Wikipedia

Smallholding

"Smallholder" redirects here. For the British magazine, seeSmallholder (magazine).

Asmallholdingorsmallholderis asmall farmoperating under asmall-scale agriculturemodel.[2]Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology,involvement of family in laborand economic impact.[3]Smallholdings are usually farms supporting a single family with a mixture ofcash cropsandsubsistence farming.As a country becomes more affluent, smallholdings may not be self-sufficient, but may be valued for providing supplemental sustenance, recreation, and general rural lifestyle appreciation. As thesustainable foodandlocal foodmovements grow in affluent countries, some of these smallholdings are gaining increased economic viability. There are an estimated 500 million smallholder farms in developing countries of the world alone, supporting almost two billion people.[4][5]

Diversified Crop Choices
Woman smallholder farmersin Kenya. In many parts of Africa and other parts of the world, women are the primary smallholders. In many contexts, women face unequal access to land, markets, knowledge, and other assets needed to maintain their farms.[1]
Small vegetable farm inHainan,China

Small-scale agriculture is often in tension withindustrial agriculture,which finds efficiencies by increasing outputs,monoculture,consolidating landunder big agricultural operations, andeconomies of scale.Certain labor-intensive cash-crops, such ascocoa production in GhanaorCôte d'Ivoire,rely heavily on small holders; globally, as of 2008 90% of cocoa is grown by smallholders.[6]These farmers rely on cocoa for up to 60 to 90 per cent of their income.[7]Similar trends in supply chains exist in other crops likecoffee,palm oil,andbananas.[8]In other markets, small scale agriculture can increasefood systeminvestment in small holders improving food security. Today some companies try to include smallholdings into theirvalue chain,providing seed, feed or fertilizer to improve production.[9]

Because smallholding farms frequently require less industrial inputs and can be an important way to improvefood securityandsustainable food systemsin less-developed contexts, addressing the productivity and financial sustainability of small holders is an international development priority and measured by indicator 2.3 ofSustainable Development Goal 2.[10][3]Additionally, sinceagriculture has such large impacts on climate change,Project Drawdowndescribed "Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders" an important method forclimate change mitigation.[11]

Issues

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Productivity

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According to conventional theory,economies of scaleallowagricultural productivity,in terms of inputs versus outputs, to rise as the size of the farm rises. Specialization has also been a major factor in increasing agricultural productivity, for example as commodity processing began to move off the farm in the 19th century, farmers could spend more effort on primary food production.[12]

Although numerous studies show that larger farms are more productive than smaller ones,[13]some writers state that whilst conventional farming creates a highoutput per worker,some small-scale, sustainable, polyculture farmers can produce morefood per acreof land.[14]

A smallholder coffee farmer in Colombia contributing her coffee to anagricultural cooperative.Cooperatives give small farmers an opportunity to be more competitive in markets, especially markets like coffee and cocoa where many of the purchasers are large businesses with highmarket power.

Small farms have some economic advantages. Farmers support thelocal economyof their communities. An American study showed that small farms with incomes of $100,000 or less spend almost 95 percent of their farm-related expenses within their local communities. The same study took into comparison the fact that farms with incomes greater than $900,000 spend less than 20 percent of their farm-related expenses in the local economy.[15]

Small-scale agriculture often sells products directly to consumers.Disintermediationgives the farmer the profit that would otherwise go to the wholesaler, the distributor, and the supermarket. About two-thirds of the revenue is expended on product marketing.[citation needed]If farmers sell their products directly to consumers, they receive a higher percentage of theretail price,although they will spend more time selling the same amounts of product, which is anopportunity cost.

Food security

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Because smallholding farms frequently require less industrial inputs and can be an important way to improvefood securityin less-developed contexts, addressing the productivity and financial sustainability of small holders is an international development priority and measured by indicator 2.3 ofSustainable Development Goal 2.[10][3]TheInternational Fund for Agricultural Developmenthas an ongoing program for Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture.[16]

During the globalCOVID-19 pandemic,and the attendant disruptions of food systems, their role has become more important.[17]

Environmental and climate adaptation

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While the historical focus on smallholders has been increasing global food supply under climate change and the role played by smallholder communities,climate adaptationefforts are still hindered by lack of information on how smallholder farmers are experiencing and responding to climate change. There is lack of detailed, context-specific information on whatclimate changeportends to smallholder farmers in different and widely varying agroecological environments and socio-economic realities, and what management strategies they are employing to deal with these impacts.[18][19]

