew more profitable cash crops, whereas small farms found difficulty in obtaining credit and continued to rely on traditional techniques and staple food crops.

Outcome of Land Reform

Land reform was not, the author argues, a success for the majority of the Iranian rural population who experienced virtually no improvement in living standards and a growth of rural inequality as a result.