It has been argued in this book that Spanish farmers responded positively to movements in commodity and factor prices. Decision-making, whether by small dairy farmers in Galicia, wine sharecroppers in Cataluña or latifundistas in Andalucía, seems to have been economically rational and based on information relating to the cost of factors, commodity prices and the degree of risk which each farmer thought appropriate. Yet, if farmers responded rationally to product and commodity prices, why was it that the sector's low productivity resulted in both high consumer prices and low farm incomes? Self-sufficiency was achieved in basic foodstuffs, but diets remained heavily concentrated on cereals, and farm incomes, if growing at all, remained low. In short, agriculture prior to the Civil War cannot be considered an overall success.

In chapter 8 I argued that cereal tariffs resulted in high food costs and that the impact of urbanisation and growing per capita incomes was limited for the livestock farmers on Spain's secano, because of poor pastures and expensive fodder crops.