PART TIME FARMING IN CYPRUS

Transcription

1 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS REPORT 40 ISSN PART TIME FARMING IN CYPRUS A. Antoniades and Chr. Papayiannis AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT NICOSIA CYPRUS SEPTEMBER 2001

2 Editor - in Chief Dr A.P. Mavrogenis, Agricultural Research Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus. All responsibility for the information in this publication remains with the author(s). The use of trade names does not imply endorsement of or discrimination against any product by the Agricultural Research Institute. 2

3 PART TIME FARMING IN CYPRUS A. Antoniades and Chr. Papayiannis SUMMARY The present study examines part-time farming in Cyprus and analyses basic characteristics of part-time farmers compared to those of the full-time farmers. The data was collected through personal interviews of the sampled farmers. About 75% of the farmers have agriculture as a secondary occupation, which verifies the results of the Agricultural Census of Full-time farmers were older than part-time farmers and there was a negative relationship between intensity of off-farm work and farm size. Farmers with farms smaller than 5 ha seek off-farm employment to supplement family income. As regards education, full-time farmers have a lower level of general education, with only 22.6% having completed secondary education compared to 51.4% of part-time farmers. However, full-time farmers had a higher level of agricultural training, due primarily to greater availability of time to attend training courses at the Farmers Training Centres. Full-time farmers use rented land more frequently and their farm income is higher than that of part-time farmers. Farmers with off-farm jobs usually use part of their off-farm income for on-farm investments. The proportion of part-time farmers in organizations is higher than that of full-time farmers, the latter, however, being more actively involved due to time availability. ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ Η παρούσα µελέτη εξετάζει τη µερική απασχόληση στη γεωργία της Κύπρου και αναλύει βασικά χαρακτηριστικά των αγροτών που απασχολούνται µερικώς στη γεωργία σε σχέση µε τους γεωργούς µε πλήρη απασχόληση στη γεωργία. Η συλλογή των στοιχείων έγινε µε προσωπικές συνεντεύξεις γεωργών που µετείχαν στο δείγµα. Από την ανάλυση των στοιχείων διαπιστώθηκε ότι ποσοστό 75% ασχολείτο µερικώς µε την γεωργία κάτι που επιβεβαιώνει τα αποτελέσµατα προηγούµενων µελετών καθώς και της Απογραφής Γεωργίας του Οι πλήρως απασχολούµενοι στη γεωργία έχουν µεγαλύτερη µέση ηλικία, σε αντίθεση µε τους µερικά απασχολούµενους. Υπήρχε αρνητική σχέση µεταξύ του βαθµού έντασης της εξωγεωργικής απασχόλησης και του µεγέθους της εκµετάλλευσης. Γεωργοί µε συνολική γεωργική έκταση κάτω των 5.0 εκταρίων αναζητούσαν εργασία εκτός της γεωργικής τους εκµετάλλευσης µε στόχο την εξασφάλιση συµπληρωµατικού οικογενειακού εισοδήµατος. Ως προς το επίπεδο εκπαίδευσης, γεωργοί µε αποκλειστική απασχόληση στην γεωργία είχαν χαµηλότερο επίπεδο γενικής µόρφωσης, µε µόνο 22.6% από αυτούς να είναι απόφοιτοι σχολείου µέσης εκπαίδευσης σε αντίθεση µε 51.4% των γεωργών µε εξωγεωργική απασχόληση. Όµως, οι γεωργοί µε πλήρη απασχόληση είχαν περισσότερη επαγγελ- µατική κατάρτιση λόγω κυρίως του ότι έχουν περισσότερο διαθέσιµο χρόνο για παρακολούθηση εκπαιδευτικών προγραµµάτων στα Κέντρα Γεωργικής Εκπαίδευσης. Οι πλήρως απασχολούµενοι στη γεωργία γεωργοί, χρησιµοποιούν ενοικιαζόµενη γη σε µεγαλύτερη συχνότητα σε σχέση µε τους µερικά απασχολούµενους. Γεωργοί µε εξωγεωργική απασχόληση δεν προτιµούν να πραγµατοποιούν δάνεια για σκοπούς επενδύσεων στις γεωργικές εκµεταλλεύσεις. Παρόλο που οι µερικά απασχολούµενοι στη γεωργία είναι µέλη τοπικών οργανώσεων σε µεγαλύτερο ποσοστό, εντούτοις οι πλήρως απασχολούµενοι έχουν πιο ενεργό συµµετοχή, λόγω κυρίως διαθέσιµου χρόνου. 3

