Sharecropping is a system of agriculture or agricultural prouction in which a landowner allows a sharecropper to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range of different situations and types of agreements that have encompassed the system. Some are governed by tradition, others by law. Legal contract systems such as the Italian mezzadria, the French métayage, and Spanish aparcería occur widely. Islamic law contains a traditional “musaqat” sharecropping agreement for the cultivation of orchards.