Small Farms: Changing Structures and Roles in Economic Development

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractSmall farms are the largest employment and small business group among the poor. Their businesses use mostly labor and local resources and face local constraints, but at the same time, they are affected by increasingly complex national and global economic changes, which lead to shifts in optimality and viability of structures and of their business priorities. This paper identifies basic forces of change in the small farm economy, proposes policies that may support productive and socially acceptable transformations, and highlights research priorities. The paper concludes that policies should primarily focus on people's income opportunities in the rural economy, where small farmers often hold multiple farm and non-farm jobs, rather than be narrowly concerned with viability of the small scale farm enterprise.

Demography of smallholder agricultural women and youth enterprises and their association with the cultivation of the tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum) vegetable crop

“…Socio-economic factors continue to play a critical role in determining the levels of production undertaken and the sort of crops planted. This was corroborated by von Braun and Mirzabaev, (2015) who stated that the production levels are not the only areas affected but also the way business enterprises are managed which put the socio-economic characteristics of the smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs into focus. Previous studies (Mwaniki, 2006;Abdulai et al, 2013;Asante et al, 2013;Onumah et al, 2013) have resolved that if assistance is to be extended to crop producers their demography is worth investigating to fully comprehend their needs.…”

Strategies to Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security and Malnutrition in Nigeria

“…Thus, policy direction should be focused more on supporting smallholder and medium enterprise farmers who do not need much manpower but sustains the bulk of agricultural production in the country. This sector (small scale farmers) are the largest employers of labour within the country and play a pivotal role in stabilizing the national economy, showing resilience in withstanding several economic shocks and transformations [25]. However, agricultural productivity is heavily capital intensive, with an inverse relationship between crop yield and farm size [26].…”

Factors Determining the Development of Small Farms in Central and Eastern Poland

“…As part of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), interest in small farms is growing due to their significant share in the structure and the functions attributed to them [19]. Unfortunately, the conclusions drawn from the assessment of small farms are diverse [20][21][22] and this is due to the different definitions of these entities and the different perspectives of assessment (economic, environmental or social). Many authors emphasise that there is no single definition of a small farm [23][24][25][26].…”