Peasants and Development in Society: The Case of Bayelsa State
This paper examines peasants and development in society, with particular reference to Bayelsa state in Nigeria. The findings indicate that peasants contribute to development in the areas of economic exchanges and peasant production, especially in the supply of cheap labor or the process of food production. However, the findings also show that peasants are exploited in the process of development by government and multinational companies in Bayelsa state. The paper therefore suggests that, to give the peasants a sense of belonging, government and the multinational companies operating in Bayelsa state should evolve modalities to promote the living condition of peasants with a view to providing basic social amenities and infrastructure, agricultural equipments, grants and soft loans, payment of compensations for the destruction of their farmlands, technical measures to provide higher yielding seeds, extension services, cooperatives, crop purchases and sometimes insecticides and herbicides, and fertilizers and reduce pollution of the land, rivers and lakes. Keywords: Peasants; Development; Bayelsa State