IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/famawp/152081.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Does land fragmentation affect farm performance? A case study from Brittany

Author

Listed:
  • Latruffe, Laure
  • Piet, Laurent

Abstract

Agricultural land fragmentation is widespread and may affect farmers’ decisions and impact farm performance, either negatively or positively. We investigated this impact for the western region of Brittany, France, in 2007. To do so, we regressed a set of performance indicators on a set of fragmentation descriptors. The performance indicators (production costs, yields, revenue, profitability, technical and scale efficiency) were calculated at the farm level using Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data, while the fragmentation descriptors were calculated at the municipality level using data from the cartographic field pattern registry (RPG). The various fragmentation descriptors enabled us to account for not only the traditional number and average size of plots, but also their geographical scattering. We found that farms experienced higher costs of production, lower crop yields and lower profitability where land fragmentation (LF) was more pronounced. Total technical efficiency was not found to be significantly related to any of the municipality LF descriptors used, while scale efficiency was lower where the average distance to the nearest neighbouring plot was greater. Pure technical efficiency was found to be negatively related to the average number of plots in the municipality, with the unexpected result that it was also positively related to the average distance to the nearest neighbouring plot. By simulating the impact of hypothetical consolidation programmes on average pre-tax profits and wheat yield, we also showed that the marginal benefits of reducing fragmentation may differ with respect to the improved LF dimension and the performance indicator considered. Our analysis therefore shows that the measures of land fragmentation usually used in the literature do not reveal the full set of significant relationships with farm performance and that, in particular, measures accounting for distance should be considered more systematically.

