Coconuts and cultivation in the Philippines. A study of social formation in Candelaria, Quezon Province
This study gives a detailed account of coconut cultivation and the social formation of coconut cultivations in a specific locality in the Quezon province on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Using a theoretical framework drawn from Marxism, the social formation analysed here combines elements from both the feudal and the capitalist modes of production. This mixture explains the stagnancy of production and the poverty of the cultivators, as well as the macropolitical context of a privatised State with family dynasties in control - to the detriment of theeconomy and development in general. The study recommends that the appropriate remedy is comprehensive land reform combined with productivity enhancements in the coconut producing sector. If no structural reform is undertaken, stagnancy and deepening poverty will continue to prevail.
