ABSTRACT
In the advanced societies of the Western world, there has been a historical trend toward a decrease in the number of farms and, among them, especially of small farms (Lin, Coffman, and Penn, 1980; Mottura and Pugliese, 1975; Pfeffer, 1983; Rodefeld et al., 1978). Moreover, the structure of agriculture in these societies has been characterized by a relative growth of large farms, which became dominant in the sector, and by the marginalization of small farms, which have decreased in number at a very substantial rate (Buttel and Newby, 1980; Chantfort, 1982; Crecink 1979; Fabiani, 1979; GAO, 1978). The explanation generally used to account for such trends emphasizes the economic weakness of small farms and their inability to cope with the increasing competition of larger farms, which is associated with the concentration and centralization of capital that shapes advanced industrial societies. However, the marginalization of small farms and their expulsion from the sector do not imply their total elimination. The shape of several, if not all, of the advanced agricultures in the world tends to assume a dualistic form with a pole of large farms and an opposite pole composed of small farms.