Especially for smallholders working in commodity crops, climate change introduces an increasing amount of variability to farmer economic viability; for example,coffee productionglobally is under increased threat, and smallholders in East Africa, such as in theUgandan,TanzanianorKenyanindustries, are rapidly losing both viable coffee land and productivity of plants.[20]

In some cases, smallholders are an important source ofdeforestation.For example, smallholders are an important component of theoil palmindustry of Southeast Asia, contributing 40% of the production. Because such farmers are less able to access financing than larger businesses, they are unable to fund methods to increase the productivity of their farms whenyieldsdecline, increasing their need to clear more land.[21]Increasing productivity, especially amongst smallholder farms, is an important way to decrease the amount of land needed for farming and slowenvironmental degradationthrough processes like deforestation.[11][21]

Formats

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The definition of asmall farmhas varied over time and by country.Agricultural economistshave analyzed the distinctions among farm sizes since the field's inception.[22]Traditional agricultural economic theory considered small farms inefficient, a stance that began to be challenged in the 1950s.[23]An overview of research published by theWorld Bankin 1998 indicated that the productivity of small farms often exceeded that of larger ones.[24]

Hobby farms

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This section is an excerpt fromHobby farm.[edit]
An old dairy farm used as a hobby farm nearLeicester, New York
Ahobby farm(also called a lifestyle block, acreage living, or rural residential) is a smallholding or smallfarmthat is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are held simply to bring homeowners closer to nature, to provide recreational land for horses, or as working farms for secondary income.

Nucleus estate and smallholder

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This section is an excerpt fromNucleus estate and smallholder.[edit]
Nucleus estate and smallholder (NES)is a farming system for commodity crops, oftenoil palm,practised in different world regions. It is most famous today for its application in thepalm oilsector inIndonesia.The nucleus is the part of such a plantation that is under concession and management of the company, while another part of the plantation is operated by smallholders typically on their own land but planted by the company. NES farming is a particular form ofcontract farming.

Croft

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This section is an excerpt fromCroft (land).[edit]
TheShetland Crofthouse MuseumatDunrossness,Shetland,withpeatstacked outside
Acroftis a traditionalScottishterm for afencedorenclosedarea of land, usually small andarable,and usually, but not always, with a crofter'sdwellingthereon. A crofter is one who hastenureand use of the land, typically as atenant farmer,especially in rural areas.

Smallholder Farms

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Smallholder farms, also known as small-scale farms, encompass a diverse array of agricultural operations, varying from those owning the land they cultivate to those who do not.[25]These farmers, often family-oriented, rely significantly on family labor to meet production needs, with women contributing a substantial portion of farm labor.[26]

The agricultural work on smallholder farms predominantly involves family members, with occasional hired labor, particularly during peak seasons.[26]However, the productivity per hectare tends to increase with higher involvement of family members in farm activities.[26]In addition to farm-related duties, women on smallholder farms often shoulder responsibilities such as collecting fuel and water and engaging in low-value, small-scale trading activities.[26]

Many smallholder farms supplement their income through off-farm work, crucial for sustaining livelihoods, particularly during agricultural downturns like droughts.[26]Engaging in off-farm employment also serves to build social capital and resilience within these communities.[26]Having multiple sources of income or employment opportunities off the farm contributes to the economic stability of smallholder farming households. These off-farm income-generating activities offer a buffer against agricultural shocks and allow for a diversified livelihood strategy, providing families with increased financial security and access to essential resources.

Developing countries

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In manydeveloping countries,smallholding is a small plot of land with low rental value, used to grow crops.[27]By some estimates, there are 525 million smallholder farmers in the world.[28]These farms vary in land sizes, production and labor intensities.[29]The distribution of farm sizes depends on a number of agroecological and demographic conditions, as well as on economic and technological factors.[30]Smallholders are critical to local and regional food systems, as well as livelihoods, and especially so during periods of food supply chain disruptions.[31]Smallholders dominate production in certain key sectors such as coffee and cocoa. Various types ofagribusinessesenterprises work with smallholding farmers in a range of roles including buying crops, providing seed, and acting as financial institutions.[32]

In low-income countries, women make up 43 percent of smallholding agricultural labor but produce 60–80 percent of food crops.[11]

