Considering the frequent failure of rural development projects, the question is whether preparatory economic analyses are adequate to anticipate the problems which will arise. An analysis in terms of reproduction would provide a better possibility to measure the contradictions between objectives and constraints of the reproduction system in rural areas on one hand and those of the State on the other hand. The examples of three rural development schemes, in Parana (Brazil) in the Chelif valley (Algeria) and in the OACV area (Mali) show how the reproduction system operates both that of the State and that of the farm economy. The strategic points of the contradictions between the two systems are better perceived by this analysis which also tries to determine the conditions for solving them.
