DATABASE

List of variables received from the project ‘The role of small farms in the sustainable development of food sector in Central and Eastern European countries’, funded by the National Agency for Academic Exchange NAWA (number PPI/APM/2018/1/00011/U/001)

Data for Romania, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia, Poland

Survey conducted in 2019. In-depth interviews conducted in 2020.
Sample size for surveys: Romania – 900, Lithuania – 1000, Moldova – 550, Serbia – 550
Sample size for in-depth interviews: 20 cases for each country (Romania, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Poland)

Part I. Survey data

1. Basic information about the holding and the manager

  1. Age of manager
  2. Gender of manager
  3. Education level
  4. Number of members of the holding
  5. Number of children
  6. Total area of the farm
  7. Arable land area
  8. Leased area
  9. Structure of land by classes
  10. Production type
  11. Fallow land area
  12. Location of the holding
  13. Distance from town

2. Economic and social data

  1. Volume of agricultural production – total, crop production, animal production
  2. Volume and structure of farm income
  3. Structure and share of support
  4. Directions of support distribution
  5. Use of non-financial support
  6. Subjective assessment of the financial situation of the holding
  7. Investment possibilities of the holding
  8. Estimated value of farm assets – land, capital, livestock
  9. Estimated value of liabilities
  10. Labour input – manager, family members, contract workers
  11. Household equipment
  12. Usable floor space of the dwelling/house
  13. Participation of the manager/family members in the system of continuing education
  14. Participation of children in preschool education system
  15. Participation of the manager/family members in social, cultural and entertainment events
  16. Membership of the manager/family members in an organization, association, club, cooperative, etc.

3. Environmental data

  1. Structure of the sown area
  2. Share of permanent grassland/pasture
  3. Share of cereals in the total sown area
  4. Share of forests in the total area of the holding
  5. Degree of winter vegetation cover
  6. Animal stock structure
  7. Energy expenditure
  8. Fertiliser expenditure
  9. Expenditure on plant protection products
  10. Expenditure on fuel for agricultural purposes
  11. Use of organic fertilisers

4. Market integration and risk management

  1. Share of the sold production in the total production of the holding
  2. Channels used to distribute raw materials/agricultural products
  3. Price differentiation by distribution channel
  4. Forms of contract used in the transaction process
  5. Price differentiation by form of contract
  6. Evaluation of bargaining position in the process of selling agricultural raw materials/products
  7. Structure of sales by degree of processing of agricultural raw materials/products
  8. Forms of marketing/sales promotion used
  9. Channels and forms of contract in the process of purchasing inputs
  10. Evaluation of bargaining position in the input purchase process
  11. Forms of on-farm risk management
  12. Ways and sources of information for planning agricultural production

5. Food security: assessing food security in terms of access to food, dietary diversity, quality of food consumed, degree of self-supply of food

6. Farm succession

  1. How do you envision the farm in 5 years?
  2. Do you intend to pass on the farm?
  3. Who will be the potential successor of the farm?
  4. What will be the age of the successor at the time of take-over?
  5. If the successors is your child, what is he/her current status?
  6. If the successor is your child, are you preparing him/her for take-over?
  7. Are there any forms of support for taking over the farm?
  8. What conditions should the successor meet to take over the farm?
  9. What are you going to do after the succession?
  10. If you are not going to pass on the farm, what are the reasons of this decision?

Part II. In-depth interview – a list of questions

1. What are the farmer’s experiences in managing the farm, how did he/she start working on the farm, did he/she take over from parents or other members of family or did he/she buy new land to start business? When did he/she start business? (short history of the farm).

2. Are you satisfied with your work? What are the main motives for running a farm? What are the main benefits of running a farm? What are the main weaknesses of running a farm?

3. Do you consider your farm as developmental, progressive? Explain.

4. What were the changes of your farm in the last 5-10-15 years in terms of:

  1. the area of the farm (increase / decrease / no change + explanation. If the increase, whether the purchase of land or rent? What means?);
  2. land use structure – arable land, orchards, meadows and pastures, forests? (change, what / no change + explanation);
  3. agricultural production structure (change, what kind / no change + explanation);
  4. the structure of farm income (change, what kind/ no change + explanation)

5. What are the plans for the following 5-10 years in terms of:

  1. the area of the farm (increase / decrease / no change + explanation. If the increase, whether the purchase of land or rent? From own savings or borrowed money?);
  2. land use structure – arable land, orchards, meadows and pastures, forests? (change, what kind/ no change + explanation);
  3. agricultural production structure (change, what kind / no change + explanation);
  4. extension / narrowing / maintenance at the current level of agricultural activity + explanation;
  5. development of non-agricultural activities, if so, what kind of activity, when, and from what money? If not, why?
  6. What other changes would you make regarding your farm?

