Farmers in post-war years have had to face a sharp alternative — either to adopt « progress », new production methods and a new way of life, or to disappear altogether in the near future. In the 70's many farmers who had adopted progress to survive and who had been caught up in the workings of the national economy gradually became aware of their precarious economic situation in spite of their attempts to adapt and modernize. Today they have to try to survive progress. The farmer has lost his traditional « peasant » identity and village society has crumbled before society at large. We must now reconsider the present role of farming in society as a whole and whether an original local society can survive.
