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Book (series)Working paperFarms, family farms, farmland distribution and farm labour: What do we know today? 2019
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No results found.A better and more complete understanding of family farms is urgently needed to guide policy makers’ efforts towards achieving a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper takes stock of the number of farms worldwide, and their distribution and that of farmland, on the basis of agricultural censuses and survey data. Thus, it shows that there are more than 608 million farms in the world. Rough estimates also indicate that more than 90 percent of these farms are family farms (by our definition) occupying around 70–80 percent of farmland and producing about 80 percent of the world’s food in value terms. We underscore the importance of not referring to family farms and small farms (i.e., those of less than 2 hectares) interchangeably: the latter account for 84 percent of all farms worldwide, but operate only around 12 percent of all agricultural land, and produce roughly 36 percent of the world’s food. The largest 1 percent of farms in the world operate more than 70 percent of the world’s farmland. The stark differences between family farms, in terms of size, their share in farmland distribution, and their patterns across income groups and regions, make clear the importance of properly defining different types of farms and distinguishing their differences when engaging in policy discourse and decision making towards the SDGs. The paper also considers evidence on labour and age provided by the censuses. There is a need to improve agricultural censuses if we want to deepen our understanding of farms. -
Book (series)Technical studyA global update on the number of farms, farm size and farmland distribution
Background paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2025
2025Also available in:
No results found.Over the last decade, increasing efforts have been made to estimate the number of farms and the global distribution of farmland, providing context for the ongoing discourse on the future of farms, farm sizes, food security and poverty. The dynamic nature of agrifood systems transformations, demographic transitions and accompanying changes in farm sizes underline the importance of understanding global distribution of farms and farmland, particularly in the context of the ongoing United Nations Decade of Family Farming (2019–2028). The most comprehensive estimates of the number of farms globally are nevertheless limited, as they rely on older data and suboptimal methodologies. This paper uses the most recent data combined with an improved methodology to provide an up-to-date overview of the global distribution of farms and farmland. -
DocumentOther documentTalking about Forests and Family Farms: Growing Relations on Fertile Ground. A conversation between forest and farm producers and governments at the "Family Forestry is Family Farming" event, Thursday 26th June 2014, World Forest Week, FAO, Rome 2014
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No results found.This publication summarizes the conversation that took place at the “Family Forestry is Family Farming” event co-organized by the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) and the International Family Forestry Alliance (IFFA). In the celebration of the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF), the conversation testifies to the power of cooperation between forest-and-farm families and governments in preparing fertile ground.
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BookletHigh-profileCOVID-19: Channels of transmission to food and agriculture 2020
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No results found.FAO is analysing and providing updates on the emerging COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on agricultural markets—effects that are still largely unknown. Most current assessments generally foresee a contraction in both supply of and demand for agricultural products, and point to possible disruptions in trade and logistics. On the supply side, widely different views remain on the duration of the shocks, the price dynamics, differential impacts between domestic and international markets, differences across countries and commodities, the likely paths of recovery, and the policy actions to remedy the various shock waves. On the demand side, there is near ubiquitous agreement that agricultural demand and trade would slow-down, with contractions stemming from a deceleration in overall economic activity (GDP growth) and rising rates of unemployment. While food and agricultural systems are exposed to both demand and supply side shocks (symmetric), these shocks are not expected to take place in parallel (asynchronous) since, inter alia, consumers can draw on savings, food stocks and safety nets. -
Book (stand-alone)YearbookFAO Yearbook of Forest Products 2000 2002
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No results found.The FAO Yearbook of Forest Products is a compilation of statistical data on basic forest products for all countries and territories of the world. It contains series of annual data on the volume of production and the volume and value of trade in forest products. It includes tables showing direction of trade and average unit values of trade for certain products. Statistical information in the yearbook is based primarily on data provided to the FAO Forestry Department by the countries through quest ionnaires or official publications. In the absence of official data, FAO makes an estimate based on the best information available. -
Book (stand-alone)YearbookFAO Yearbook of Forest Products 2009 2011
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No results found.The FAO Yearbook of Forest Products is a compilation of statistical data on basic forest products for all countries and territories of the world. It contains series of annual data on the volume of production and the volume and value of trade in forest products. It includes tables showing direction of trade and average unit values of trade for certain products. Statitical information in the yearbook is based primarily on data provided to the FAO Forestry Department by the countries through questi onnaires or official publications. In the absence of official data, FAO makes an estimate based on the best information available.