“Fortunately, I Have My Field”: Changes and Permanencies in Kanak Family Farming

Abstract

In this chapter, we examine the main transformations that have marked Kanak family farming and describe in particular the ways that monetarisation and globalisation have influenced Kanak custom. First, we briefly recall the historical foundations of Kanak family farming. We then describe the transformations that have swept through it: changes in the functions associated with Kanak family farming, the magnitude, the technical evolutions and the methods of deriving value from products obtained from agricultural activities, hunting and fishing, embedded in wider relationships of exchange and territorial anchoring. We go on to explore the sustainability of the non-commercial dimension of these activities. We conclude with lessons we can learn from the practice of family farming in order to think about its place and its contribution to the rural New Caledonian world and more broadly in future economic models.