Coffee, tea or pepper? : factors affecting choice of crops by agro-entrepreneurs in nineteenth century south-west India

Abstract

Ever since plantation agriculture initiated by European capital and \nenterprise became an important form of exploitation of resources in the \ncolonies, small holdings and small holders in the plantation sector were \nconsidered a separate category. There were a number of European \nproprietary planters among the pioneers. They got phased out with the \nvertical integration of production, distribution and marketing. Another \ngroup of small-holders were the indigenous farmers who took up \ncultivation of plantation crops. Almost all over Southern India and Ceylon \nsuch farmers were active in coffee; the earliest plantation crop. But one \nplantation area in South-west India, completely, and another, partially, \nwas conspicuous by their absence. Significantly there were farmers \ninvolved in cash crop cultivation, particularly in pepper, in these areas. \nMeanwhile, upwardly mobile sections of the lower echelons of the caste \nhierarchy were very active in coffee, in another area of the same broad \nregion. This paper investigates why small holders were absent in the \nformer areas. Only in a few specific areas within the early plantation \nregions of Southern India and Ceylon did coffee survive a widespread \nblight in late nineteenth century. Though small holders and their coffee \ncultivation also had set backs in this crisis, they seem to have played \nimportant role in the survival of the crop in some areas. This paper also \ninvestigates what were the advantages held by small-holders in these \nareas and which were found lacking in other areas. \nJEL Classification : N50, N55 \nKey Words : plantations, proprietary planters, small-holders, plantdiseases, \nmonopoly system, trade.

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