Is Bigger Better? The Role of Small-scale Family Farms in Agricultural Development

The assumption that large-scale mechanized agriculture is more productive and efficient than small family farms is influencing agricultural development policy around the world.  From China to Ethiopia, developing countries are moving toward corporate farming as a way to boost production and jump-start agricultural development. But the basis of their strategy, the assumption that bigger farms are better farms, is one of the most enduring myths in global development.