Utilising a farm typology to identify potential adopters of alternative farming activities in Greek agriculture

Abstract

Farm household survival strategies are acknowledged to determine the adoption of alternative farm enterprises as part of the farm household's production and reproduction pattern and are, thus, used to identify the potential adopters of such enterprises. The present work utilises an ideal typology of Greek farms in order to identify different types of farms as regards their mode of survival. Each survival strategy is linked to different motives for and constraints against the adoption of alternative farm enterprises. Results show that three types of farm households may be identified, namely subsistence, survivalist and productivist farm households. The potential adopters of alternative farm enterprises may be traced among farm households that pursue a survivalist mode of production. It is argued that the diversity of farm structures observed within this type of farm households cannot be regarded as the decisive factor as far as their mode of survival is concerned. Rather, it is considered to form a context of different motivations for and constraints against the adoption of alternative farming activities.