Diversification and multifunctionality in
Italy and the Netherlands:
a comparative analysis
Laura Aguglia
INEA, Italy,
Roberto Henke
INEA, Italy
Krijn Poppe,
LEI Wageningen UR, The Netherlands
Aide Roest
LEI Wageningen UR, The Netherlands
Cristina Salvioni
University of Pescara, Italy
Farms are increasingly complex
• the product mix of farms is increasingly
complex
– agricultural commodities,
– non agricultural commodities (energy) and services
(educational, social, etc.)
– non-commodity outputs (e.g. landscape, biodiversity
conservation;
• farm resources are progressively deployed to
non ag. and to off farm activities
– pluriactivity
– use land used for the production of wind or solar
energy or for storage.
The farm problem
• price cost squeeze induced by
– technological change and
– small size/lack of bargaining power both
respect to clients and providers.
• farm incomes
– continuously eroded
– lag behind average incomes.
Farm adjustments under productivism
Farm
adjustment
Productivist
Solution
Increase
Scale
GROWTH
Production
Specialization
MARGINALIZATION
Pluriactivity
Part time
Ceasing
ag. production
Sell land
Reallocate
to other
L and K in
farms
other sectors
More complex adjustment… still
productivist
FARM
ADJUSTMENT
poverty
PRODUCTIVIST
ADJUSTMENTs
DIVERSIFICATION
NON
TRADITIONAL
CROPS
GROWTH
SPECIALIZATION
CONTRACTING
PASSIVE
DIV.
On farm
proc.
VALUE
ADDED
MARGINALIZATION
RETIREMENT
PLURIACTIVITY
PART-TIME
Direct
marketing
CEASE
AG
PRODUCTION
Post-productivism and rural
development
FARM
ADJUSTMENT
PRODUCTIVIST
ADJUSTMENT
DIVERSIFICATION
On farm
proc.
NON
TRADITIONAL
CROPS
VALUE
ADDED
PLURIACTIVITY
MARGINALIZ.
poverty
Direct
mketing
GROWTH
CONTRACTING
SPECIALIZATION
PASSIVE
DIV.
Quality
(wine)
(renting land)
Rural space
consumption
STORAGE
AGRITURISM
Hobby
Lifestyle
RETIREMENT
CEASE
AG
PRODUCTION
Multifunctionality: typology of goods
Non-rivalry goods and services
(indivisible)
Rivalry goods and
services
(divisible)
Impossibility
of
exclusion or
rejection
(1) Pure public goods
open space / rest / biodiversity /
natural habitat / cultural heritage
(2) Common goods
ground and surface water
/ fish in the ocean, rivers
and canals / wildlife
Possibility
of exclusion
or rejection
(3) Quasi public goods
nature / landscape
(4) Pure individual
goods
agricultural products /
agricultural tourism /
health care farms
Post-productivism, multifunctionality and
rural development
MULTI
FUNCTIONALIT
Y
FARM
ADJUSTMENT
PRODUCTIVIST
DIVERSIFICATION
MARGINALIZATION
On farm
proc.
ADJUSTMENT
NON
TRADITIONAL
CROPS
VALUE
ADDED
Direct
mketing
PLURIACTIVITY
GROWTH
CONTRACTING
SPECIALIZATION
PASSIVE
DIV.
(renting land)
AGRITURISM
STORAGE
Organic
PDO
Traditional
Etc.
NATURE
CONSERVATION
poverty
Hobby
RETIREMENT
Lifestyle
Rural space
consumption
GREENCARE
CEASE
AG.
PRODUCTION
An operational classification
Van der Ploeg, 2003
FARM
ADJUSTMENT
Deepening
Broadening
•Agricultural goods with
Expansion of incomeunconventional
producing activities,
characteristics (organic, some of which can be
quality, etc.),
completely independent
of agricultural
•Acquisition of functions
production (agriturism,
down the line from
production (direct sales, energy production,
ecc.)
processing, etc.).
Regrounding
re-deploy farm
resources , labour
in particular, off
the farm
(pluriactivity)
Multifunctionaliy and diversification
in the FADN
Italy
The Netherlands
• Field of observation=
commercial farms (>4
ESU)
• Field of observation=
commercial farms (>10
ESU)
• More suited to measure
deepening than
broadening
• More information on
broadening than deepening
• Off farm activity only for
those hh. members
working on farm
• More information about the
household
Diversification and multifunctional
practices in the FADN
Broadening
Organic
process/product
certification
Use
of
low-impact
production methods
Certification of origin
Traditional products
Direct sales
Extensification
Agritourism/farm stays
Landscape
conservation
Biodiversity
conservation
Renting machinery
Leasing of land
On farm processing
Greencare
Wind energy
Storage
Pluriactivity
Deepening
I, NL
Regrounding
I
I
I
I, NL
I
I, NL
I, NL
I, NL
I, NL
I, NL
I, NL
NL
NL
NL
I, NL
Diversification and multifunctionality
Italy
100%
90%
and
the Netherland
Organic farming
Certification of
origin PDO
Direct sales
Sports
Extensification
Energy
Low impact farming
On farm processing
Storage
D
Excursions
Green care
Organic farming
80%
70%
On farm
processing
Leasing
of land
D
60%
50%
40%
Direct sales
Renting
machinery
Leasing
of land
Landscape
conservation
30%
20%
B
10%
0%
Agri-tourism
Renting
machinery
Biodiversit y conservat ion
Agri-tourism
I
NL
B
Diffusion of broadening, deepening
and re-grounding
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
BROADENING
DEEPENING
NL
I
PLURIACTIVITY
OK with counting diversified farms ...
… but we also want to know
if diversification is worthful
to the farm
Economic impact of targeted strategies
Net farm income for family AWU
10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
Conventional
Deepening
Broadening
I
NL
Pluriactive
Conclusions
FADN is the only data base
• systematically gathered at the national level in all Member States
• Containing both structural and economic info
The original design of the FADN survey has a productivist orientation
• it needs to evolve to include new non-productivist aspects of farms’
activities.
Comparison between countries hampered by the differences in national
FADNs.
• harmonisation, possibly directed by DG Agri, would help and is
needed.
What can be measured by using FADN data is diversification at the farm
level.
• this information can then be complemented with external sources in view
to define multifunctionality at the territorial level.