FARM SYSTEM CONCEPT
The farm system approach is essential to facilitate agricultural and forestry planning appropriate to the environmental and socioeconomic conditions prevailing in a given geographic area. The peasant farm is considered as part of the family economy that includes the home economy and the farm economy. To manage the farm, the peasant family provides the land, labor and capital, consumes a part of the production directly and enjoys the monetary income from the sale of surpluses of agricultural production. In the context of plant and animal production, by-products forage, organic waste and manure etc. are exchanged.
COMPONENTS OF THE FAMILY ECONOMY
The main components of the family economy are:
- family labor; the home and yard economy including productive plants and small livestock and eventually grocery store activities, transportation, handicrafts, etc.; the farm economy including agriculture, livestock, agroforestry and the forest with its productive base (soil, water systems, technology, infrastructure); business management of the farm; management and conservation of natural resources income outside the home and farm, e.g. participation in road construction, coffee harvesting outside the farm farm, among others.
INTERRELATIONS BETWEEN THE FAMILY ECONOMY AND THE FARM
The farm and the family economy are interacting with:
- the natural conditions (soil, water, forests, climate) the labor market (labor, wages) the input market (seed, fertilizers, etc.) the product market (sale of basic grains, eggs, steers etc.) the land market (sale, purchase and rental of land) the information market (prices, marketing channels, buyers, etc.).
The interrelationships between the family economy and its environment can be differentiated in economic, social and environmental environments.
The economic environment is affected by the markets for inputs, product, finance, land, information, training, technical assistance, transport services and machinery rental.
The social environment is characterized by education, health, water, electricity and access roads and public transport services
The environmental environment due to the availability and quality of land, water, air, forest, flora and fauna.
BUSINESS APPROACH
Regarding the development of peasant farms, one can start from the following hypothesis (Geilfuss, 2000):
Every peasant or peasant can be a small businessman.
Peasant entrepreneurs make decisions rationally, considering the conditions of their performance.
At least one part of the peasant family has its main residence in the rural area, yet several of them may live abroad periodically or permanently.
In summary, peasant economic units have the following characteristics:
They are companies because they function as a self-managed economic unit.
They are linked to the land and the rural area.
They are family businesses where the family constitutes the reserve of labor and a consumption unit.
They combine subsistence and market production due to the possibility of satisfying consumption needs with their own production.
They are involved in social networks of mutual support, as well as in dependency relationships with stronger actors.
RISKS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
In the project area, a peasant farm can produce throughout the year, although depending on the annual distribution of rainfall. Irregularities of rainfall can cause in extreme cases complete losses of crops
STAGES OF PLANNING
Land use planning is carried out based on the productive capacity of the land and feasible production alternatives. The first stage of planning includes the selection processes of production alternatives, starting from the elements of agro-ecological, technical and socioeconomic feasibility, to determine the productive orientation of the farms and their possibilities for sustainable development. Three types of orientation appear to be possible in the project area:
Mixed agricultural, Rancher
Agroforestry
These elements guide the land use management plan that, according to the particular conditions of the project, is carried out at the sub-basin (Ochomogo River) and micro-zones.
In the second stage, production models are established at the group level, including the existing elements of the production system (inventories of resources, infrastructures and services) and the economic requirements as well as sustainable management. The models - in general - allow to indicate the development paths as well as the internal problems of production in the current situation and in future situations, in which it is sought to optimize the use of productive capacities.
The farm models can be elaborated following the framework of the group models and the individual objectives of each producer. At the family farm level, the establishment of a farm model makes it possible to assess in a preliminary way the feasibility of production (for example, the availability of livestock feed, especially in the critical summer time), and to carry out an agro-socio-evaluation. economic (year 1 and year 5) that includes the components of profits and farm income, the family's liquidity and the demand for production and investment credits.
Based on the farm models, annual production plans can be established. The producer with the support of the technician and the promoters will prepare a technical proposal to present a request for support in technical assistance, training and credit to the service providers in the area. This proposal contains indications on the areas of cultivation (basic grains, sesame, vegetables, fruit trees and forages) and of animal production items (dairy cows, fattening steers, oxen), production costs and an estimate of the necessary credit. It also includes a schedule of agricultural activities.
FARM MODELS / REFERENCE FARMS
A typical family farm model aims to expand and promote knowledge of the real situation of producers, that is, of their potentialities, limitations and decision bases. It allows to reflect the technical-economic situation of a real family farm or to present typical average situations of representative farms for an area and combinations of production items at different technological levels. It is hoped that a better understanding of the economic situation of a peasant family will also allow a better focus on project activities in order to reduce limitations and profitably exploit available resources.
Farm models offer the following advantages:
They can be used to analyze the starting situation in each farm as well as for the planning of a future situation, allowing self-development.
The establishment of farm models for the different types of farm allows the immediate analysis of the impact of credits on the results of agricultural production as well as the income and liquidity of the family, including its repayment capacity.
The models also allow the monitoring and evaluation of agricultural activities and the impact of the project through farm surveys to compare the development of production with what was planned.
DEPARTURE SITUATION / EXANTE
In order to estimate the net income and liquidity of peasant families in a scenario without a project, household-farm models must be established for the different areas with a view to future project interventions.
The parameters collected should preferably belong to a complete year of an agricultural cycle with clear indications on the amount and annual distribution of rainfall and droughts. This means that the results obtained must clearly reflect the situation without the project.