India

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In India, there is five sizes classification for smallholders. These are 'marginal' less than1 hectare (2+1⁄2acres), 'small' between1 and 2 hectares (2+1⁄2and 5 acres), 'semi medium' between 2 and 4 hectares (5 and 10 acres), 'medium' between 4 and 10 hectares (9.9 and 24.7 acres), 'large' above 10 hectares (25 acres). If we use 4 hectares (10 acres) (marginal + small + medium) as a threshold, 94.3% of holdings are small and these constitute 65.2% of all farmland.[5]The bulk of India's hungry and poor people are constituted of smallholder farmers and landless people. 78% country's farmers own less than 2 hectares (5 acres), which constitutes 33% of total farmland but at the same time, they produce 41% of the country's food grains. 20% of the world's poor live in India, although the country was self-sufficient in food production in 2002 due to the first Green Revolution started in the latter half of the twentieth century, numerous households lacked resources to purchase food. Holdings less than 2 ha contributed 41% of total food grain production in 1991 compared to 28% in 1971, which means a substantial increase, whereas medium holdings registered a mere 3% increase in the same period and large holdings registered a decline from 51 to 35%. This signifies the importance of smallholders in the Green Revolution and the attainment of national food security. Smallholder families are becoming more vulnerable and more disadvantaged due to the expansion of international trade liberalisation. The needs and aspirations of small farmers must feature prominently in policies of market reform that seek to improve food and nutritional security. India's total increase rate of productivity across the farming sector was far less in 1990's when compared to previous decades.[33]

Kenya

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Kenyan smallholder dairy farmer

Kenya's smallholder means someone who owns, possess or produces agricultural products in small-scale. smallholder production accounts for 78 percent of total agricultural production and 70 percent of commercial production.[34]Majority of the smallholder population work in farm sizes averaging 0.47 hectares (11⁄4acres).[35]This represents the vast majority of Kenya's rural poor population who depend on agriculture for their livelihood.[36]Adverse risk events during the period 1980–2012 led to production losses in smallholder farms resulting in a drop in agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) of 2 percent or more.[36]Increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers is encouraged due to its potential of improving food availability, increasing rural incomes, lowering poverty rates, and growing the economy.[36]Diversification of crops in smallholder farms is one of the potential strategies in sustaining agricultural productivity, and copping with marketing risks.[37]It is also a transitional step from subsistence to commercial agriculture.[citation needed]Age, education of household head, type of crops, cropping system, amount of credit, and irrigation facilities are some of the factors influencing diversification in smallholder farms.[38]

Tanzania

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Along the upper and middle reaches of the Nduruma River in the Pangani River Basin, Tanzania, there is not enough water to go around. Smallholder farmers address inequities in land and water distribution by enforcing existing traditional local rules. Whilst larger estate farms may have governmental licences guaranteeingrightsto the water, a study found that those large-scale farms which adhere to the traditional water rights structures fare better in terms of social reputation, which better ensures their access to water. Adhering to the water law in order to enforce their permits is less effective, as regional Tanzanian local governments generally attempt to avoid conflict with their populace. On a larger scale, however, existing traditional rules are ineffective in maintaining cooperation among users along the Nduruma River.[39]

Thailand

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Further information:Agriculture in Thailand

In 1975, there were 4.2 million smallholder farming households in Thailand. In 2013, Thailand had 5.9 million smallholder farming households. The average area of these smallholdings had shrunk from3.7 to 3.2 hectares (9+1⁄4to 8 acres) over that period. Instead of farms getting larger and less numerous, as has been the case in theGlobal North,the reverse happened: they got smaller and more numerous.[40]

United States

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Several definitions ofsmall farmhave been formulated in legislation. In 1977 theUS Congress,via theFood and Agriculture Act of 1977,defined a small farm as one with sales under $20,000.[41]At the time these comprised 70% of farms in the US.[22]The Act sponsored additional research on small farming operations by USland grant universitiesand theirextension servicesand mandated that an annual report on these activities be issued by theUS Secretary of Agriculture.[22]A 1997 study by the United StatesSmall Farms Commissiondefined small farms as those with less than $250,000 in gross receipts annually on which day-to-day labor and management are provided by the farmer and/or the farm family that owns the production, or owns or leases the productive assets. In 2000, such farms accounted for about 90% of the more than 2.1 million U.S. farms, but only about 40% of U.S. farm production.

The concentration of production on fewer and larger operations is a longstanding concern among some segments of the agricultural community. Others view these changes as inevitable, and even necessary to maintain the efficiency and competitiveness of the sector.

Farm typologyanalysis by the USDAEconomic Research Servicedivides the small family farm category into five groups:

  1. limited-resource farms;
  2. retirement farms;
  3. residential/lifestyle farms;
  4. farming occupation/lower-sales,
  5. farming occupation/high-sales.

