Social sustanability and continuity of family farms : How the Dutch are doing it

Globally, family farms or smallholder farming constitute 98% of all farms, taking up at least 53% of agricultural land, and producing at least 53% of the world’s food. This shows the crucial role these farms are playing in feeding the nearly 7 billion population of human beings on Earth. Yet despite the relevance, family farms are facing sustainability and continuity challenges. For over two centuries, sustainability and continuity challenges of family farms have been centred on economic and environmental perspectives though a social dimension could be added it has been largely overlooked. This study thus examines and continuity of family farms from social perspective. It focuses on how farming families are preserving their social heritage—the culturally learned behaviours that are constant through each generation, which allows the family to sustain and continue the farm without interruption. The study finds that farming families preserve their social heritage for sustainability and continuity through gender, generation, marriage and religion. The study hence argues that gender and generational relations in the farming household drive the inclusion of women and children to play crucial roles in sustaining and continuing the farm. Marriage in the farming household is designed in such a way that both the man and woman are compatible through their farming backgrounds to ensure the smooth running of the farm which contributes to successful transfer of the farm. Strong attachment to religious beliefs by the farming household also helps to shape the perspective of the younger generation to not abandon the farm. The study concludes that based on how the farming families are preserving their social heritage, it would help to sustain and continue the farm, giving it a bright future.