PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Introduction

The debate on the sustainability of the agricultural sector raises the question of the role of small farms in the implementation of this postulate. In accordance with the so-called European model of functioning of agriculture and rural areas, the industrial model of agribusiness is being abandoned and the direction of development based on simultaneous implementation of 3 elements is being promoted: economic, social and environmental. A special role in this paradigm is played by smallholder family farms, whose tasks go beyond standard food production and concern the provision of social and environmental public goods.

Aim

The aim of the project was to identify regional and supra-regional market, institutional and political conditions shaping the sustainability of family farms. In terms of individual activities, the aim was to measure the current level of agricultural sustainability in the countries included in the study against the background of the EU, to create an original “Index of Right Balance”, to determine the impact of individual variables determining the level of sustainability, and then to formulate theoretical and practical premises regarding the desired market organisation, its integration and agricultural support policy. The aim was also to answer the question to what extent “balanced” farms in economic, social and environmental terms shape the sustainability of the wide-ranging rural areas and agribusiness sector.

Research

The research work within the Project proceeded in stages. The first was a diagnosis of the functioning of small farms, based on the available literature, reports, studies and existing databases. In the second step, survey research was conducted on a group of over 3,500 selected farms in order to create a database and to build a hierarchy of sustainability according to the above mentioned sustainability index. In the next step, from the group of all farms in each country, the 20 most sustainable entities (the so-called “Top 20”) were selected for the study using the in-depth interview method. At the same time, work continued on determining the impact of individual variables (micro- and macroeconomic, demographic, institutional, political) on the level of sustainability of farms. In the last phase of the research, the role of small-scale family farms in building sustainable rural development and food economy was determined.

Target group

The target group of the study were small-scale family farms from Poland, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania and Moldova. The choice of these countries was dictated by the relatively high fragmentation of their agriculture in comparison with other European countries, especially Western Europe.