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Farm Diversification: Drivers, Barriers and Future Growth Potential

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  • Claire Jack
  • Austen Ashfield
  • Adewale Henry Adenuga
  • Conall Mullan

Abstract

Family farm businesses throughout Europe are facing new economic, environmental and social challenges. In order to deliver a more resilient primary agriculture sector, national and regional governments are identifying mechanisms to support farm businesses to adapt to these changing demands. This qualitative study explored the drivers of and barriers to farm diversification and its potential as a strategy to make farms more sustainable. Although there are a range of farm diversification strategies being pursued regionally, farm diversification is under‐exploited as an opportunity to achieve additional household income. Areas considered to have the potential for growth included, agri‐tourism, care services (including social farming), professional services and developing artisan food products. Beyond the need to generate new income sources, creating employment for other family members was considered an important motivation. Those factors identified as constraints to diversification included internet access, planning, business rates, support around skills development, networks and a farmer's own fear of failure. For smaller scale, family farm businesses located in more marginal areas, there is a need to identify a range of policy levers which support local farming systems and capture the multifaceted nature of the products and services that these farm businesses could provide and may be asked to deliver in the future. A travers toute l'Europe, les entreprises agricoles familiales sont confrontées à de nouveaux défis économiques, environnementaux et sociaux. Afin de rendre le secteur agricole primaire plus résilient, les pouvoirs publics nationaux et régionaux identifient des mécanismes pour aider les entreprises agricoles à s'adapter à ces demandes changeantes. Cette étude qualitative a exploré les moteurs et les obstacles à la diversification agricole et la capacité de cette stratégie à rendre les exploitations plus durables. Bien qu'il existe au niveau régional une gamme de stratégies à cet égard, le potentiel de la diversification des exploitations à générer des revenus supplémentaires pour les ménages est sous‐exploité. Les domaines considérés comme prometteurs comprennent l'agrotourisme, les services de soins (y compris l'agriculture sociale), les services professionnels et le développement de produits alimentaires artisanaux. Au‐delà de la nécessité de générer de nouvelles sources de revenus, la création d'emplois pour d'autres membres de la famille était considérée comme une motivation importante. Les facteurs identifiés comme des obstacles à la diversification comprenaient l'accès à Internet, le planning, les tarifs commerciaux, le soutien au développement des compétences, les réseaux et la peur de l’échec des agriculteurs. Pour les entreprises agricoles familiales à plus petite échelle situées dans des zones plus marginales, il est nécessaire d'identifier une gamme de leviers d'action publique qui soutiennent les systèmes agricoles locaux et capturent la nature multiforme des produits et services que ces entreprises agricoles pourraient fournir et pourraient être invitées à offrir dans le futur. Landwirtschaftliche Familienbetriebe stehen in ganz Europa vor neuen wirtschaftlichen, ökologischen und sozialen Herausforderungen. Um die Widerstandsfähigkeit des primären Landwirtschaftssektors zu verbessern werden von nationalen und regionalen Regierungen Anpassungsmaßnahmen zur Unterstützung landwirtschaftlicher Betriebe an diese sich wandelnden Anforderungen identifiziert. Die vorliegende qualitative Studie untersucht die Anreize, Hindernisse und Potenziale im Zusammenhang mit einer Diversifizierung, die als Strategie dazu dienen kann, landwirtschaftliche Betriebe nachhaltiger zu gestalten. Obwohl auf regionaler Ebene eine Reihe von betrieblichen Diversifizierungsstrategien verfolgt werden, wird die Diversifizierung als Möglichkeit, um zusätzliches Haushaltseinkommen zu erzielen, zu wenig genutzt. Zu den Bereichen, denen Wachstumspotenzial zugeschrieben wurde, gehörten der Agrar‐Tourismus, Pflegedienste (einschließlich sozialer Landwirtschaft), professionelle Dienstleistungen und die Entwicklung handwerklich hergestellter Lebensmittel. Abgesehen von der Notwendigkeit, neue Einkommensquellen zu erschließen, wurde die Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen für andere Familienmitglieder als wichtige Motivation genannt. Zu den Faktoren, die als Hemmnisse für die Diversifizierung genannt wurden, gehörten Internetzugang, Planung, Unternehmenssteuern, Unterstützung bei der Entwicklung von Fachkenntnissen, Netzwerke und die Angst der Landwirtinnen und Landwirte vor dem Scheitern. In kleinerem Maßstab, d.h. bei Familienbetrieben in eher abgelegenen Gebieten, besteht die Notwendigkeit eine Reihe verschiedener politischer Maßnahmen zu identifizieren, welche die landwirtschaftlichen Systeme vor Ort unterstützen. Diese Maßnahmen sollten darüber hinaus die Vielschichtigkeit der Produkte und Dienstleistungen erfassen, die diese landwirtschaftlichen Betriebe bereitstellen könnten und die in Zukunft möglicherweise von ihnen verlangt werden.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire Jack & Austen Ashfield & Adewale Henry Adenuga & Conall Mullan, 2021. "Farm Diversification: Drivers, Barriers and Future Growth Potential," EuroChoices, The Agricultural Economics Society, vol. 20(2), pages 70-75, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:eurcho:v:20:y:2021:i:2:p:70-75
    DOI: 10.1111/1746-692X.12295
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Oksana Žabko & Talis Tisenkopfs, 2022. "New Entrants Need Tailored Farm Advice," EuroChoices, The Agricultural Economics Society, vol. 21(1), pages 63-69, April.

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