The short-and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on family farms in China-Evidence from a survey of 2324 farms

Family farms are considered the most desirable form of Chinese agriculture.Studies on the risk management of family farms are rare,while the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to explore how family farms respond to risks.Based on an online survey of 2324 family crop farms,we examine for the first time the short-term impact(immediate impact or short-term fluctuation,and farms’instantaneous response)and long-term impact(on farms’future or long-term production)of the COVID-19 pandemic on family farms’production and operation in rural China.By using factor analysis and dummy variable regression,we find that the severity of the pandemic,the lockdown of the village,and farmers’knowledge of the pandemic contribute significantly to the short-term impact,but not on the long-term impact.Farmers’characteristics such as gender,age,and education are not related to the short-term impact,but family farms with male owners or owners with high school education or below are more likely to be diversified and large-scale.The number of years the farm has existed for and agricultural insurance affect both short-term and long-term impacts.We suggest that the government needs to pay more attention to stability-enhancing policies,the market environment,vocational training and the agricultural insurance market.

Comprehensive Performance Evaluation of Family Farms from the Perspective of Land Transfer——Taking Rudong County as an Example

With the reform of agriculture, family farms have become hot spots in the reform of agricultural management system. Taking Rudong County of Jiangsu Province for an example, the land transfer performance of family farms was evalu- ated using the first hand data from field investigation by building an index system for comprehensive performance evaluation of family farm land transfer covering three dimensions of economy, society and ecology. The results show that land transfer in family farm mode has realized the scale management of land, enhanced the agri- cultural level of science and technology, effectively promoted the structural adjust- ment of agriculture and income increase of farmers, advanced the development of eco-agriculture, and achieved good economic and social performances. However, in the development process of family farms, inputs of agro-chemicals, fertilizers and other agro-products have brought about the eco-environmental problems, which are still worth noting.

Family Farms-- A New Challenge in the Current World Context

The overall goal of European Union and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is to reposition family farming at the center of agricultural, environmental, and social policies in the national agendas by identifying gaps and opportunities to promote a shift towards a more equal and balanced development. They want to promote directions in order to generate discussion and cooperation at the local, national, regional, and global levels; increase awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by smallholders; and help to identify efficient ways to support family farmers. This paper presents some information on the status and evolution of Romanian agriculture small and medium enterprises （SMEs） and it presents a model for determining the founds needs to support family farmers.

Milk Production Practices on Family Farms Located North of the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil

In Brazil, milk production is a key sector for income generation, tax collection and much of the milk produced comes from family farms. The present study was aimed to assess the conditions of milk production on 30 farms in the city of S~ Mateus, to the North of the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Data were obtained through questionnaires sent to producers according to the legislation of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. The questions included type of milking, hygiene practices and health status of milkers, mastitis control and source and others. Milking was manually done in all farms, and only 40,0% of milkers washed their hands and forearms before milking, and 13.0% used antiseptic solutions after washing. None of the farms performed the pre-dipping and post-dipping procedures. Control of mastitis was not performed in 94.0% of the farms and none of them performed the CMT test. A high degree of non-conformity was observed in the family farms. These data demonstrate the need for training farmers in good agricultural practices. This would contribute to achieving better quality milk, and ensure the sustainability of the segment in the Northern region of the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil.

Research on the Current Status, Paths and Countermeasures of Family Farm Development in China——Investigation and Analysis of Hubei Province

The Chinese family farm is the most important new micro subject in the construction and development of modern agriculture in China. The investigation and analysis of the actual situation of Hubei Province showed that since the implementation of the household contract management system in rural areas, the family farm has followed the track of gradual development, breakthrough development and normal standardization development. In order to promote the family farm to develop rapidly, orderly and healthily, work must be well done to land circulation, scale management, financial support, financial subsidy, cultivation of leading talents and professional farmers, and providing all-round services.

Family Farm Development in Southern Jiangsu and Countermeasures with a Case Study

The research reviewed the concept of family farm and analyzed family farm types including unified, facility rental-oriented, employment-oriented, circular and grain＆oil based family farms, as well as corresponding demands in technology and policies. Based on the analysis, the research proposed countermeasures and suggestions. It is necessary to define the range and scale on family farm before giving policy supports. It is important to establish access system of industry and commerce capital to rural areas to guarantee the operators in need be benefited from national preferential policies. Meanwhile, new system on land transfer should be established to guarantee security system for family farm, improve socialized service system and promote government-built production facilities operated by farmers.

