Rural development and the future of small-scale family farms revisited

Renewed attention has recently been given to the importance (and the position) of smallscale family farms, such as by proclaiming 2014 as the International Year of Family Farms (IYFF). However, public policies are deficient, investments are lacking, and many of the 500 million smallholder farmers receive little to no support. Standard typologies that distinguish “commercial farmers”, “part-time farmers” (in transition, and on their way out) and “subsistence farmers” miss the point of the complexity of farming livelihoods, in which particularly the large group of latter category is actually active in various markets. Influential policy perspectives focus on the insertion of small-scale family farmers in (global) value chains as an important way to promote rural development, and consequently reducing rural poverty. This study argues that such “one-size-fits-all” approach should be looked at critically, as the results have been mixed, at best. Although the integration of smallholders into global value chains is promoted to enhance their competitiveness and market access, these value chains may not actually engage many of these rural producers, and may end up being exclusionary. As global value chains are largely dominated by large corporate agribusiness, the integration of small-scale family farmers under such circumstances creates complex challenges by exposing them to more risks and costs, in situations where bargaining power is rarely equally distributed, which therefore leads to exclusion rather than inclusion. It is therefore very important to revisit the above used typology for family farms, to get a better understanding of how different types of value chains actually work, as well as the associated risks in order to develop more robust policy interventions. A rural territorial approach is called for, which would recognize possible homogeneities in certain agro-ecological (and even sometimes livelihood) regions, but also an awareness of the heterogeneous character within such regions. Not only issues of production (and access to local markets) are crucial, but also social inclusiveness and the building (and strength) of rural institutions, as well as linkages with urban centres within or close to rural areas. Aspects of value chains are included, but these are primarily represented in the inclusion of small-scale family farmers in local and regional markets, and the terms under which this access is achieved. This broader approach should also address inequalities in land rights and empower poor rural people through strengthening their organizations. Meeting all these calls for the promotion of inclusive and sustainable rural development processes is needed through renewed forms of collaboration between the State, the market and civil society, and in particular by promoting rural poverty reduction through broader rural territorial development.