The role of small-scale farms and food security

This chapter investigates the role played by small-scale farms, in particular considering how vital small-scale farms are to rural sustainability. It considers the role of small-scale farms from one that is vital in terms of rural sustainability and an ‘alternative to neoliberal universalism, to the contrasting modernist project which envisions no role for small farms. In probing the various conditions in which small-scale farms operate, it delves into the broader policy context and understanding of small-scale farms; the challenges of ensuring food security and pathways, such as bio-economy and, more importantly sustainable intensification; the increase in global land grabs and how constraints in terms of farm succession may potentially hinder future sustainability; and how the sustainability of small-scale farms, and all that brings in terms of food security, is very much dependent on the successful transition of ownership from one generation to the next.