The Firm Farm: An Emerging Reality in French Agriculture?

This paper attempts to identify what, in agricultural or agrifood economics and agricultural statistics, contributes to defining the “firm farm” among all the agricultural operations in France.7 Although the family farm is breaking up, it remains the norm on the French rural landscape. What interests us here is how it relates to the “theory of the firm” and the strategic relationship between labor and capital. This paper argues that this new form of agricultural entrepreneurship does not depend solely on the farmer’s ability to adapt or on the power games played by agrifood interests. To secure the necessary development financing, the extended family and the system of cooperatives give the family new avenues and strategies for opportunities. This thinking is based on various analytical references and on an exploration of the initial results of the 2010 agricultural survey.