From agronomy to agricultural engineering: The reform of Spanish agriculture and rural society, 1855-1931

Abstract

Between 1766 and 1855 the agronomy, both as a discipline and as a style of thinking developed in other European countries, were introduced in Spain. At the same time a concrete model of engineering, clearly related to the French one but with its own traits, became institutionalized. The convergence of these two processes led to the birth in 1855 of the profession of “agricultural engineer”, a profession that considered its main task transforming Spanish agriculture and rural society, through the spread of technology, as the basis of agriculture understood as business. The impact of engineers upon the rural reality in the 19th century was limited. They achieved, however, their recognition by the public opinion as the technicians of agriculture. This social role gave them a wide audience in the 20th century, when the “agrarian question” turned them into political actors. In this context, the reformism of engineers became more plural, coexisting among them diverse projects, that included structural reforms of diverse orientation, even though all of them compatible with their deeply rooted “productivist” vision of agriculture.