4 INTRODUCTION Part-time farming is a common feature of agriculture in all countries irrespective of the socio-economic system and the level of development. Many authors emphasise the positive role of part-time farming in retarding the disappearance of small farms, preserving a suitable man/land ratio and maintaining social stability in less favoured areas (Maclean, 1977; Himmighofen, 1985; Gasson, 1986). Haine (1982), also, stated that part-time farming is a structural factor, which could be exploited to solve the farm income problem and overcome problems caused by rural depopulation. Part-time farming applies to individuals, or to households, engaged in farm production activities and farm operation, farm workers, farmland owners, and farm business associates such as partners and shareholders of incorporated farm businesses. The part-time farming label has usually been applied to farm operators or farm operator households not depending solely on farming for their livelihood and spending less than a normal work week in farming activities and the remainder of available time at off-farm work or at leisure activities ( i e, multiple job-holding) (Ahearn et al., 1991). However, there is no single acceptable definition. Rozman (1930) during the 1930 s, was the first to distinguish between the terms part-time farming and part-time farmer. He defined a part-time farmer as a farm operator who spends two or more months per year in off-farm work and part-time farming enterprise as a farm where the equivalent of a fulltime male labour was not employed. Bertrand (1967) suggested three definitions: (a) a parttime farmer is one who lives with his family on a farm, usually a small one, but gets a big part of his income from sources other than farming, (b) a part-time farmer is one who has less than $5,000 farm income, spends at least 100 work-days off the farm and is less than 65 years of age and earns more money off-farm than on-farm, and (c) farmers should be classified as part-time farmers according to their past occupations (farmer or non-farmer) and their average number of hours spent on-farm and off-farm. For the purpose of this survey a part-time farmer is someone who earns less than 50% of his annual total income from the farm and 4 spends less than 50% of his normal working time in farming (Brun et al., 1991). In Cyprus, part-time farming is a common attribute of agriculture. As the relative significance of the sector in terms of both GDP and employment continues to decline, and despite the importance placed on this primary sector, part-time farming is increasingly recognised as an indisputable necessity for the maintenance of the sector. Out of the agricultural holdings registered in the Census of 1994, more than half reported operated land up to only 2 ha, indicating how important the small farms are for agriculture. The majority of these farms are unable to support the farm family and those that are, may not be able in the future. As a result many farmers are no longer solely dependent on farm income for their livelihood. According to the structural analysis of farming in Cyprus (Papayiannis and Markou, 1999) 7% reported no agricultural income at all, 29% had agriculture as the exclusive income source, 7% earned from farming more than 50% of their total household income, while the remaining were divided between those having income from agriculture 10-50% (33%) and less than 10% (31%). Employment on farm for the same above groups of farms was 0, 30, 62, 21 and 6 weeks per year, respectively. It was estimated, assuming two labour units per holding, that only in 1/3 of the farms (those part-time holdings reporting agricultural income more than 50%) devoted to farming on average 66% of the household total available labour. The present study examines part-time farming in conjunction with a number of farmer and farm household characteristics with the view to assess some factors affecting adoption of off-farm employment on the one hand, and on the other hand the impact of part-time farming on the economy and on the farmers social life. Specific objectives of the study are: - to determine the extent of part-time farming in Cyprus - to identify the personal characteristics of part-time farmers - to examine their level of education and - to identify the characteristics of their farm. METHODOLOGY Cyprus, for purposes of agricultural policy, has been divided into four agro-economic zones, on the basis of soil and land suitability,

