This paper aims to analyze the debates about family farming in Argentina during the last years, particularly the need to quantify and characterize the sector. The interest in conceptualization can be found in the academic, technical and politic fields. The article tries to show the spatial heterogeneity and diversity of actors of family farming. Therefore, it includes a brief comparison between the richest region of Argentina (The Pampas) and one of the poorest regions (Northwest). In relation to this, the results of the RENAF (national registry of family farming) in the province of Santiago del Estero are used to characterize the sector and present certain methodological lines aimed at a better conceptualization. Este trabajo tiene como ob...