A minifundio is a small-sized farm.
Minifundio is a term composed of the prefix mini (something small, brief or short) and the noun latifundio (a large rural property). A minifundio, therefore, is a property that is characterized by its small size .
For example: “My father has a smallholding on the outskirts of the urban area,” “The progress of the region will be in the smallholdings, and not in the large areas of land distributed among few hands,” “The government announced a “Aid for smallholdings affected by drought.”
Exploitation of a smallholding
It should be noted that, due to its small size, the economic exploitation of a smallholding is difficult . For the exploitation to be viable, various issues must be considered such as work , the quality of the land, capital and the techniques used. Some crops can be grown on areas of 2 hectares , while others require more than 100 hectares to be profitable.
When the dimensions of the smallholding prevent its economic exploitation and the commercialization of the production, the farmer can take advantage of the crops for self-consumption . This means that the plantations are used for subsistence agriculture (what is produced is consumed) and not for sale to obtain monetary income.
Smallholdings are usually used for subsistence agriculture.
Resources to survive
In many cities around the world there are areas that have been converted into smallholdings that neighbors take advantage of. And crops are planted on these lands that allow them to survive and save a significant amount of money, since they are foods that they no longer have to buy in commercial establishments.
Tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce and onions are some of the products that are usually planted on this type of land that has historically been defined by two characteristics: by their very small dimensions and because they are not economically efficient (that is, they are not useful in order to generate income).
In addition to everything stated above, it is worth knowing other interesting information about the smallholding:
• There are various measures that are established to consider that a piece of land has that category. However, for example, in Spain it is established as such at ten hectares, while in America it extends up to thirty hectares.
• It is important to keep in mind that, depending on the crop, these sizes mentioned may only be used for subsistence agriculture or even to obtain profitability from them.
Origin of the smallholding
The origin of the minifundio is associated with inheritances , when landowners divide a property to leave land to their children. In this way, large estates began to be subdivided into smaller plots (minifundios). Since these smallholdings cannot be exploited profitably, new generations of farmers tend to migrate to the city.
This hereditary phenomenon can be said to be one of the consequences of the actions of social injustice committed by the so-called “lords” in previous centuries.