Suggested Citation

  • Latruffe, Laure & Piet, Laurent, 2013. "Does land fragmentation affect farm performance? A case study from Brittany," Working papers 152081, Factor Markets, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:famawp:152081
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.152081
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/152081/files/FM%20WP%20No%2040%20Land%20Fragmentation_Farm%20Performance.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.152081?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nguyen, Tin & Cheng, Enjiang & Findlay, Christopher, 1996. "Land fragmentation and farm productivity in China in the 1990s," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 169-180.
    2. Blarel, Benoit, et al, 1992. "The Economics of Farm Fragmentation: Evidence from Ghana and Rwanda," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 6(2), pages 233-254, May.
    3. Van Hung, Pham & MacAulay, T. Gordon & Marsh, Sally P., 2007. "The economics of land fragmentation in the north of Vietnam," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 51(2), pages 1-17.
    4. A. Parikh & K. Shah, 1994. "Measurement Of Technical Efficiency In The North‐West Frontier Province Of Pakistan," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 132-138, January.
    5. Kawasaki, Kentaro, 2010. "The costs and benefits of land fragmentation of rice farms in Japan," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 54(4), pages 1-18.
    6. Gonzalez, X.P. & Marey, M.F. & Alvarez, C.J., 2007. "Evaluation of productive rural land patterns with joint regard to the size, shape and dispersion of plots," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 92(1-3), pages 52-62, January.
    7. del Corral, J. & Pérez, J.A. & Roibás, D., 2010. "The impact of land fragmentation on milk production," Efficiency Series Papers 2010/02, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    8. Kentaro Kawasaki, 2010. "The costs and benefits of land fragmentation of rice farms in Japan ," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 54(4), pages 509-526, October.
    9. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
    10. Gonzalez, X. P. & Alvarez, C. J. & Crecente, R., 2004. "Evaluation of land distributions with joint regard to plot size and shape," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 31-43, October.
    11. Amer S. Jabarin & Francis M. Epplin, 1994. "Impacts of land fragmentation on the cost of producing wheat in the rain‐fed region of northern Jordan," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 11(2-3), pages 191-196, December.
    12. Pham Van Hung & T. Gordon MacAulay & Sally P. Marsh, 2007. "The economics of land fragmentation in the north of Vietnam ," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 51(2), pages 195-211, June.
    13. Guang Wan & Enjiang Cheng, 2001. "Effects of land fragmentation and returns to scale in the Chinese farming sector," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 183-194.
    14. Jabarin, Amer S. & Epplin, Francis M., 1994. "Impacts of land fragmentation on the cost of producing wheat in the rain-fed region of northern Jordan," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 11(2-3), pages 191-196, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Haixia Wu & Hantao Hao & Hongzhen Lei & Yan Ge & Hengtong Shi & Yan Song, 2021. "Farm Size, Risk Aversion and Overuse of Fertilizer: The Heterogeneity of Large-Scale and Small-Scale Wheat Farmers in Northern China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Lu, H., 2018. "Analysis of the mechanism and effect of land fragmentation on non-agricultural labor supply: a case study of Jiangsu, China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277097, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Heider, Katharina & Rodriguez Lopez, Juan Miguel & García Avilés, José María & Balbo, Andrea L., 2018. "Land fragmentation index for drip-irrigated field systems in the Mediterranean: A case study from Ricote (Murcia, SE Spain)," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 48-56.
    4. Orea, Luis & Pérez, Jose A. & Roibás, David, 2013. "Evaluating the double effect of land fragmentation on technology choice and dairy farm productivity: A latent class model approach," Efficiency Series Papers 2013/08, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    5. Olsen, Jakob Vesterlund & Czekaj, Tomasz Gerard & Henningsen, Arne & Schou, Jesper Sølver, 2017. "The Effect Of Land Fragmentation On Farm Performance: A Comprehensive Farm-Level Study From Denmark," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 260900, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Temesgen, Chalachew & Dupraz, Pierre, 2014. "The role of farmers’ competition on farmland price in local markets: Bretagne region of France," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170610, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Velandia, Margarita & Edge, Brittani & Boyer, Christopher & Larson, James & Lambert, Dayton & Wilson, Bradley & Buschermohle, Michael & Rejesus, Roderick & Falconer, Larry & English, Burton C., 2016. "Factors Influencing the Adoption of Automatic Section Control Technologies and GPS Auto-Guidance Systems in Cotton Production," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235563, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Dan Yu & Dongyan Wang & Wenbo Li & Shuhan Liu & Yuanli Zhu & Wenjun Wu & Yongheng Zhou, 2018. "Decreased Landscape Ecological Security of Peri-Urban Cultivated Land Following Rapid Urbanization: An Impediment to Sustainable Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16, February.
    9. Mazouch, P. & Krejčí, I., 2016. "The Analysis of the Age Structure of Regional Fixed Capital in the Agriculture," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 8(2), pages 1-13, June.
    10. Ciaian, Pavel & Guri, Fatmir & Rajcaniova, Miroslava & Drabik, Dusan & Paloma, Sergio, 2015. "Land Fragmentation, Production Diversification, and Food Security: A Case Study from Rural Albania," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211539, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Jing Qian & Yunfei Peng & Cheng Luo & Chao Wu & Qingyun Du, 2015. "Urban Land Expansion and Sustainable Land Use Policy in Shenzhen: A Case Study of China’s Rapid Urbanization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-16, December.
    12. Ciaian, Pavel & Guri, Fatmir & Rajcaniova, Miroslava & Drabik, Dusan & Paloma, Sergio Gomez y, 2018. "Land fragmentation and production diversification: A case study from rural Albania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 589-599.
