THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN UNDER- DEVELOPED ECONOMIES CHAIRMAN: CLIFTON WHARTON, THE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNcn.., INC. Impact of Technology on Traditional Agriculture: The Peru Case*

BOT H geographically and economically, Peru is divided into three majorregions-the Coast, the Sierra, and the Selva. The Coastal region con-tains the major urban-industrial centers and a productive agricultural sector based largely on cotton and sugarcane production in the fertile ir-rigated valleys. The vast tropical Selva region comprises 60 percent of Peru's area but is sparsely populated, largely unexplored, and essentially isolated from the Coastal region by the Sierra. The Sierra region is a densely populated, low-income agricultural region based upon subsistence cereal and tuber production at the lower altitudes and livestock production on the high plains and mountain slopes. Although 5 ~ percent of Peru's total population and 70 percent of the ac-tive agricultural labor force is located in the Sierra region, the Sierra region produces only 19 and 41 percent of the gross value of total production and gross value of agricultural production, respectively. Gross National Product per active worker in Sierra agriculture is approximately $109, as compared with $960 for non-Sierra agriculture, and $1,461 for nonagriculture [~, pp