Small Farm Survival in Greece, Italy and Portugal

type="graphical"> <p>Until the end of the 20th century, farming in Greece, Italy and Portugal was characterised by inflexible land and labour markets and thus had persistently high proportions of small farms and aged holders. Over time, several policy interventions in these countries have aimed at increasing average farm size. Nevertheless, small farms still account for a very large percentage of all holdings, due to institutional, social and market factors. Small farms are mainly concentrated in two kinds of area. First, mountainous and economically depressed inland regions where outmigration has often resulted more in farmland abandonment rather than in land concentration. Second, peri-urban areas and other economically diversified rural contexts where many small farms survive thanks to the adoption of household strategies based on pluriactivity and outsourcing.<blockFixed type="graphic" xml:id="euch12053-blkfxd-1001"> <mediaResourceGroup> <mediaResource alt="image" href="urn:x-wiley:14780917:euch12053:euch12053-toc-0001"/> </mediaResourceGroup> </blockFixed>