    13. Sioma, Slawomir, 2019. "The role of financial instruments of the Common Agricultural Policy in transformations related to afforestation of lands of marginal importance for agriculture," International Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (IJAGST), SvedbergOpen, vol. 183(2), March.
    14. Wójcik-Leń, Justyna & Leń, Przemysław & Mika, Monika & Kryszk, Hubert & Kotlarz, Paweł, 2019. "Studies regarding correct selection of statistical methods for the needs of increasing the efficiency of identification of land for consolidation—A case study in Poland," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    15. Sauer, Johannes & Gorton, Matthew & Davidova, Sophia, 2014. "Migration and Agricultural Efficiency," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 172684, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Artan Qineti & Miroslava Rajcaniova & Kushtrim Braha & Pavel Ciaian & Jona Demaj, 2015. "Status quo bias of agrarian land structures in rural Albania," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 517-536, December.
    17. Ciaian, P. & Guri, F. & Rajcaniova, M. & Drabik, D. & Gomez Y Paloma, S., 2018. "Does Land Fragmentation Increase Agricultural Production Diversification in Rural Albania?," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277093, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. Edward Martey & Prince M. Etwire & Alexander Nimo Wiredu & Benjamin D. K. Ahiabor, 2017. "Establishing the link between market orientation and agricultural commercialization: Empirical evidence from Northern Ghana," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(4), pages 849-866, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Latruffe, Laure & Piet, Laurent, 2013. "Does land fragmentation affect farm performance? A case study from Brittany, France," Working Papers 207854, Institut National de la recherche Agronomique (INRA), Departement Sciences Sociales, Agriculture et Alimentation, Espace et Environnement (SAE2).
    2. Laure Latruffe & Laurent Piet, 2013. "Does land fragmentation affect farm performance?," Working Papers hal-01208858, HAL.
    3. Laure Latruffe & Laurent Piet, 2012. "Does land fragmentation affect farm performance?A french Breton case study," Post-Print hal-01208907, HAL.
    4. Arimoto, Yutaka & 有本, 寛 & アリモト, ユタカ, 2011. "The impact of farmland readjustment and consolidation on structural adjustment: The case of Niigata, Japan," CEI Working Paper Series 2011-3, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    5. Yu, Peiheng & Fennell, Shailaja & Chen, Yiyun & Liu, Hui & Xu, Lu & Pan, Jiawei & Bai, Shaoyun & Gu, Shixiang, 2022. "Positive impacts of farmland fragmentation on agricultural production efficiency in Qilu Lake watershed: Implications for appropriate scale management," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    6. Jarmila LAZIKOVA & Lubica RUMANOVSKA & Ivan TAKAC & Zuzana LAZIKOVA, 2017. "Land fragmentation and efforts to prevent it in Slovak legislation," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 63(12), pages 559-568.
    7. Kawasaki, Kentaro, 2011. "The Impact of Land Fragmentation on Rice Production Cost and Input Use," Japanese Journal of Agricultural Economics (formerly Japanese Journal of Rural Economics), Agricultural Economics Society of Japan (AESJ), vol. 13, pages 1-14.
    8. Kawasaki, Kentaro, 2010. "The costs and benefits of land fragmentation of rice farms in Japan," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 54(4), pages 1-18.
    9. Yishao Shi & Qianqian Yang & Liangliang Zhou & Shouzheng Shi, 2022. "Can Moderate Agricultural Scale Operations Be Developed against the Background of Plot Fragmentation and Land Dispersion? Evidence from the Suburbs of Shanghai," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-22, July.
    10. Orea, Luis & Pérez, Jose A. & Roibás, David, 2013. "Evaluating the double effect of land fragmentation on technology choice and dairy farm productivity: A latent class model approach," Efficiency Series Papers 2013/08, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    11. Tu, Vo Hong & Kopp, Steven W. & Trang, Nguyen Thuy & Hong, Nguyen Bich & Yabe, Mitsuyasu, 2021. "Land accumulation: An option for improving technical and environmental efficiencies of rice production in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    12. Olsen, Jakob Vesterlund & Czekaj, Tomasz Gerard & Henningsen, Arne & Schou, Jesper Sølver, 2017. "The Effect Of Land Fragmentation On Farm Performance: A Comprehensive Farm-Level Study From Denmark," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 260900, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Ciaian, Pavel & Rajcaniova, Miroslava & Guri, Fatmir & Zhllima, Edvin & Shahu, Edmira, 2018. "The impact of crop rotation and land fragmentation on farm productivity in Albania," Studies in Agricultural Economics, Research Institute for Agricultural Economics, vol. 120(3), December.
    14. Akkaya Aslan, Şerife Tülin, 2021. "Evaluation of land consolidation projects with parcel shape and dispersion," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    15. Do, Manh Hung & Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Grote, Ulrike, 2023. "Land consolidation, rice production, and agricultural transformation: Evidence from household panel data for Vietnam," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 157-173.
    16. Jia, Lili, 2012. "Land fragmentation and off-farm labor supply in China," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 66, number 66.
    17. Siyan Zeng & Fengwu Zhu & Fu Chen & Man Yu & Shaoliang Zhang & Yongjun Yang, 2018. "Assessing the Impacts of Land Consolidation on Agricultural Technical Efficiency of Producers: A Survey from Jiangsu Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    18. Daniel Ayalew Ali & Klaus Deininger & Loraine Ronchi, 2019. "Costs and Benefits of Land Fragmentation: Evidence from Rwanda," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 33(3), pages 750-771.
    19. Klaus Deininger & Daniel Monchuk & Hari K Nagarajan & Sudhir K Singh, 2017. "Does Land Fragmentation Increase the Cost of Cultivation? Evidence from India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(1), pages 82-98, January.
    20. Tesfaye C. Cholo & Jack Peerlings & Luuk Fleskens, 2020. "Land Fragmentation, Technical Efficiency, and Adaptation to Climate Change by Farmers in the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-15, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Land Economics/Use;

    JEL classification:

    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:famawp:152081. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cepssbe.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.