This paper proposes a strategic framework for policies to assist smallholders in developing countries. It describes the inevitable features of structural change in the agricultural and rural economy, the associated pressures that these changes place on smallholders, and the consequent need for...

Replaced with revised version of paper 10/06/09.

This article analyzes the indices for nonfarm agricultural activities, which combine agricultural activities with both employment and wages. They were made with panel data of the Living Measurement Standard Survey (1993, 1998, 2001 and 2005) and they were processed with econometric model as a...

With access to formal credit proving almost impossible to smallholder farmers, group based lending is steadily becoming popular in Africa. However, little is documented on the role of such programmes. In this paper, we employ propensity score matching and endogenous switching regime methods on a...

Small farmers are one of the more disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in Nigeria. Studies have shown that majority of people living in absolute poverty can be found on small farms with half in this group undernourished. The study examined heterogeneity in circumstances and diversity in rural...

Small and medium-sized farms all over Europe guarantee their survival by a broad range of strategies and different income sources. In remoter areas of highly developed countries such as the UK, such strategies may be expected to have their own characteristics, both legislative and...

Semi-subsistence farm households (SFHs) have persevered in Central and Southeastern Europe. An outlook on future perspectives of SFHs asks for reliable information on the phenomenon of SFHs and the impact of policy measures on their development options: (1) intensifying farming, (2) diversifying...

In this paper I draw lessons from two quasi-natural experiments (the transition process in former Communist countries and the rapid globalization of food chains) on the optimality of farms and agricultural structures more generally. I argue that (a) the farm structures that have emerged from the...

The study aims at estimating comprehensive effects of non-farm employments (NFEs) on poverty based on an intensive field survey conducted in 2008 on about 175 small landholding households in developed four villages of Comilla Sadar Upazila. We analyze participating factors of small household...

According to agricultural cencus data, the percentage of small farms (holding 0.5 ha) has increased from 48.5% in 1993 to 56.5% in 2003. Evidence from micro panel data is also inline with this observation. In rice farming region of Java, average farm size has declined from 0.49 ha in 1995 to...