Products and services at the farm gate: small producers between self-provisioning, community and markets

Smallholder agriculture is an important part of the socio-economic, environmental, ecological and cultural landscape in all countries. The diversity of small farms and the contexts in which they operate influences their contribution to food systems and food and nutrition security outcomes. This paper focuses on how small farms balance food self-provisioning and economic integration, shaping their relationship with the food system and the territory. The analysis of self-provisioning is based on the observation of the farm-household as a unique entity, in which decisions on production and consumption are interrelated, aiming both at business performance and household’s welfare. The analysis of economic integration adapts Polanyi’s modes of integration: market, reciprocity and redistribution. The conceptual framework obtained, by integrating self-provisioning and economic integration, is used to organize data collected from farmers and other key local stakeholders, through interviews, focus groups and field visits, in the province of Lucca (Tuscany). The results highlight determinants and strategies regarding the destination of small farms products, in their struggle to survive and develop. Policy recommendations to support small farms in balancing self-provision and economic integration, enhancing their performances and autonomy as well as farming households’ welfare, are discussed.