The following farm data collection steps can be differentiated mainly:
Step 1: Data collection
Step 2: Systematization of the collected data
Step 3: Presentation of the benefits of plant and animal production
Step 4: Presentation of income from other activities
Step 5: Approximation of net income and estimation of the liquidity of peasant families by size of farm and investigated area.
The Farm Sheet for the Technical - Economic Analysis of Peasant Farms (Farm Sheet 1) should basically provide the following data:
History and evolution of the family and the farm
Family and worker data
Farm sketch
Location and size of agricultural plots, pastures, forest areas, tacotales
Evolution of land tenure
Farm infrastructures
Inventories of livestock, forest areas, tools and equipment
Costs and prices of purchased supplies, tools and equipment
Annual and perennial cropping systems (crop, area, last year, current year, technology level)
Production costs in agricultural activities by crop including labor, inputs and services by crop and livestock activities by item
Yields and precise sale of agricultural production by crop considering its destination, Production costs and income in forestry activities
Income from agricultural, livestock and forestry activity
Calculation of amortizations, rentals etc., Money and product flow scheme
With the basis of these data, the gross margins produced by item on the farm can be calculated. From the total yield, the variable costs of agricultural production, the value of own fodder consumed and the amortization of fixed and active inventory are reduced, to calculate the net income of agricultural activity
On the basis of total family income, the liquidity of peasant families can be estimated by farm size and investigated area and the financing needs defined either for the purchase of inputs for the different cycles of agricultural production or the purchase of livestock and livestock. pasture and feeding improvement
The cultivation budgets must be prepared at different technological levels:
by. ex. no-tillage corn, corn with oxen, corn with tractor
associated with other crops eg. corn with sorghum
interspersed with other crops, eg. corn interspersed with sesame.
In the cases of permanent crops, pastures and forestry, the budgets must also consider the different phases of development of the production area: establishment, maintenance and production.
According to the observations of the producers, promoters and field technicians, the demand for labor by production item must be estimated. The demand for production credits can be estimated on the basis of production costs that include inputs, production services, and external labor.
INCOME CALCULATION
Non-farm income can originate within or outside the project area. It is possible to distinguish between day laborer activities and other activities (eg trade, bricklayer etc.
Another source of income is from temporary migration to other departments of the country or abroad. In these calculations, the payment received must be reduced, an estimated 25% and 35% for the costs of living and tickets. ex. in the case of work carried out in Costa Rica. In general, migrants stay between 3 and 4 months in the workplace. Discounting an estimated 10% of the time for non-working days and trips, 81 days or 108 days of effective work remain.
Scenario with project and ex post
Based on the farm situation described prior to the project interventions and the guidelines for the proper use of natural resources through sustainable techniques, production planning and the economic behavior of the farm can be made through annual plans. considering a time horizon of up to 5 years for agricultural production and up to 15 to 20 years for forestry productions.
Monitoring and impact indicators
The monitoring of the development of small and medium farms should be part of the project monitoring system in order to measure the contributions of the project and other organizations in the area to improve the income and opportunities of rural families.
The current indicators with relevance for family farms will be updated in the planning workshop, second phase of the project. These must meet at least the following criteria and data:
Number of rural families and peasant farms
Total farm area, agricultural area, forest area, pasture area, etc. in tasks.
Percentage of increase in family income in relation to the starting year.
Sustainable management of forests (% of the legal cut of firewood, wood, etc.) in areas of family farms.
The following tools have been proposed for monitoring the project and the farms (Mairich, 2002).
Baselines
Case studies
Field verification visits
Workshops and interviews with producers
Technical studies with special topics.
For the gathering and systematization of data, the introduction of a Basic Farm Sheet (Farm Data Survey) and a Summary Sheet Farm 2 (Basic Data on the Intervened Farms) is proposed.
AN EXAMPLE OF INTEGRAL MANAGEMENT IN CAY PROCARYN
In the project area, there are previous experiences and others developed by PROCARYN, which, due to the lack of a “vision of integrality”, have not been identified as feasible “offers” to be used by a majority group of beneficiaries and future co-executors of the project. draft. A typical case presents the “integral and organic management farm” of Mr. José Maria Cruz, a retired industrial mechanic, transformed into a model farmer with a commitment to develop personal experiences in search of integrating diversification actions, integral, organic agriculture and agroecotourism.
Mr. Cruz is widely known for his work at the national and international level, his farm being previously identified by: the Instituto Superior Agrario (ISA); the Dominican Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Research (IDIAF); The Nature Conservancy (TNC); Moscoso Puello Foundation, Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) and PROCARYN, being able to add to this list a series of non-governmental organizations, national and international higher education centers
A good example of the application of the value production chain approach "CAFÉ ECOLOGICO Y ORGANICO DON JOSE"
In rural economies, different stages or links in the value chain of a product are distinguished, such as “organic coffee”; where the analysis and interpretation of each of these links is important, because it indicates the dynamics and particular requirements. With the understanding of all these processes, actors can be competitive and efficient, improving productivity and lowering production costs.
Productivity is achieved through innovations and optimization of technology transfer and the use of support services (credit, supplies and technical advice). Through the organization of interest groups, which carry out micro business management, which responds to the needs of the users. These groups thus generate products in significant volumes that allow them greater bargaining power, as well as guaranteeing constant supply (frequency-quality) considering the real market demand and, in addition, replacing generic production with others that have added value (logo, brand, certificate of origin and / or provenance). (Melgar, M. PROCARU 2003)
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