scholarly journals Land to the Tiller: The Sustainability of Family Farms

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11452
Author(s):  
Anthony M. Fuller ◽  
Siyuan Xu ◽  
Lee-Ann Sutherland ◽  
Fabiano Escher
Keyword(s):  
Historical Review ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Agrarian Change ◽  
Natural Order ◽  
Family Farm ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Family Farming ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Based

This paper on family farms is in the form of an historical review complemented by current and future perspectives from North America, China, Brazil and Europe. The literature review demonstrates the multiple discourses, concepts and methodologies which underpin contemporary understandings of the family farm. The authors argue that family-based farming units are ubiquitous in most agricultural systems and take on many different forms and functions, conditioned by the structure of agriculture in different locations and political systems. Our review accepts this diversity and seeks to identify some key elements that inform our understanding of the sustainability of family farming, now and in the future. The term ‘family’ is the differentiating variable and behooves a sociological approach. However, economists can view the family farm as an economic unit, a business and even a firm. Geographers see family farms consigned to the margins of good land areas, and political scientists have seen family farms as a class. What emerges is a semantic enigma. As an imaginary term, ‘family farming’ is useful as a positive, universally valued ideal; as a definable entity on the ground, however, it is difficult to classify and measure for comparative policy and research purposes. This ambiguity is utilized by governments to manage the increasing capitalization of farm units while projecting the image of wholesome production of food. The case studies demonstrate the diversity of ways in which family farming ideologies are being mobilized in contemporary agrarian change processes. The notion of ‘land to the tiller’ is resonant with historic injustices in Scotland and Brazil, where family-based agriculture is understood as the ‘natural’ order of agricultural production and actively supported as an historic ideal. In contrast, in the Chinese context, ‘land to the tiller’ is a political means of increasing capital penetration and economic sustainability. Evidence from China, Brazil and Scotland demonstrates the active role of governments, coupled with symbolic ideologies of farming, which suggest that the longevity (i.e., sustainability) of family farming will continue.

Factors That Influence the Next Generation's Decision to Take Over the Family Farm

1995 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colette Dumas ◽  
Jean Pierre Dupuis ◽  
Francine Richer ◽  
Louise St.-Cyr
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Change ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Family Farm ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Family Farming ◽  
The Family ◽  
Generation Family ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Factors Of Influence

The survival of family farms is threatened by rapid change, intense international competition, and a resulting reduction of interest in perpetuating the family farm. What influences the next generation to pursue family farming, in spite of the difficulties? Do these factors differ between men and women? An in-depth, descriptive, and exploratory study of thirty next generation family farm members indicates specific factors critical to their decision to pursue the family farm succession. The findings are depicted in a framework that portrays these factors of influence and the effect they have on the succession decision of the next generation. Implications for practice and future research are also presented.

scholarly journals Socio-economic orientation of family farms in entrepreneurial activity

Ekonomika APK ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 311 (9) ◽  
pp. 30-41
Author(s):  
Mykola Malik ◽  
Volodymyr Mamchur
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Social Orientation ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Family Farm ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Family Farming ◽  
The Family ◽  
Development Goals

The purpose of the article is to deepen the theoretical and methodological foundations of the creation and functioning of family farms in entrepreneurial activity and reveal their socio-economic orientation. Research methods. It is based on the concept of an active policy for the implementation of entrepreneurial potential in the countryside, the components of which are measures for the development of farms and family farms, including through the transformation mechanism of formalizing personal peasant farms into a market economy environment. In the process of research, the following scientific methods were used: dialectical scientific knowledge of processes and phenomena; monographic (analysis of scientific achievements of Ukrainian and foreign scientists, analysis of the stages of business development); graphic (to obtain a synthesized representation of the object of research, identify its components, establish causal relationships); empirical (based on a comprehensive assessment of the current state of the research object); comparative analysis (identified the problems and directions of the formation and development of farming; taking into account the specific conditions of agricultural activity and comparing the processes of farming development at the national level); prognostic (forming the conceptual framework for regulating and improving the entrepreneurship development strategy); abstract-logical (theoretical generalizations and formulation of conclusions). Research results. On the basis of generalization, measures were introduced, in particular, to compensate part of the single social payment (SSP) to family farms, according to the calculations, they can provide in the near future up to 200 thousand such farms (in the total potential of domestic family farming is about a million farms), which is possible both through a change in organizational and the legal form of already existing small farms, and through formalization of personal peasant farms into the market environment, acquiring the official status of physical person entrepreneur - SPE. Analyzing the role of the potential of family farming, it should be noted that its formation affects the development of Ukraine, since agriculture directly or indirectly ensures the achievement of many sustainable development goals provided for by the Sustainable Development Goals of Ukraine for the period up to 2030. The study made it possible to determine the socio-economic orientation and socio-economic efficiency of the development of family farming both for the Ukrainian economy and communities, taking into account the institutional, legal and financial and economic prerequisites for their functioning. Scientific novelty. The methodological representation and identification of the category of family farming have received further development, which is considered here as an organization of agricultural production, forestry, fisheries, livestock, aquaculture, which is managed by the family and can be organized both in the form of an individual and a legal entity. Practical significance. It was revealed that the peculiarity of the functioning of family farms lies in the fact that they simultaneously represent production and consumer unit, and therefore combine two goals - production (maximizing income) and consumer (increasing the well-being of all members of the household). The following models of development of subjects of the rural family economy have been systematized: a model of labor farming; the farm model based on the use of hired labor; family corporation model. It was found that on the basis of the family organization of labor, a small local economy “family farm” is formed, the features of which include: the duality of development goals, that is, the implementation of the entrepreneurial ability of its members to manage the land and maximize income; the reproductive process depends on the existing system of informal institutions; the defining norms of behavior of its members include: loyalty to traditions and cultural heritage, social orientation, innovation, sustainability, trust and predictability of actions of household members; a combination of multi-vector, contradictory processes; a combination of technological, economic and cultural conditions for the functioning of a family farm, which determine the synergistic effect.

