Pluriactivity, Farm Structures and Rural Change

This paper begins by looking at some of the reasons why farm household pluriactivity, although long-standing, has now become a phenomenon of interest to European policymakers. This European concern is then compared with the current interest of UK policymakers and academics in the related concept of farm diversification. In many respects, UK policies differ significantly from those in the rest of Europe, most notably in their neglect of off-farm income-earning opportunities, and the reasons for this are discussed. Furthermore, it is argued that a preoccupation with forms of diversification or pluriactivity is likely to be less helpful analytically than a focus on underlying farm business and farm household strategies. Finally, some preliminary results of empirical work in Devon and Grampian are presented which suggest that farm household strategies may be at variance with prior expectations in some respects.