Evolution des principaux systèmes de production agricole de 1967 à 1970 et disparités de revenus

The data provided by the general census of 1970 have been once more examined according to the classification system used by the E.E.C. accountancy system. The criterion of a nature of production of farm businesses » has been added to the usual criteria of region and area of farms. The comparison of these resuhs with those given by a special analysis of the 1967 E.E.C. study of the structure of farms, provides a means of analysing certain structural changes and changes in production between these two dates. This analysis shows up a tendancy towards a greater specialization of the production systems, towards general farming at the expense of combined crop-growing and stock breeding, with specialized cattlebreeding horticulture and viticulture accounting for about the same proportion. In general, combined types of farming (characterized by at least two principal activities) are considerably reduced in number, whereas pig and poultry breeding have known a spectacular increase. The reasons for these developments are being sought, in the light of the economic results measured since 1968 in the sample of farms used by the E.E.C. accountancy system. The generally accepted hypothesis to explain this is that the heads of farm businesses react according to their economic situation and that the great differences in income in French farming explain the lack of interest for certain forms of farming and the greater interest for certain others. This being so, quite apart from those fields where the farmer has no choice. There seems to be a quite definite link (in spite of the gaps in this sample and in spite of a certain inaccuracy in stratification) between the changes that have taken place and the 'eve/ of the gross income of the average farm during this period, in the different types of farm-businesses defined by their total area and their technico-economic specialization.