scholarly journals Beekeeping sector as a form of enterprise family history: analysis socio-economic

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 69-78
Author(s):  
Andriy Popovych
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Family Farm ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Family Farming ◽  
Family Enterprise ◽  
Agricultural Enterprise ◽  
History Analysis ◽  
The Family ◽  
Definition Of

The beekeeping sector in the EU is small compared to other agricultural sectors, but necessary to pollinate most crops. In the European Union and Ukraine, the majority of beekeepers are small family farms. The family farm is an important institution of Western European agriculture and an important element of rural social life. The purpose of this article is to examine a particular type of agricultural enterprise and the type of activity that is beekeeping and to identify its specific features, which makes it possible to classify it as a family enterprise. The socio-economic analysis of apiculture is carried out from the perspective of two approaches. The first approach means meeting formal criteria for family farming. The second approach takes into account the most common practice in individual beekeeping. The apiary in terms of form and content corresponds to the definition of a family farm. The study suggests that the formulation and a series of theoretical and practical rules regarding family farming has been confirmed in the analysis of an individual beekeeping farm as a small form of agricultural production.

Ezra Taft Benson and the Family Farm

2019 ◽  
pp. 23-52
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Eisenhower Administration ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Family Farm ◽  
Small Farmers ◽  
Spiritual Values ◽  
Family Farming ◽  
Farm Work ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
The Family

Many small farmers charged that Ezra Taft Benson’s farm policies were driving them out of business. The fact that the countryside was hemorrhaging population during the 1950s seemed to support their contention. Indeed, the largest wave of farm abandonment and out-migration in the nation’s history occurred in those years. This chapter explores Benson’s agrarian polices while he was the secretary of agriculture in the Eisenhower administration. In specific, this chapter explores the following questions: What did he say over the course of his career about the moral and spiritual values and the economic costs of family farming? How did he respond to criticism of his policies by small farmers? How did he justify his policies and what advice did he offer? Did he regard the exodus of Americans from small farms as lamentable but inevitable? To what degree did he recommend educational opportunities or rural development policies to ease the transition from farm employment to non-farm work and urban lifestyles?

scholarly journals Organizational innovation in the context of family farms: lean diagnosis

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-86
Author(s):  
Ana Aguiar ◽  
Luisa Silva ◽  
Cristina Parente ◽  
Cristina Costa
Keyword(s):  
Production System ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Work Organizations ◽  
Family Farming ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Integrated Agriculture ◽  
Family Based ◽  
Development Paradigm

Family farming has been on the agenda worldwide. Portugal is no exception. Act No. 64/2018, published in 2018, establishes the Family Farming Statute. Its preponderance in food and in the sustainability of families and territories has been reinforced by the sustainable development paradigm. However, competitiveness constraints assigned to the production system is often seen as an obstacle. Combining the theoretical frameworks of integrated agriculture and work organizations, we offer a lean sociological perspective on family farms producing lettuce. We concluded that their production system is characterized by a set of innovative practices very close to a lean approach. However, there is room for improvements in a production system that seems to maintain a family-based workforce and traditional know-how.

scholarly journals Kierunki racjonalizacji struktury rolnictwa polskiego w świetle rozwiązań stosowanych w Europie Zachodniej

2018 ◽  
pp. 89-104
Author(s):  
Jerzy BABIAK
Keyword(s):  
Structural Transformation ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Family Farm ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Spontaneous Transformation ◽  
Community Law ◽  
The Family ◽  
Principal Task ◽  
Agrarian Structure

