Half a billion family farms | Food and Environment Reporting Network

Family farms account for 500 million of the estimated 570 million farms in the world, says Insights magazine, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute, a think tank. “Farming is one of the last economic activities performed largely by families working together.” On average, family farms are smaller than nonfamily farms – 475 million farms are less than 2 hectares, or 5 acres. In developing countries, the farms are heavily diversified as a way to protect the family against losses rather than try to maximize profits. Many family and smallholder farmers are poor and work off the farm too.

Small farms produce 80 percent of the food that is consumed in the developing world, so they are viewed as key to reducing poverty and hunger. Says an Oxfam official, “Hunger, food insecurity and poverty are concentrated among people who depend on agriculture for a living.” If small farms expand production, more food is available at lower cost. Small farmers hire locally and spend their money in their home communities, so it boosts the local economy.

“Small is still beautiful in countries with a growing rural population and weak nonfarm growth,” says IFPRI chief Shenggan Fan.

And that leads to questions on the route of economic development. In developing countries, a large portion of the population lives in rural areas. Some experts say larger, more productive farms would free a labor force for better-earning jobs in the city. Others say consolidation makes sense only if there are jobs for the people leaving the land. Without vibrant growth in jobs, a better choice might be for governments to help small farmers become more productive so people can support themselves without leaving rural areas.

http://insights.ifpri.info/2014/09/the-family-business/#sthash.NEqoIiGt.dpuf