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Subsistence and semi‐subsistence farming in selected EU new member states
Author(s) -
Davidova Sophia,
Fredriksson Lena,
Bailey Alastair
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.29
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1574-0862
pISSN - 0169-5150
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-0862.2009.00411.x
Subject(s) - subsistence agriculture , commercialization , agriculture , agricultural economics , consumption (sociology) , market integration , production (economics) , economics , common agricultural policy , business , agribusiness , rural area , mixed farming , agricultural science , geography , marketing , medicine , social science , archaeology , pathology , sociology , macroeconomics , environmental science
Factor analysis and cluster analysis are used to analyze the attitudes and perceptions of agricultural households toward farming, commercialization, and barriers to and drivers for increased integration in agricultural markets. Data come from farms in five EU New Member States. The contribution of unsold output to total household income is valued. Stepwise linear regression is employed to detect variables useful in explaining the degree of agricultural market integration of farm households. The analysis indicates that subsistence farming is of utmost importance for the rural poor, particularly in Bulgaria and Romania. The proportion of consumption from own production, manual cultivation techniques, and distance to an urban center are negatively correlated with output sales. Rural development policies targeted at rural physical and market infrastructure might relieve some of these constraints.