Small farms: Decline or Persistence?

Background
Topics for Discussion
Keynote Speakers
Programme
Poster Papers
Booking

Background

Small farms dominate agriculture in terms of numbers of producers of agricultural commodities, but a large and rising share of output and factor use is accounted for by larger farms.

The expansion of the EU to the east has brought into the CAP millions of household plots which hardly fit the traditional family-farm model. Land market imperfections and non-monetary preferences of farm operators often hinder structural change and provide grounds for the persistence of the small scale farming. Rather than exiting agriculture, many small farms are diversifying their livelihoods into nonfarm activities and are becoming less reliant on farming.

Within Europe, with the change in the focus of the CAP towards lower production incentives and more environmental types of support the policy response of small farms is an important issue, particularly for some of the New Member States.

Understanding what factors promote or hinder the shift to commercialisation will be critical for assessments of likely future structural change. While the EU faces some unique challenges in managing the structural transformation of its own small farms, still there is much that can be usefully learnt from similar small farm transitions in other parts of the world. Small farms still dominate agriculture in most developing and transition countries, including several fast growing Asian countries. Understanding the roles small farms play in these different contexts, how they are adjusting to similar changes in marketing chains, and how effective different policy approaches have been, can help inform appropriate policies.

Topics for Discussion

The main topics for discussion are:

Small farms: definitions, trends and livelihood patterns
Changes in factor/product markets and implications for the future of small scale farming
Farm scale and economic efficiency: revisiting an old debate
Subsistence and semi-subsistence farming: modelling and analysis
Productive, income generating and social role of small farms
Effects of aging population, migration and human capital on future farm size structure
Environmental and other non-monetary costs and benefits of small farms
Small farms policies: instruments and impacts.

Keynote Speakers

Csaba Csaki Corvinus, University Budapest
Gertrud Buchenrieder, Leibniz-Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe, Halle
Johan Swinnen, Catholic University of Leuven
Peter Hazell, Imperial College London
Sophia Davidova, University of Kent

Programme

Provisional Programme

the 111 seminar programme (194 kb).pdf

Thursday 25th June


17:00-19:00	Registration Kent Business School foyer
19:00-20.30	Welcome Reception Dolce Vita Restaurant, Keynes College

