Rendering smallholders social: Taking a social relations approach to understanding the persistence of smallholders in the rural Global South

Drawing on 36 studies in 19 countries and three continents, conducted over forty years, this paper revisits the question of how and why smallholders – and smallholdings – persist in the Global South even under conditions of rapid social and economic transformation. The paper argues that a significant part of the answer to this question can be found by taking a social relational approach: by ‘rendering’ the smallholder social. We identify five social themes that have resonance notwithstanding very different historical inheritances, environmental conditions, political contexts, and economic and developmental situations. Smallholder households feed a significant population of the world, educate the next generation, care for the sick and support those in need, cushion workers when economies contract and jobs evaporate, create communities, underpin national growth, and manage the land. Bringing these roles and qualities into view makes clear that smallholders, far from being relict survivors are critical actors in contemporary rural and urban transformations. • We draw on 36 studies from 19 countries across the Global South over four decades. • We synthesize five social relational themes that explain smallholder persistence. • Social values attached to land, farming, rural areas and social networks are key. • Rural safety nets and social relations underpin the formal economy. • We argue for ‘rendering social’ our understanding of smallholders in the Global South.