5 AGRO-ECONOMIC REGIONS OF CYPRUS climatic conditions, and cropping pattern, i.e., the Mountain, the Vines, the Dryland and the Coastal zone (Fig. 1). A random sample of approximately 3% of the farms with Standard Gross Margin more than 1,200 EURO (one Economic Size Unit) was drawn from each of the four zones yielding a total of 333 farms. Data collection was effected through personal interviews with the farm head and the use of a specially designed questionnaire. The collected data referred to 40 variables related to the social characteristics of the farm head, the structural characteristics of the farms, and the attitude of the farm head towards the environment. One-way and two-way classification and cross-classification contingency tables (chisquare) were performed to identify relationships among variables. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Personal and family characteristics of farmers The development of non-agricultural sectors at a rapid pace drew people from rural areas. The failure of agriculture to provide an income comparable to that potentially available by the rest of the economy aggravated the social and cultural deficiencies of rural areas, which no longer satisfy the ambitions of young people. One out of 4 respondents in this survey was fully employed in Agriculture, while 75% were part-time farmers (Table 1). Regarding the type of off-farm jobs, 61% of the respondents were employed in the public sector, and 33% in the private sector as employees or self-employed. Four percent of the respondents with off-farm jobs were agricultural workers. About 80% of the part-time respondents had full-time off-farm jobs while 20% were full-time or part-time selfemployed. The principal reason for seeking off-farm jobs was the need for supplementary family income. Nearly 1 out of 5 respondents were over 63 years old and only 3% of them were under 34. The most frequent (31.8%) age class of the farmers was 45 to 54 years. More than half of the full-time farmers were over 63 years. A further 21.4% were between 55 and 63 years old and only one quarter were under 45 years of age (Table 2). In general, part-time farmers were younger than full-time farmers with about two thirds of them below the age of 54. This Table 1. Number of full-time and part-time farmers Number (%) Full-time farmers (without off-farm job) Part-time farmers (with off-farm job) Total

6 Table 2. Distribution of respondents by occupational status and age X 2 = ; df = 4; P< is related to the fact that agriculture is not any more attractive to young people and to the increased financial needs of young families. Also, unless part-timers are self employed, they become full-time farmers after retirement from their off-farm jobs. Part-time farmers are less likely to continue in both jobs, as they get older. The tendency was to let a successor to take over the farm after retirement as they have more resources to afford retirement than full-time farmers. All married or divorced respondents (98%) had children. The mean number of children was 2.9. Full-time farmers had a fewer children (2.86) than part-time farmers(3.34).almost 25% of the full-time farmers with children had more Age (years) Number (%) Number (%) Number (%) Under Over than three children in comparison to 39.7% of the part-time ones (Table 3). Full-time farmers had a lower level of formal education. Nearly 70% of them had no education or only primary education, while the majority of part-time farmers (55%) had secondary or tertiary education (Table 4). Education, in general was related to age, with younger people having overall a higher level of formal education. Significant differences were observed between full-time and part-time farmers in the age groups 45 to 54 group and the 55 to 63. Seventy seven percent of full-time farmers in the 45 to 54 age class had completed primary school, while 47.5% of part-time farmers had continued further. A Table 3. Distribution of respondents by occupational status and number of children Children Number (%) Number (%) Number (%) Total X 2 = ; df= 1; P< Table 4. Distribution of respondents by occupational status and educational level Educational Level Number (%) Number (%) Number (%) None Primary Secondary Tertiary X 2 = ; df = 3; P<