Technology for small farmers

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Main article:Right to repair

Many farmers are upset by their inability to fix the new types of high-tech farm equipment.[42]This is due mostly to companies using intellectual property law to prevent farmers from having the legal right to fix their equipment (or gain access to the information to allow them to do it).[43]This has encouraged groups such asOpen Source EcologyandFarm Hackto begin to make open-source agricultural machinery.

European Union

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The debate concerning the role of small farms within theEuropean Unionis ongoing. The European Commission states that more than three quarters of farm holdings in the European Union are less than 10 hectares, with a large number less than five hectares,[44]although as of 2009it had not established a formal definition of the term that could be used in itsCommon Agricultural Policy.The public perception of the possible benefits of small-scale farming has led to requests for further studies from theEuropean Commission.[45]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Gulden, Kathrine Torday (Mar 8, 2019)."International Women's Day: Closing the gender gap among smallholders".Nibio EN.Retrieved2021-10-05.
  2. ^"Small-Scale Agriculture - an overview".ScienceDirect Topics.Archived fromthe originalon Oct 18, 2020.Retrieved2020-10-17.
  3. ^abcKhalil, Clara Aida; Conforti, Piero; Ergin, Ipek; Gennari, Pietro (June 2017)."Defining Small-scale Food Producers to Monitor Target 2.3. of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development"(PDF)(Report). FAO Statistics Division.Archived(PDF)from the original on Nov 8, 2020.
  4. ^"Food prices: smallholder farmers can be part of the solution".IFAD.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-05-05.Retrieved2018-01-02.
  5. ^ab"Investing in smallholder agriculture for food security"(PDF).Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition. June 2013.Retrieved23 February2021.
  6. ^"How many smallholders are there worldwide producing cocoa? What proportion of cocoa worldwide is produced by smallholders?".International Cocoa Organization.27 March 2012. Archived fromthe originalon Oct 20, 2020.Retrieved2020-10-17.
  7. ^"Why Sustainable Cocoa Farming Matters for Rural Development".www.csis.org.6 September 2012.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  8. ^Schneider, Kate; Gugerty, Mary Kay (August 17, 2010).Impact of Export-Driven Cash Crops on Smallholder Households(Report). Evans School Policy Analysis and Research.
  9. ^Christina Gradl; et al. (March 2013)."Promising agribusiness".dandc.eu.
  10. ^ab"2.3.1 Productivity of small-scale food producers | Sustainable Development Goals | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations".www.fao.org.Retrieved2020-10-17.
  11. ^abc"Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders".Project Drawdown.2020-02-06.Retrieved2020-10-16.
  12. ^Beierlein, James G.; Schneeberger, Kenneth C.; Osburn, Donald D. (2003).Principles of Agribusiness Management(3 ed.). Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press. pp. 10–20.ISBN1-57766-267-9.
  13. ^Deolalikar, Anil B. (1981). "The Inverse Relationship between Productivity and Farm Size: A Test Using Regional Data from India".American Journal of Agricultural Economics.63(2): 275–279.doi:10.2307/1239565.ISSN0002-9092.JSTOR1239565.
  14. ^Gorelick, Steven; Norberg-Hodge, Helen (2002).Bringing the Food Economy Home: Local Alternatives to Global Agribusiness.Kumarian Press (US).Retrieved5 November2014.
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  18. ^Harvey, Celia A.; Saborio-Rodríguez, Milagro; Martinez-Rodríguez, M. Ruth; Viguera, Barbara; Chain-Guadarrama, Adina; Vignola, Raffaele; Alpizar, Francisco (2018-08-14)."Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America".Agriculture & Food Security.7(1): 57.doi:10.1186/s40066-018-0209-x.ISSN2048-7010.S2CID52048360.
  19. ^Kristjanson, Patti; Neufeldt, Henry; Gassner, Anja; Mango, Joash; Kyazze, Florence B.; Desta, Solomon; Sayula, George; Thiede, Brian; Förch, Wiebke; Thornton, Philip K.; Coe, Richard (2012-09-01)."Are food insecure smallholder households making changes in their farming practices? Evidence from East Africa".Food Security.4(3): 381–397.doi:10.1007/s12571-012-0194-z.ISSN1876-4525.S2CID16140399.
