A farming system given over exclusively to a single product. Writing on globalization and agrarian change in the Pacific Islands, Murray (2001) J. Rural Studs 17 lists some disadvantages of monoculture: ‘increasing pollution, soil degradation and ground water depletion; further concentrating economic power, property ownership and social inequalities; and contributing to urbanization as displaced small growers migrate to towns and cities. Moreover, the Tongan economy has been left more vulnerable to global economic fluctuations.’ However, Castree (2003) PHG 27, 3 writes that ‘it is assumed to be self-evident that monocultures are undesirable. Yet they are linked to high yields, while their implied opposite—a world of mixed, non-chemical agriculture—might not so readily feed current population numbers.’