The elaborative system of social, cultural, political and economic relationships existing between pastoralists (goat herders) and farmers (peasants and smallholders) in the dry coastal plains of the Piura region in northern Peru is examined. Intensive agriculture occurs in the river valleys, while goat herding is common on the semi-arid scrubland plains between the valleys. Although many farmers own livestock, and pastoralists are engaged temporarily in cropping, the 2 subsistence activities are spatially separated. Both economic sectors are subjected to periods of erratic weather conditions, an outcome of the meteorological phenomenon known as El Nino. It is the spatial separateness and the differences in the economic activity that make these 2 systems complementary.
The elaborative system of social, cultural, political and economic relationships existing between pastoralists (goat herders) and farmers (peasants and smallholders) in the dry coastal plains of the Piura region in northern Peru is examined. Intensive agriculture occurs in the river valleys, while goat herding is common on the semi-arid scrubland plains between the valleys. Although many farmers own livestock, and pastoralists are engaged temporarily in cropping, the 2 subsistence activities are spatially separated. Both economic sectors are subjected to periods of erratic weather conditions, an outcome of the meteorological phenomenon known as El Nino. It is the spatial separateness and the differences in the economic activity that make these 2 systems complementary.