ChileanJAR

This work studied the complex relations of peasant production systems. The study was carried out in Maullín county, X Region of Chile, between 1995 and 1997, where two types of peasant systems were analyzed: surplus and subsistence. The results indicated that the subsistence system generates its cash income with a greater diversity of items than the surplus system. In the subsistence system, the production strategy is based on a high use of self-generated inputs and minimized expenditures for labor and services. The surplus system bases its production strategy on high labor and service expenses, and a high proportion of production for sale; furthermore, what, how, and how much to produce are defined completely in function of the exchange value. On the other hand, decisions in the subsistence system are not totally guided by the market, because an important part of production is related to the food requirements of the family. Also, a high family labor use was observed, with contracting for labor only being made when necessary, in contrast to the surplus system, where only 38% of the work is performed by the family. With respect to capital, large differences between the two systems were observed, which reinforces the view that the production strategy is a reflection of the condition of endowment of given factors rather than the consequence of the specific economic rationality of the peasant family.