Research on the Development of Rural Family Farm: A Case Study of Shandong Province in China

In recent years, the rural family farms in Shandong Province of China have been developing very fast. They have achieved remarkable economic effects on improving the technical and equipment level of agricultural production, farmers’ professional quality, the efficiency of land production and farmers’ income-increase, etc. However, there also exist the problems of non-smooth land transfer, unclear farm recognition-standard, more difficult loan-financing, imperfect social service and so on. This paper suggests that measures should be taken to deepen the reform of the rural land system, perfect the land transfer mechanism, clarify the family farms confirmed standards, improve the family farms and financing system, perfect the socialized service system, and thus create a relaxed environment and conditions for the development of family farms in order to promote its healthy development.

Exploration on Ecological Compensation Mechanism of Family Farm

Family farm is a new type of agricultural operation,and the research on ecological compensation for its production behavior is conducive to consolidating the basic position of agriculture and protecting agricultural resources and environment.By summarizing and drawing lessons from the domestic research results in related fields,the family farm is selected as the object,and the opportunity cost method is used to analyze the setting of the ecological compensation standard of the family farm.The basic framework of ecological compensation mechanism of family farm is constructed from three aspects:ecological compensation responsibility determination mechanism;compensation object establishment mechanism;compensation standard determination and mode selection mechanism.The operation mechanism of ecological compensation of family farm is analyzed from three aspects:farmer;farm production;resources and environment.The results show that the family farms'pursuit of agricultural products and ecological services is the response mechanism of ecological compensation for their production behavior.On the basis of this,this paper puts forward some measures and suggestions to ensure the ecological compensation mechanism of family farms from three aspects:perfecting the land use system;widening the compensation channels;constructing the green GDP accounting.

Food safety controls in different governance structures in China's vegetable and fruit industry

Food safety issues constitute an international topic discussed by many scholars. Although there is an extensive body of literature on comparisons of food safety control practices across different governance structures, these studies have been conducted mainly in terms of qualitative and descriptive analysis. In addition, little attention has been given to family farms. This study addresses the food safety control practices adopted by firms with different governance structures in China. Food safety control is expressed by the following aspects, i.e., pollution-free, green, organic, and/or geographical indication prod- ucts certification, establishment of production records, and pesticide residue testing. Three types of governance structures that engage in agricultural production are distinguished： farmer cooperatives, agricultural companies, and family farms. The food safety control practices of various governance structures are investigated based on a database that comprises 600 vegetable and fruit enterprises in Zhejiang, China. The results show that （1） pesticide residue testing is adopted by the most firms, followed by products certification, and production records are adopted by the fewest firms, and （2） agricul- tural companies adopt more food safety control practices than family farms, while farmer cooperatives adopt the fewest food safety control practices. Governance structure features of a cooperative in terms of ownership, decision-making, and income distribution are the main reasons for the low level of food safety control in the cooperative.

Optimal Mode of Agricultural Moderate Scale Management Based on Measurement of Moderate Scale of Wugang City in Henan Province

The issue of agricultural moderate scale management is always a hot spot. In 2016,the No. 1 document of the central government once again set forth the requirement of bringing into play leading role of moderate scale management in various forms of agriculture. In the economic new normal,the solution to this issue is of great significance to promoting agricultural modernization. However,there are still problems such as unsmooth transfer of rural labor force,fragmentation of rural land management and low benefit of land scale management. Taking Wugang City in Henan Province as an example,this paper attempts to find out the optimal land management scale in accordance with the actual situation in Henan Province. It is concluded that small family farm is the optimal mode for agricultural moderate scale management.

Inclusive Development in Latin America and Smallholders＇ Interactive Learning Spaces

Inclusive development appears as a challenge in Latin America countries after the rupture of the social inclusion as a trickle-down effect of the economic growth. Searching development with inclusion, several public policies were implemented in Latin American during the last 10 years focusing on the agri-food production. In order to assess the progress to reach such objectives, two cases are studied. Smallholder milk producers at the Loma Blanca community （Mexico） and smallholders olive producers at Aimogasta （Argentina） were considered. Interactive learning spaces were clearly identified as consequence of the linking among product, producers, and territory. The empirical evidence leaves to see a reflexive attachment between actor and activity in the both studied cases. Differences between dynamics in ILS （Interactive Learning Spaces） of each one of the studied cases were found. Nevertheless, opportunity windows are still opened in order to achieve successful interventions. Why does the small producer continue existing as such？ Why do the small producers remain in small scale rather than creating scale or exiting from the market？ These, and others, are trigger questions through which government and non-government organization can drive their action in the field.