Common Barriers to the Integration of Small Farms in Agricultural Development Policies in Brazil, Porugal, and the United States

Failure to consider the needs of families on small farms during the formulation of agricultural development policies may result in unexpected inequities that worsen the small farmers' disadvantaged circumstances. An important challenge facing policymakers is the identification and implementation of strategies which will increase agricultural production and trade (growth consideration) without disenfranchising or eliminating small scale farmers (equity consideration), especially when agricultural producers are at both extremes of the size spectrum. The question of who benefits from agricultural development has proved increasingly important in recent years. The integration and participation of small farmers in agricultural development efforts is one of the most challenging problems for agricultural economists today. This report is a result of cooperation and interaction between Brazilian and U.S. agricultural economists and Portuguese agriculturists. It is based on observation, published reports, and primary data collected in small farm surveys in each of the three countries. We first describe the three widely separated study areas and indicate that the presence of substantial numbers of small, economically disadvantaged farms in each area suggests that they have not been fully integrated into the economy. Second, we describe three common agricultural policies and programmes and the barriers they contain to small farm participation. Data and observations from a highly developed, a recently developed, and an emerging agricultural sector are used to illustrate the lack of small farm integration into public policies for agriculture.