La petite exploitation en France : reproduction et compétitivité (fin XIXe siècle-début XXe siècle)

Smalholding in France : Reproduction and Competitiveness (late 19th Century-Beginning of the 20th Century) In spite of its social importance, the smallholding is often criticized or its economic results, and its continued existence would appear incompatible with agricultural modernization. The fact that at the beginning of the 20th century the system was still in operation if not actually expanding, appears paradoxical and invites speculation as to whether the reasons for this might not be found in its possibility of access to various markets notably those of money and labour. This exploration reveals the mechanisms of its reproduction. The analysis of a series of monographs on smallholdings, drawn from the files of candidates for the cultivation premiums awarded at regional agricultural contests, gives the measure of their performance (innovation, yield, productivity) and suggests a dynamism at least equal to that of larger holdings. The conditions of production of these smallholdings and the results they obtain invite reconsideration of the notion of their "specificity", which is less obvious than is generally assumed. Be this as it may, any comparison of the respective performances of farms of different sizes -but of the same type- must take into account not only the dimensions of the holding, but also the stage it has reached in its development cycle, a factor which is at least as important.Hubscher Ronald. La petite exploitation en France : reproduction et compétitivité (fin XIXe siècle-début XXe siècle). In: Annales. Economies, sociétés, civilisations. 40ᵉ année, N. 1, 1985. pp. 3-34