Presence and potentials of Family Farming in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

Family farming represent the major social group of farm units in rural Latin American. In recent years, there have been important advances in relation to the recognition of its role in rural development and to overcome poverty. Several international organizations have launched studies to support the strategic role of smallholder farmers in food security. This article presents the family farming in Latin America and the Caribbean and discusses its presence in different countries through the use of available statistical data, as well as analyzing their potential to enhance rural development. The paper begins with a discussion of the main features that contributed to the growing interest of scholars and policy makers in family farming and further one analyse its characteristics and distribution along different countries. The study concludes that family farming has a central role in rural development in Latin American and end up with an analysis of the main strengths in the current political and institutional framework.