Friday 26th June


08:30-09:00	Registration Kent Business School foyer
09:00-09.30	Official Opening Kent Business School Lecture Theatre (KBS LT) Welcome by: Julia Goodfellow - Vice Chancellor, University of Kent David Colman - President, IAAE (Emeritus Professor, University of Manchester) Sophia Davidova - Honorary Director, CEAS (School of Economics, University of Kent) Csaba Forgács - Former President, EAAE (Corvinus University of Budapest)
09:30-11:00	Plenary session 1: Small Farms and Development Kent Business School Lecture Theatre (KBS LT) Chair: David Colman P.Hazell (Imperial College): Small Farms in Developing Countries: Policy Lessons Learnt J.F.M. Swinnen (University of Leuven): Endogenous Agricultural Structures
11:00-11:30	Coffee Break Kent Business School foyer
11:30-13:00	Contributed paper parallel session 1 Session 1.1 Farm Size, Growth and Exit? KBS LT Chair: Claire Jack P.J. Lund What Do We Mean by a 'Small Farm'? C. Hubbard Small Farms in the EU: How Small is Small? Z. Bakucs and I. Ferti Survival and Farm Growth in a Transition Country - The Hungarian Case P. Karfakis The Economic and Social Weight of Small Scale Agriculture. Evidence from the Rural Income Generating Activities Survey Data Session 1.2 Persistence of small farms - country specific analyses Seminar Room 2 (SR2) Chair: Dan Petrovici M. Vittuari and A. Segré Institutional Reforms and Small Farms in Republika Srpska C Alboiu Subsistence Agriculture In Romania- A Modus Vivendi? D. Cimpoies, Z. Lerman and A. Racul The Economics of Land Consolidation in Family Farms of Moldova E. Vounoukia The Greek Small Farms Paradigm: Between Decline and Persistence Session 1.3 Agri-environmental and other non-monetary output of small farms; organic farming Seminar Room 5 (SR5) Chair: Johan Swinnen A. Pufahl. and C. Weiss Farm Structure and the Effects of Agri-Environmental Programs: Results from a Matching Analysis for European Countries N. Röder and J. Kantelhardt Integrating Small Farms in Agent Based Models E-A. Nuppenau Farm Size, Energy Use and Economies of Scale: Are Small Farms Advantageous if Energy Becomes Scarcer and Ecology Matters? I Fertó and C. Forgács Is Organic Farming a Chance for Family Farms to Survive?
13:00-14:00	Lunch Kent Business School foyer
14:00-15:30	Plenary session 2: The role of small farms in the EU New Member States and in the Former Soviet Union KBS LT Chair: Willi Meyers C. Csaki (Corvinus University of Budapest) Small Farms in Central and Eastern Europe: Is there a Future? S. Davidova (University of Kent) Subsistence and Semi-subsistence Farming in Selected EU New Member States G. Buchenrieder et al. (IAMO Halle) Semi-subsistence Farm Households and the Non-farm Rural Economy - Perspectives and Challenges
15:30-16:00	Coffee Break Kent Business School foyer
16:00-17:30	Contributed paper parallel session 2 KBS LT Chair: Michael Wallace Session 2.1 On the way to survival: specialisation and/or diversification? P. Perrier-Cornet and M. Aubert Is There a Future for Small Farms in Developed Countries? Evidence from the French Case J. Möllers and G. Buchenrieder Effects of Rural Non-Farm Employment on Economic Vulnerability and Income Distribution of Small Farms in Croatia J. Brooks, D. Cervantes-Godoy and E. Jonasson Strategies for Smallholders in Developing Countries: Commercialisation, Diversification and Exit T. Kilic and C. Carletto Non-Traditional Export Crops and Household Livelihood Strategies: Panel Data Evidence from Guatemala Session 2.2 Theoretical and empirical models KBS Symposium room Chair: Alastair Bailey P.L. Scandizzo and S. Savastano Optimal Farm Size under Uncertain Land Market: The Case of Kirgiz Republic S. Hüttel and A. Margarian The Role of Small Farms in Structural Change N. Nimenya, B.H. de Frahan and P-F Ndimira Compliance with International Food Safety Standards as an Outcome of a Nash Bargaining Process: A Case Study on Kenyan Small Scale Green Beans Farms M. Bakhshoodeh and N Shahnushi Economic Efficiency of Smallholder Intensive Dairy Farms in Iran: Adjusted for Market Distortion Session 2.3 Farmers goals, attitudes and strategies KBS Symposium room Chair: Laure Latruffe G. Armagan and A. Ozden Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Behaviours in Small-Scale Dairy Farms in Turkey G. Lien, O.J. Bergfjord and Ø. Hoveid Life and Work on Small-scale Farms in Norway: An Outlook Based on Survey Results Linked to Financial Data F. Capitanio, A. Coppola, T. Del Giudice and S. Pascucci Italian Small Farms and Strategies to Survive O.M. Moreno Pérez, D. Ortiz-Miranda, and E. Arnalte-Alegre Strategies and Differentiation Patterns in Family-Based Farms: The Case of an Intensive Agriculture
19:30	Conference Dinner The Darwin Suite, Darwin College - University of Kent

