Family farming refers to the development of agricultural tasks by all members of a family group.
Family farming is a concept that refers to the agricultural work carried out by the members of a family . This type of agriculture involves the use of the family's own labor: that is, those who carry out the tasks are the members of the family nucleus, whether they are men or women .
In addition to agricultural production itself, among the activities that are included in this notion we must also take into account aquaculture, pastoral, fishing and forestry production.
Family farming concept
It should be noted that agriculture is the task that consists of tilling and cultivating the land . Through these activities, food and various raw materials are obtained that allow the development of all kinds of products necessary for human beings. Family , on the other hand, is something linked to the family (the group of people who are related).
According to various studies, family farming is usually the prevailing way of producing food, and this is true to the same extent in developing and developed countries, something that speaks of its effectiveness as an economic support.
The families work the land together to offer their products to wholesalers, distributors or even directly to the consumer. This makes family farming become a way of life for millions of people who focus their economy on cultivation .
Family farming is key in the fight against hunger.
The role of the State
Taking into account this social relevance, the State must regulate the conditions linked to the development of family farming. It is essential that government authorities guarantee access to land and the market, facilitate financing to improve productivity and protect the environment to avoid the loss of natural resources.
The government must also allow groups of people who want to dedicate themselves to family farming access to complementary natural resources to carry out planting and harvesting tasks, among many others, but also to financing services to undertake and maintain their businesses, to the technology necessary for work and to any educational or social insertion platform that improves their relationship with the rest of the population, so that choosing this path does not mean isolating themselves from the rest of society but rather becoming a defining actor of its economy.
It is important to note that in some countries the State does not support family farming entrepreneurs as it should , with the attention and resources that it does dedicate to more traditional or larger-scale businesses, and this can have fatal consequences in situations such as floods or fires, both on private and adjacent lands , since a natural disaster can affect the conditions of the land and alter other factors, such as wind, in a negative way.
Family farming and the fight against hunger
The development of family farming contributes to the fight against hunger since these practices allow people to survive. As family farming grows, the socioeconomic situation of families improves. But it also has a positive impact on the cultural, environmental and socioeconomic level at a general level.
Such is the impact of family farming on the market, that the United Nations itself declared 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming , with the purpose of making this form of economy more visible and raising people's awareness about its importance in issues such as poverty , malnutrition and food insecurity , but also to continue working towards objectives such as the protection and administration of natural resources and the environment, and the development of sustainable agricultural techniques.