Family Farming in Poland and in the World – Thematic Edition of Wieś i Rolnictwo [Countryside and Agriculture] Quarterly Magazine

Abstract

For many years now, family farming has been a subject of interest for scientists, although attempts to research and describe this phenomenon have been met with numerous methodological, definitional and practical problems. A recurring thread of these publications to which other scientists are referring is the manner of defining the “family farm” term. Indeed, an accurate definition would be useful and allow precise research of this group of farms. Over the years, numerous attempts have been made to specify who we are talking about while using the following terms: “small farms”, “family farms”, “economically weak farms”. Problems concerning the types of indicators (farm area, its income, form of property, labour) which should be taken into account while constructing a definition of the family farm are still being discussed. In Poland, many authors have written about problems concerning the establishment of a definition for family farm (see. Sikorska 2003; Józwiak 2007; Zegar 2007; Halamska 2005, 2011; Dzun 2014 and others), although it seems that this question is still open both for us and in other parts of the world. Other topics also appear in the discussion – in a context of research concentrated on small family farms and changes occurring in the countryside and their influence on agriculture and farmers (see among others Wilkin