Smallholder Farms in Bulgaria and Their Contributions to Food and Social Security

<p>Bulgaria has a long tradition of smallholder farming, predominantly producing for selfconsumption.As a result of land reform and farm restructuring, many rural households receivedagricultural land. Some developed commercial farms but most households stayed as subsistencefarmers and used their small pieces of land to produce for self-consumption and market the excessoutput to top up their non-farm incomes or meagre pensions. They had little capital and insecureaccess to markets. The paper employs semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 10 smallholdersfor obtaining detailed information about individuals’ behaviour and exploring issues in greaterdetail. In particular, the study looks at the drivers of the diverse strategies pursued by smallholderfarms, their importance for household food security and incomes, and the prospects of smallholderfarms in the future, especially the possibilities for productivity increases. The Bulgarian study oncontemporary smallholder farms shows that subsistence production constitutes a valuable safety netfor households with low incomes, and therefore, it acts as an extension of the limited social securitysystem of the country. Despite all the challenges faced by smallholders, half of the interviewedhouseholds succeeded to commercialise and increase marketable surplus. Policies for increasedcommercialisation of smallholder farms and a structural change in agriculture should address,besides market factors, the socioeconomic aspects which contribute to the persistence of subsistencefarming. Furthermore, when prioritising different policies, the chosen livelihood strategies of thehouseholds should be taken into account.</p>