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ute to their own food security and that of their communities,
while carefully managing and maintaining natural resources
and biodiversity and strengthening the economic, ecological
and social resilience of their communities.
Family farmers have very specific characteristics.
Agroecology is an approach that builds on them.
Agroecology is not a set of prescriptions. It is rather a
set of principles that family farmers can use according to
their needs, aspirations and the resources they have at hand.
“After studying the process of SRI dissemination in Nepal,
I learned that different farmers face different problems and
that they adapt all techniques to suit their diverse circum-
stances and needs,” said Rajendra Uprety, a former extension
worker in Nepal.
Why do family farming and agroecology go together so
well? It is estimated that more than 1.4 million family farmers
across the world have adopted agroecological approaches.
Agroecology as a global movement emerged at the end of
the twentieth century in a decentralized and diversified
way, building on the work of millions of family farmers all
over the world. Agroecological farming systems have a high
degree of local specificity and require much local innova-
tion. This is in stark contrast to the diffusion of universal
technical packages, the solution that is implicit in the ‘green
revolution’ approach. It also involves developing and main-
taining agroecosystems with a wide diversity of livestock
breeds and crops, the latter of which is achieved through
crop combinations, rotations and successions. Managing this
kind of complexity sets limits on the size of the farm and
requires highly skilled and flexible labour that is attentive
to detailed management issues, which can often be found on
family farms. Moreover, agroecology allows family farmers
to use their in-depth knowledge of the local ecosystem and
Family farmers can increase productivity and build a sustainable future for themselves while contributing to society as a whole
Image: Somenath Mukhopadhyay
Ten characteristics of family farming
Family farming is often thought of in terms of a single
characteristic, such as farm size (for example, small-scale farming),
land ownership, or that all labour is provided by a single family.
Furthermore, the goal of farmers is often defined as maximizing
profit, and whereas family farmers do indeed seek to make a
decent living, it is not their only driving force. In reality, family
farming is a way of life, encompassing far more than any of these
simple descriptions can convey. In fact, 10 key characteristics of
family farming can be seen to make it unique. These characteristics
are, however, not always present at the same time, in every
situation and in every family.
Family farm
5
Home to the
family, place
of belonging
6
Links, past
present,
future
7
Place for
learning,
knowledge
building
8
Active part of
rural economy
9
Keeps
culture alive
10
Tied to rural
landscape, its
environment
1
Controls its
main resources
2
Provides
main part of
labour force
3
Nexus
family-farm
4
Provides
income, food
and nutrition
Source: JD van der Ploeg (2013). ‘Ten qualities of family farming’.
Farming Matters
, 29.4:8-11
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eep
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