FAMILY FARMS IN AUSTRIA, ITALY AND POLAND

Abstract

Recently there has been a surge of interest in family farms – in particular because2014 was declared by the United Nations as the International Year of FamilyFarming. This focus on family farms is mainly a reaction to several trends, such aseconomic pressures, large-scale land grabbing or the restructuring of agrifoodchains, etc. Yet it has to be acknowledged that the changes taking place inagriculture and agrifood systems put into question the role of family farms. Thispaper responds to the need for a review of family farms by examining the situationin Austria, Italy and Poland. It uses the legal form ‘sole holder’ as the criteria toidentify the family farm. It analyses the status of family farms in terms of (I)numbers, area cultivated, livestock and labour force, (II) their contribution tonutrition and food security, and (III) their consideration within the relevantagricultural policies. The situations in Austria, Italy and Poland are outlined usingofficial agricultural census data, 2013. The results show that family farms are byfar the prevailing form of agriculture in these three countries. Furthermore, weexplore the country specific characteristics within the policy environment given inwhich family farms operate and how this policy supports them. Finally, this formof farm poses significant challenges for food production and systematic policydesign. We conclude by giving some suggestions on future perspectives and theareas for further research.