The role of family farms to ensure food security

Diritto e Giurisprudenza Agraria, Alimentare e dell'Ambiente, 2019

Family farms are central to both contemporary changes and contradictions in agriculture. They have been, and are still, the crucible for a whole host of agricultural innovations and major revolutions. They form the social basis of most Southern countries and contribute to supplying their local, national and international markets. Paradoxically, however, they constitute the vast majority of poor rural households which are also in a situation of food insecurity worldwide. They sometimes operate using specialised, and highly artificialised, intensified models (agrochemicals and mechanisation). In this respect, they do not escape the questions and criticism directed to agriculture and its capacity to meet the contemporary and widely globalised challenges of climate change, food security, the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels, and the prevention of emerging diseases. But family farms also provide alternative production models to conventional intensification – sustainable agriculture mo...

Family farmers work on a significant portion of the world's farmland; 83% in North and Central America, 18% in South America, 62% in Africa, 68% in Europe and 85% in Asia. Both in developing and developed countries, family farming is the predominant form of agriculture in the food production sector. Family farmers carefully manage their lands to sustain remarkably high levels of productivity despite having less access to productive resources such as agricultural inputs and support. Agricultural and rural growth also benefit the poor in urban areas, due to the abundance and proximity of food.

2015

The blame game! A longstanding and evolving issue 2.3.2. The methodological challenge of assessing the state of degradation of natural resources 2.3.3. The diversity of family systems and production models and their environmental impacts 2.3.4. Agricultural policies generally not beneficial for the environment 2.3.5. By way of conclusion on natural resources 2.4. Family farming and social issues 2.4.1. For a pragmatic and targeted understanding of gender issues: Working relations in family farming, or reconciling production and reproduction 2.4.2. Young people, working relations and family farming: Social issues related to the question of economic transition 3. The "politicisation" of family farms 3.1. Economic and political contexts of the politicisation of family farming policies 3.1.1. Importance of agriculture in national contexts, endogenous dynamics 3.1.2. Long-term trend of the link between family farming, national public policies and the international reference 3.1.3. National actors of politicisation and recognition of family farms in our case studies 3.2. Public policies in practical terms: Lessons learned from case studies 128 3.2.1. The sectoral policies to assist and support agricultural production 3.2.2. Environmental policies 3.2.3. Contrasting social policies 3.2.4. Territorial policies and allocations of public goods 3.3. What public policy instruments to support family farming? 3.3.1. An important lesson from the case studies: The disjunction between policies and instruments 3.3.2. For an extension of agricultural policies to rural policies, promoting all the functions and dimensions of family farming May 2015 / Family Farming Around the World / © AFD [ ] 4. Themes for further development 4.1. Research to analyse the impacts of production models 4.2. Pay more attention to working relations and the forms of family organisation 4.3. Pay close attention to emerging technical models 4.4. New family farming products in response to trends in food demand 4.5. Highlight the importance of social movements in transforming family farming and its politicisation 4.6. Finally, contribute to bringing about changes to the representations of family farming Acronyms and abbreviations References Contents May 2015 / Family Farming Around the World / © AFD [ ] 7 Foreword This publication is a resumption and revised version of the report published by CIRAD in May 2013 with the same title, on behalf and at the request of Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Ministry of Agriculture, Agrifood and Forestry (MAAF) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development (MAEDI). The commission given to CIRAD, which was entitled "Study on the contribution that family farming makes to food security" was intended to prepare the United Nations International Year of Family Farming (2014) and aimed to "clarify the terminology used, the reality covered by family farming in developing countries and its impact on food security and sustainable development", based on an analysis of the institutional and scientific literature and case studies in various countries concerning the "implementation of family farming policies".

2021

storage and distribution of goods food [2]. Thus, food production depends on factors such as the modes of exploitation and appropriation of land, the reproduction and selection of plant species, crop rotation, multiplication, management and exploitation of livestock. As a result, there is a large margin of overlap and correlation between the various components of the food system and farms [3]. In addition, the same body stipulates that food availability (stocks) expresses the performance of farms because they are expressed in quantity by the composition of supplies and in quality by the conversion of products into calories, proteins and lipids.

International Journal for Innovation Education and Research

The struggle for a fair distribution of land consolidated social movements and put pressure on the Brazilian government to carry out agrarian reform. The government allocated rural workers to the settlements and created programs to strengthen family farming. The global concern with the sustainability of the planet has led scholars to think that family farming is an alternative for the reduction of poverty and for the preservation of the environment. Based on this principle, the objective of this study was to analyze whether family farming used in the family units of the Joana Darc III settlement in Rondônia contributes to sustainable development. Materials and methods: The research is characterized as descriptive and a case study. We use an instrument developed by Anjos17, semi-structured, divided into 6 blocks: Identification of the profile of farmers; Characterization of the production unit; Characterization of crop production; Production commercialization; Financing and infrastru...

The Role of Smallholder Farms in Food and Nutrition Security

This chapter enumerates the importance of small farms for food security, pulling together available studies and quantitative evidence on the current status of small farms in terms of their number, share of total farms, share in farmed area, employment share, age, gender, poverty and food insecurity status, importance in marketed surpluses of food staples, income diversification, etc. To the extent possible, trends in these variables are also enumerated, focusing on key questions such as: are small farms getting smaller (not just the average size of all farms); are they are becoming less important in total food supplies, especially marketed surpluses (needed to feed the cities); how successfully do they use high-value agriculture and nonfarm income diversification to offset smaller farm sizes. To the extent possible, differences in patterns between regions and types of countries are identified. Finally, some scenarios for the future are developed.

Bulletin of Sumy National Agrarian University

The Survival of Family Farms: Socioemotional Wealth and Factors Affecting Intention to Continue the Business are considered. In most of FAO's program countries in Europe and Central Asia, the farm structure is dominated by smallholder farmers and small family farms. Small farms have many needs and limitations to their effective operation and development, which are outlined in the work and require special support. Smallholders and family farms are often economically unviable, and the rural population remains the poorest and most vulnerable. Despite this, they are potentially a key resource for achieving sustainable economic, social and environmental development of the country. Family farming – both globally and in Europe and Central Asia – is an important component in achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this regard, a key goal of the SDGs is to double agricultural productivity and incomes nsmall food producers by 2030. For these reasons, supporting small fa...

Family farming has an important place in the agricultural sector of both developing and developed countries. Producing families make various socioeconomic contribution to the agricultural sector and, thus, to the national economy. The latest actions on sustainability of the food supply are among these contributions. Despite the fact that the development levels are different, ensuring food security is the primary concern of every country. In Turkey, which is a developing country, sustainability of the food supply is important in terms of meeting the food needs of increasing population along with the development of the food industry and export. This study reveals the importance of family farming across the world and evaluates the issue in terms of sustainability of the food supply in the example of Turkey. In the study some suggestions on enhancing family farming's possible contribution to the sustainability of the food supply are included. This study is a literature research made with the help of secondary sources.

Springer, 2016

This chapter gives an overview of food security situation in selected developing countries. Various indicators of food insecurity in developing countries are discussed and analysed. It highlights the importance of agriculture sector and need for government intervention in the form of price support and public distribution policies to fight against hunger, undernourishment, food insecurity and poverty.