Agriculture is a peculiar sector of the economy that requires support from the state. Its spontaneous transformation is not effective enough, therefore a number of mechanisms are applied to stimulate advantageous structural transformation both at EU and national levels. The agricultural system of West European states is based on the family farm. Although Community law does not define a family farm, different systems provide various measures applied in order to protect family farms, e.g. by means of controlling agricultural land trade. The paper presents the legal and institutional solutions applied in this respect in France, Germany and Denmark. These states have not been randomly selected, as they are the main competitors for Polish agriculture in the Community market, and they have succeeded in establishing an agrarian structure. Against the background of their experience, Polish legal solutions are presented and assessed. The responsibilities of the Agricultural Property Agency are presented in detail; its principal task apart from the management of State Treasury property is to shape agrarian structure.

scholarly journals New rural economy: Challenges and diversity in Eastern Croatia

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 51-54
Author(s):  
Tihana Sudarić ◽  
Krunoslav Zmaić ◽  
Ružica Lončarić
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Family Farm ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
The Family ◽  
Traditional Activity

Eastern part of Croatia is agricultural region according to natural resource (fertile soil, first of all), as well as human potential (long experience in traditional agriculture). Besides agriculture as traditional activity, a characteristic of rurality is also added to this region. Rural area is dominant in Eastern Croatia and it effects on relatively small urban areas. This paper represents new possibilities of rural economic activities on family farms in Eastern Croatia. Role and significant of rural economic activities is analyzed through indicators overview (land structure, GDP, population, population density, TEA index, unemployment ect.). Challenges through diversification of rural economic activities in this paper includes added economic activities realized on family farms through tourism, crafts, handy work, processing, renewable energyetc. Added economic activities on family farms in Eastern Croatia participate with only 3.9%. Suggestions and possibilities measures of rural economic activities diversification are reflected through two main streams. First stream is diversification of activities through added value of agricultural products as vertical connection (organic food, autochthony products, functional food, renewable energy sources etc.). Other one economic activity diversification indicates distribution function of final products through different services on the family farm (direct sale, specialized shops, rural tourism and many other services).

The land is what matters: factors driving family farms to organic production in Poland

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (6) ◽  
pp. 1354-1367
Author(s):  
Pawel Chmielinski ◽  
Aleksandra Pawlowska ◽  
Monika Bocian ◽  
Dariusz Osuch
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Family Farm ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Family ◽  
Significant Negative Impact ◽  
Direct Payments

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse tendency of farms to switch from conventional to organic production.Design/methodology/approachThe study used data on 6,229 individual farms, which in 2009–2016 continued to participate in the Polish FADN. Estimation of logit models allowed the authors to indicate, separately for each period in the years between 2009 and 2015, a set of characteristics influencing the decision of farms on the use of organic production.FindingsThe authors demonstrate that, first of all, land factors were of major importance when deciding on conversion to organic farming, with only the own land inputs (owned by the farm) having a positive impact on the transition of farms to organic production. But then the resource of the capital factor, identified with the assets owned by the farm, exercised a significant negative impact. Income derived from the family farm, although had a positive impact, did not significantly determine the farm’s decision on conversion to organic production. While support for agri-environmental purposes had a positive impact on the decision of farm to convert, the payments received under the direct payments affected this decision negatively. The tendency to start organic production is also conditioned regionally.Research limitations/implicationsThe data of this study are limited in size, and limited to the Polish context.Originality/valueThe research setting for this paper is original; the study takes part in the discussion about factors of conversion to organic farming, on example of Poland and is a voice in the discussion on effective support for the development of organic farming in the context of sustainable development.

scholarly journals PROGRAMA NACIONAL DE PRODUÇÃO E USO DO BIODIESEL: divergências sobre os resultados sociais da política de biocombustíveis

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 659
Author(s):  
Jane Marchi Madureira ◽  
Sinclair Mallet Guy Guerra
Keyword(s):  
Tax Incentives ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Biodiesel Production ◽  
Family Farm ◽  
National Program ◽  
Family Farming ◽  
The North ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Social Side

Um dos principais objetivos do Programa Nacional de Produção e Uso do Biodiesel (PNPB) tem sido desenvolver aagricultura familiar, através de incentivos fiscais às usinas produtoras de biodiesel que adquirem matérias-primas desse segmento. Este trabalho faz um breve levantamento das principais discussões em torno dos resultados sociais que o programa vem apresentando e conclui que mesmo o Estado mobilizando diversos agentes para atuarem em favor do eixo social, não há consenso em relação aos ganhos efetivos do programa no tocante a esse aspecto, tampouco desenvolvimento das regiões Norte e Nordeste como resultadoda implantação da política de biodiesel.Palavras-chave: PNPB, biodiesel, eixo social, agricultura familiar.NATIONAL PROGRAM OF BIODIESEL PRODUCTION AND USE: divergences on the social results of the biodiesel policyAbstract: One of the major objectives of the National Program of Biodiesel Production and Use has been the development of the family farm, through tax incentives for the biodiesel producers, which acquire raw material from this segment. This paper makes a survey of the main debates about the social results that have been presented by the program, concluding that even the State using their means in favor of the social side, there is no consensus on the program achievements at this point, nor the development of the North and Northeast regions as a result of the biodiesel policy.Key words: PNPB, biodiesel, social axis, family farming.

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