New perspectives on farm size and productivity

Nicholas E. Rada and Keith Fuglie ()

Food Policy, 2019, vol. 84, issue C, 147-152

Abstract: The farm size and productivity debate has been limited by the focus on land or labor productivity, generally showing respective productivity advantages to smaller or larger sized farms. Our purpose is to provide new perspectives on the debate by bringing together evidence from a set of novel case studies in both rich and poor countries. Common to them are the adoption of total factor productivity (TFP) as the comparative performance measure, and the reliance on panels of farm micro data. The present article presents a synthesis of findings from five case studies in (i) Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda; (ii) Bangladesh; (iii) Brazil; (iv) Australia; and (v) the United States. The preponderance of evidence from these studies suggests that there is no single economically optimal agrarian structure; rather, it appears to evolve with the stage of economic development. Certain farm sizes face relative productivity advantages, such as small farms in Africa. But with economic and market growth, that smallholder advantage will likely attenuate, moving toward constant and eventually increasing returns to size. Yet, importantly, small farms may be quite dynamic, and need not be a drag on agricultural growth until perhaps well into the development process.

Keywords: Agrarian structure; Agriculture; Crop yields; Farm size; Land productivity; Total factor productivity (TFP) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q12 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (66)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:84:y:2019:i:c:p:147-152

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.03.015

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