6. Do you think the agricultural income you obtain is adequate to the work input? Explain. If not, what should the income be (in relation to current income)? What could improve the income situation of the farm?

7. If the farm has liabilities (credits, loans), what do they result from? Are they intended for agricultural activities (for what?), current consumption, private investments, other purpose?

8. Is the workload (working hours) on the farm adequate / too small / too large? Explain.

9. Do you consider the received support (financial and non-financial) for the farm to be sufficient? Explain. If you could change the support structure, to what extent – the amount of support, direction, forms of support? What barriers do you see in accessing financial / non-financial support?

10. Do you think that higher support should be associated with additional farm activities? What kind of activities?

11. What is your opinion on the position of small farms in the food supply chain and what is the reason for this position? Does the same opinion apply to your farm? If it is assessed as unfavorable, how could the situation be changed? Through appropriate farm activities, what kind? Through the appropriate actions of other supply chain participants, what kind? Through assistance from market institutions, e.g. consultancy centers, local governments, etc.? Through financial support from the state / EU, for what?

12. What is your opinion on the possibility of shortening the farmer-consumer supply chain? What are the benefits of such a solution? What would motivate a farmer to do this type of sale? What are the barriers to this solution? What actions can a farmer take to increase sales through short distribution channels? What form of external assistance would be appropriate to develop this type of sale?

13. What is your opinion on the possibility of selling processed / final products to the consumer directly from the farm? What are the benefits of such a solution? What would motivate a farmer to sell processed / final products? What are the barriers to this solution? What actions can a farmer take to increase the potential for such sales? What form of external assistance would be appropriate to develop this type of sale?

14. What is your opinion on the position of small farms in the supply chain of agricultural inputs (fertilizers, feed, machinery and equipment and others) and what is the reason for this position? Does the same opinion apply to your farm? If it is assessed as unfavorable, how could the situation be changed? Through appropriate farm activities, what kind? What form of external assistance would be appropriate to improve the farmer’s situation in these transactions?

15. What are the most important economic and production risks in running a farm? How important do you think it is to manage such risk on the farm? What forms of risk reduction are the most effective in your opinion? What are the possibilities and barriers to using these forms of risk management? How do you assess the current activities of state / local government institutions, advisory centers, agricultural organizations, and others in the area of developing risk management tools? Should any additional forms of assistance be implemented to increase the use of risk management tools? What forms of support could this be?

16. How do you assess your housing situation (size of the flat / house, equipment, technical condition, etc.)? What would you change about it, what is missing?

17. How do you assess your (and family members) social activity (participation in events, events, participation in organizations, associations, etc.) – high, just right, too low – explain. Do you initiate (or family members) various social activities? If so, what kind and what motivates you to do this? If not, why?

18. How do you assess your (and family members) attitude in the field of education, acquiring new knowledge and skills (through participation in courses, training, education)? If low, why are you not involved in this process?

19. What do you think the role of a small-scale farm in rural areas should be?

20. In your opinion, what benefits do a small-scale farm bring to rural development? for the economy? for society? for the environment? What are the benefits of your farm? Should the farm receive support for providing such benefits (public goods)? What kind of support? In what amount (flat rate per year? in relation to ha of UAA? per farm?)

21. Do you think your farm is environmentally friendly? Explain. Have you done anything in the past to improve the environment? What are you going to do in the future in this regard?

22. Do you think that the farm should receive support for additional activities for the environment? If so, what should be the justification for such support? For what activities? What type of support (financial / non-financial)? In what amount (flat rate per year? in relation to ha of UAA? per farm?)

23. Do you think that your farm produces healthier food than industrial / large-scale farms? Explain. Have you done anything in the past to improve food quality? What are you going to do in the future in this regards?

24. Do you think that the farm should receive support for producing ‘healthier’ food? If so, what should be the justification? For what activities? What type of support (financial / non-financial)? In what amount (flat rate per year? in relation to ha of UAA? per farm? for the amount of food produced?)

25. Does the manager identify the term “public good” with small-scale farming? If so, what, according to the manager, is such a good? Does the surveyed farm provide such public goods? Which ones? Should the holding receive support for providing public goods? Of what type? In what amount? (lump sum per year? per ha UAA? per holding?)