  20. ^Welle, Deutsche."How climate change threatens African coffee farmers | DW | 18.11.2020".DW.COM.Retrieved2020-11-19.
  21. ^ab"Future Smallholder Deforestation: Possible Palm Oil Risk".Chain Reaction Research.2019-10-29.Retrieved2020-10-17.
  22. ^abcMartin, Lee R. (1992).A Survey of Agricultural Economics Literature: Traditional fields of agricultural economics, 1940s to 1970s, Volume 1.University of MinnesotaPress. p. 30.ISBN978-0-8166-0801-0.
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  24. ^Lutz, Ernst (1998).Agriculture and the environment: perspectives on sustainable rural development.World Bank.p. 57.ISBN978-0-8213-4249-7.
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  27. ^Bunnett, R.B. (2002).Interactive Geography 4,pp. 125, 315. SNP Pan Pacific Publishing.ISBN981-208-657-9.
  28. ^Nagayets,Oksana (2005).The Future of Small Farms.International Food Policy Research Institute and Overseas Development Institute Vision 2020 Initiative, p. 356.
  29. ^Commodities and Development Report 2015-Smallholder Farmers and Sustainable Commodity Development.UN. 2015. pp. 2–21.
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  31. ^Savary, Serge; Akter, Sonia; Almekinders, Conny; Harris, Jody; Korsten, Lise; Rötter, Reimund; Waddington, Stephen; Watson, Derrill (2020-08-01)."Mapping disruption and resilience mechanisms in food systems".Food Security.12(4): 695–717.doi:10.1007/s12571-020-01093-0.ISSN1876-4525.PMC7399354.PMID32837660.
  32. ^International Finance Corporation (2013). Working with Smallholders: A Handbook for Firms Building Sustainable Supply Chains, p. 12.http://www.farms2firms.org
  33. ^Singh, R.B.; Kumar, P (2002)."Small Holder Farmers in India:Food Security & Agricultural Policy"(PDF).coin.fao.org.FAO Regional office for Asia and Pacific.Retrieved24 February2021.
  34. ^Bank, World; Agriculture, International Center for Tropical (2016-01-15)."Climate-Smart Agriculture in Kenya".{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  35. ^FAO (2015).The economic lives of smallholder farmers-An analysis based on household data from nine countries.FAO.
  36. ^abcD’Alessandro, Stephen P.; Caballero, Jorge; Lichte, John; Simpkin, Simon (November 2015)."Kenya".hdl:10986/23350.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  37. ^Kemboi, Evans; Muendo, Kavoi; Kiprotich, Collins (2020-01-01). Yildiz, Fatih (ed.)."Crop diversification analysis amongst smallholder farmers in Kenya(empirical evidence from Kamariny ward, Elgeyo Marakwet County)".Cogent Food & Agriculture.6(1): 1834669.doi:10.1080/23311932.2020.1834669.ISSN2331-1932.
  38. ^Kemboi, Evans; Muendo, Kavoi; Kiprotich, Collins (2020-01-01)."Crop diversification analysis amongst smallholder farmers in Kenya(empirical evidence from Kamariny ward, Elgeyo Marakwet County)".Cogent Food & Agriculture.6(1).doi:10.1080/23311932.2020.1834669.ISSN2331-1932.
  39. ^Condon, Madison; Komakech, Hans; Zaag, Pieter van der (2012-01-01)."The Role of Statutory and Local Rules in Allocating Water between Large- and Small-Scale Irrigators in an African River Catchment".Water SA.38(1): 115.
  40. ^Rigg, Jonathan (3 September 2018)."Modern country, persistent smallholder: Explaining the puzzle of Thailand's truncated agrarian transition".The Asia Dialogue.University of Nottingham, Asia Research Institute.Retrieved23 April2020.
  41. ^"Status Report: Small Farms in the US"(PDF).USDA.1998-05-01.Retrieved2009-08-20.
  42. ^"New High-Tech Farm Equipment Is a Nightmare for Farmers".WIRED. 2015-02-05.Retrieved2016-06-05.
  43. ^"We Can't Let John Deere Destroy the Very Idea of Ownership".WIRED. 2015-04-21.Retrieved2016-06-05.
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Bibliography

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  • Thomas, Frieder; Schmidt, Götz (2006).Förderung von Existenzgründungen in der Landwirtschaft: ein Projekt im Auftrag des BMELV (03HS016): Projektbericht.Münster-Hiltrup: Landwirtschaftsverlag.ISBN3-7843-0513-X.

This article incorporatespublic domain materialfromJasper Womach.Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition(PDF).Congressional Research Service.

Further reading

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Look upsmallholdingin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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