A Capability Indicator for Family Farms in the Global North – Concept and Test from Switzerland

Amartya Sen’s capability approach suggests assessing people’s well-being by examining whether they are able to do and be what they value, instead of merely looking at their income. People’s well-being is the basic theme of social sustainability. This study intends to operationalise social sustainability by developing a capability indicator for family farms in the Global North. Therefore, this study develops a conceptual approach that was tested through a sample of 555 Swiss fruit and vegetable farm managers. The managers were asked four questions on consumption options and six questions on decision making on their farms, and answers were aggregated in two different ways: first, simply by summing up the response values, and second, by weighting the response values based on their regressors to explain the probability of the farm being taken over. The data were analysed descriptively regarding correlations between the questions and by an ordered logit analysis. The results indicated that both the simple and the weighed capability indicators were good predictors of the perception of whether the farm would be taken over by the next generation and thus of an aspect of social sustainability. This implies that, for example, policy measures to reduce the environmental impacts of farming have a negative side effect that may have been underestimated so far, as they reduce the capability of the farm managers. The capability of farmers at both production and consumption levels is relevant to their well-being.