Abstract
The evolution of the development agenda regarding rural areas over the last century, and especially during the last forty years, is striking. It has shifted focus from global modern economic growth through industrialization to a concern with the sustainability of the livelihoods of the poorest peasants. From a Marxist perspective, one could say that the "target group" of development are not the ones who can potentially progress, but are the ones who live in extreme poverty in the most deprived areas. The increasing contradictions of industry-based development in the Third World have first raised awareness of the important role that agriculture itself (as opposed to a mere support to industrialization) should play in the general framework of development.
