Family farming in the global countryside

Abstract

This paper examines the pressures on family farms from globalisation and the adaptation strategies that have been adopted. Employing a relational approach to understanding the emergent “global countryside”, the paper describes the impact of globalisation in terms of the stretching, substitution and severing of the social and economic relations that constitute the entity of the “family farm”, requiring adaptions in the strategies of family farmers. It proceeds to outline some of the strategies adopted, including entrepreneurial engagement with global networks, international mobility and resistance. These are then illustrated through short case studies drawing on qualitative and ethnographic research with “globally engaged farmers”.