Saturday 27th June


09:30-11:00	Contributed paper parallel session 3 KBS LT Session 3.1 Small farmers within the modern supply chain: integration and challenges Chair: Csaba Forgacs C. Bignebat, A. Koc, and S. Lemeilleur Linking Small Producers to Supermarkets? The Decisive Role of Intermediaries on the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Market in Turkey E.T. Micheels and H. R. Gow Positional Advantage within Small Farms: Evidence from Illinois J. Fałkowski, A. Malak-Rawlikowska and D. Milczarek-Andrzejewska Dairy Supply Chain Modernisation in Poland - What About Those not Keeping The Pace? A. Pieniadz, J. H. Hanf, D. M. Voicilas, S. Wegener, and Linde Götz Small Farmers in the Romanian Dairy Market: Do They Have a Future? I. Blazkova and T. Sadilek Position and Perspectives of Small Farms with Respect to the Structure Development of Subsequent Vertical Link Session 3.2 CAP impact on small farms KBS Symposium Room Chair: Ken Thomson C. Jack, M. T.Wallace and J. E. Moss "Waiting For Godot" - Restructuring on Small Family Farms F. Lambarraa and Z. Kallas Policy Impact on Technical Efficiency of Spanish Olive Farms located in Less Favored Area F. Capitanio, A. Cioffi and A. Coppola The Role of Rural Development Policies on Long Term Viability of Small Farming in Italian Mountain Areas C. Russo and M. Sabbatini The Crisis of Small Farms in Central Italy: Can Farmer Turnover Slow Down the Downfall? P. Mundler, J.C Jauneau, B. Guermonprez and J. Pluvinage The Sustainability of Small Dairy Farms in Six Regions of France. The Role of Strategic Resources and Local Institutions Session 3.3 Smallholders access to credit and support services SR2 Chair: Gertrud Buchenrieder P. Labarthe and C. Laurent Transformations of Agricultural Extension Services in the EU: Towards a Lack of Adequate Knowledge for Small-scale Farms S.Pillarisetti and N. Mehrotra Credit Markets for Small Farms: Role for Institutional Innovations G. Owuor Can Group Based Credit Uphold Smallholder Farmers Productivity and Reduce Poverty in Africa? Empirical Evidence from Kenya B. Gebremedhin, M. Jaleta and D. Hoekstra Smallholders, Institutional Services and Economic Transformation: Evidence from Ethiopia S. Mittal, S. Gandhi and G. Tripathi Impact on Indian Small Farmers Through Use of Mobiles
11:00-11:30	Coffee Break Kent Business School foyer
11:30-12:30	Contributed paper parallel session 4 KBS LT Session 4.1 Small Farms in the US Chair: Willi Meyers A. Effland and M. C. Ahearn US Farm Policy and Small Farms J.M. MacDonald, R.A. Hoppe, P. Korb and E.J. O'Donoghue U.S. Small Farms: Decline and Persistence? J. Gillespie, R. Nehring, C. Sandretto and C. Hallahan Small U.S. Dairy Farms: Can they Compete? Session 4.2 Agricultural policy and efficiency of smallholdersKBS Symposium Room Chair: Jonathan Brooks G. Owuor and O.A. Shem What are the Key Constraints in Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Farmers in Africa? Empirical Evidence from Kenya A. Ferjani and L. Latruffe Could Small Dairy Farms in Switzerland compete with their French Counterparts? A Metafrontier Analysis over 1990-2004 E. Kaditi and E. Nitsi A Two-stage Productivity Analysis using Bootstrapped Malmquist Index and Quantile Regression Session 4.3 Family farms: succession, flexibility and competitivenessSR2 Chair: Imre Fertó M. Calus and L. Lauwers Persistence of Family Farms, Learning From its Dynamics J L. Kirner, J. Hambrusch, and K. Ortner The Persistence of Small Dairy Farms in Austria From An Economic Perspective S. Renner, H. Hockmann, A. Pieniadz, and T. Glauben On Flexibility in the Polish Farming Sector
12:30-13:30	Lunch Kent Business School foyer
13:50-15:00	Poster session Kent Business School foyer 1st Floor, and SR5
15:00-15.30	Coffee Break Kent Business School foyer
15:30-17:00	Contributed paper parallel session 5 KBS LT Session 5.1 Non-farm employment of smallholders Chair: Sophia Davidova A. Pieniadz, S. Renner, C. Rathmann, T. Glauben and J-P Loy Income Diversification of Farm Households: Relevance and Determinants in Germany C. Salvioni, L. Esposito, R. Henke, and V. Rondinelli Diversification Strategies in Small Farms in Italy H. Bergmann and K.J. Thomson Farmers' Survival Strategies in the North of Scotland M.A. Malek and K. Usami Effects of Non-farm Employments on Poverty among Small Households in Developed Villages of Bangladesh: A Case of Comilla Sadar Upazila Session 5.2 Poverty alleviation and farmers cooperationKBS Symposium Room Chair: Celine Bignebat G. Carletto, T. Kilic and A. Kirk Non-Traditional Export Crops in Guatemala: Short-Term Tool or Long-Term Strategy for Poverty Alleviation? T.G. Apata, M.A.Y. Rahji, K.D. Samuel and O.A. Igbalajobi The Persistence of Small Farms and Poverty Levels in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis Z. Huang, L. Qiao and G.W.J. Hendrikse Collective Action of Small Farmers: A Case Study of Ruoheng Farmer Watermelon Cooperative in China S. Kpenavoun Chogou, P. Lebailly, A. Adégbidi, and E. Gandonou The Impact of Public Information System on Farmers Food Marketing Decisions: Case of Benin Session 5.3: Farm typology, strategy and structural adjustmentSR2 Chair: Sara Savastano F. Adinolfi, F. Capitanio and G. Malorgio Small Farms in Italy Between Decline and Innovative Formula: An Entrepreneurial Model Analysis H. Kim and J.-K. Kim Adjustment Capacity of Korean Farm Household T. Sudaryanto, S.H. Susilowati and Sumaryanto Increasing Number of Small Farm inIndonesia: Causes and Consequences M. Jouili Tunisian Agriculture: Are Small Farms Doomed to Disappear?
17:00-17.30	Closing Session Kent Business School foyer Peter Hazell Sophia Davidova

Poster Papers

Poster Papers List (109 kb).pdf

Booking

To book your place on the Joint 111th EAAE - IAAE Seminar "Small Farms: Decline or Persistence?" please, click here.

Economics