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Economic Viability of Family Farms in Europe – A Literature Review

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  • POCZTA-WAJDA, AGNIESZKA

Abstract

As family farms are the dominant form of agricultural activity in Europe, their economic viability is a prerequisite for the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas. The aim of this research is to review the latest publications on the economic viability of family farms in Europe. Based on a systematic literature review of studies related to European agriculture published in 2010-2020, this paper presents various concepts of family farm economic viability and assesses the methodologies used. The paper also presents the results of selected empirical research from the last 10 years on family farm economic viability in Europe, broken down into international and national comparisons. Results suggest that the most common approach to measuring economic viability is to use the opportunity cost concept of own factors of production. An important observation is also that, although most studies are based on the FADN database, the results of the analyses are sensitive to the selection of the threshold wage and own capital costs. What contemporary literature lacks is a long-term comparative analysis for all EU countries, as well as studies of drivers of family farm economic viability.

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  • Poczta-Wajda, Agnieszka, 2020. "Economic Viability of Family Farms in Europe – A Literature Review," Roczniki (Annals), Polish Association of Agricultural Economists and Agribusiness - Stowarzyszenie Ekonomistow Rolnictwa e Agrobiznesu (SERiA), vol. 2020(4).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:paaero:308249
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.308249
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    7. Veveris, A. & Šapolaitė, V. & Giedrė Raišienė, A. & Bilan, Y., 2019. "How Rural Development Programmes Serve for Viability of Small farms? Case of Latvia and Lithuania," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 11(2), June.
    8. Teresa Hooks & Áine Macken-Walsh & Olive McCarthy & Carol Power, 2017. "The Impact of a Values-Based Supply Chain (VBSC) on Farm-Level Viability, Sustainability and Resilience: Case Study Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-19, February.
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    1. Dicle Dönmez & Musab A. Isak & Tolga İzgü & Özhan Şimşek, 2024. "Green Horizons: Navigating the Future of Agriculture through Sustainable Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-20, April.
    2. Rūta Savickienė & Aistė Galnaitytė, 2024. "Unveiling Determinants of Successful Dairy Farm Performance from Dairy Exporting EU Countries," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-23, July.
    3. Andrzej Parzonko, 2023. "Rentowność kapitału własnego w polskich gospodarstwach mlecznych zróżnicowanych skalą produkcji w latach 2005-2020," Roczniki (Annals), Polish Association of Agricultural Economists and Agribusiness - Stowarzyszenie Ekonomistow Rolnictwa e Agrobiznesu (SERiA), vol. 2023(3).

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    Agribusiness; Agricultural Finance;

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