Contribution de la sociologie a l'économie rurale

In « Economie Rurale » n° 63, an article from Boussard was devoted to : « Thoughts on the purpose of farm, economics ». Such article Was highly provocative. On many theorical axpects the large differences of: opinion between farm economists are discribed by Boussard in such terms that we have should react immediately if we have had not at the same date, send for publication to the « Annales de l'Institut National Agronomique » a paper entitled: a Contribution de la Sociologie à l'Economie Rurale in which some thoughs on the nature of our discipline were included. It seems to us more useful , with the agreement of the a Annales, to reproduce practically all this article as a paper, to be put on the table. Boussard considers farm economics as « economic thought applied to agriculture », we do think that agricultural economics is a biology , applied to social facts, of which economic thought explores only limited and, too often over simplified aspects. Such approach is of importance not only from a theorical point of view but also to ensure the validity of applying the findings of our research. .