7 Table 5. Distribution of respondents by occupation status and membership to a local organisation Membership Number (%) Number (%) Number (%) Yes No Table 6. Distribution of respondents by occupational status and land renting Land renting Number (%) Number (%) Number (%) Yes No similar trend was observed in the age class 55 to 63, where one third of the part-timers had secondary education compared to only 12.4% t of the full-time farmers. As regards agricultural education, the analysis showed that the percentage of the full-time farmers who had agricultural education was similar to that of part-timers. Overall, no significant relationship existed between age and agricultural education. Agricultural education in general was related to the size of farm. The larger was the farm size the more was the agricultural education. Respondents who followed training courses had significantly more land (4.3 ha) than those who did not (3.3 ha). It seems that farmers with larger farms recognise the importance of agricultural training. A high proportion of part-time (79%) and full-time (67%) farmers were members of local organizations. Active participation, however, was lower with part-time farmers The poor involvement due to limitations imposed by their other occupational status (Table 5). Farm Characteristics There was a significant relationship between occupational status and farm size. Part-time farmers operate on smaller farms (2.5 ha) in comparison to the full-timers (4.8 ha). Rented land took up a substantial part of the mean farm enterprise with considerable variation in the area rented per farm. Almost one quarter of respondents rent some land (Table 6). Part-time farmers were less likely to rent land and when doing so they rented a smaller area compared to the full-time farmers. In the Dryland zone full-time farmers rented-in larger area of land. Only 58% of part-time farmers had farm income higher than C 2800 in comparison to 76% of the full-timers (Table 7). Evidently, low farm income was a factor that induced farmers to seek other income sources. On-farm investments are considered as an important measure of commitment to farming. More than half of the farmers made investments during the past 5 years (Table 8), with the percentage of part-time farmers (56.6%) being higher than full-time farmers (47.6%). There were differences with regard to the type of investment between the two categories of farmers. A higher percentage (53.7%) of part-timers invested on land improvements compared to 46.3% of the fulltime farmers. Only one third of part-time respondents invested in crop restructuring or diversification. Only 10% of full-time farmers invested in extending the farm in the past 5 years, compared to twice as much (22%) of part-timers. With regard to outstanding loan balances, there were no differences in the level of borrowing or the proportion of total investment accounted for through loans. Part-time farmers were less likely to have an outstanding loan (43.8%) compared to of full-time 7

8 Table 7. Distribution of respondents by occupational status and farm type Farm type Number (%) Number (%) Number (%) Livestock Production Sheep Dairy Cows Mixed livestock Crop Production Permanent crop Temporary crop Mixed crops Table 8. Distribution of respondents by occupational status and investment Investment Number (%) Number (%) Number (%) Yes No Table 9. Distribution of respondents by occupational status and outstanding loans Outstanding loan Number (%) Number (%) Number (%) Yes No Table 10. Distribution of respondents by occupational status and investment plans Investment planning Number (%) Number (%) Number (%) Yes No X 2 = , df = 1; P< (59.5%) (Table 9). Overall, 32.7% of farmers had received grants or subsidised loans for on-farm investments, the most common of which were farm expansion, farm mechanisation and modernisation. The percentage of full-time farmers receiving such grants or loans was considerably higher (40%) compared to the time farmers (25.6%) Less than one third of all respondents were considering to invest in the next 5-year period. Only 17.9% of full-time farmers had plans to do so, in comparison with 37,8% of part-time farmers (Table 10). 8

9 CONCLUSIONS Despite changes in the last years, parttime farming is still very important in Cypriot agriculture especially among smaller farms. The number of land owners with other gainful employment is likely to increase, given the trend of decreasing numbers employed in agriculture. However, no large scale move away from the land is expected. Dual occupation farmers are making optimum use of their resources in an effort to maximize household income. Both the level of farm development and investment undertaken by the pluriactive farm households, mainly using borrowed non-farm income, indicate the commitment to the farm. Off-farm employed farmers are younger and have a higher level of formal education and agricultural training. In general, this group of farmers are very open to training, advice and information. They are, thus, a very dynamic group with potential for development, diversification and farm restructuring. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to extend their appreciation to Elli Photiou, Photini Pengerou, Skevoulla Philippou and P. Shiskos for collecting the data. Sincere thanks are also expressed to farmers whose participation and co-operation made this study possible. REFERENCES Ahearn, M., and J.E. Lee, RJ Multiple Jobholding among Farm Operator Households in the United States: In Multiple job-holding among farm families (M. C. Hallberg, S. L. Findeis and D. A. Lasseds, eds), p. 3 30, Iowa. Ansell, D.J., C. Bishop, and M. Upton Parttime Farming in Cyprus. Development Study No. 26, University of Reading, UK 220p. Bertraud, A.I Research on part-time farming in the United States. Rural Sociology 7: Brun, A., and A. Fuller Farm Family Pluriactivity in Western Europe. The Arkleton Trust. 60p. Cawley, M Part-time Farming in Rural Development. Evidence from Western Ireland. Sociologia Ruralis 26: Department of Statistics and Research Agricultural Statistics Ministry of Finance, Nicosia. 194p. Gasson, R The Economics of part-time farming. Longman Group, UK. 80p. Gasson, R Part-time farming: Its place in the structure of Agriculture, In Agriculture: People and Policies (G. Cox, P. Lowe and M. Winter eds), London. 168p. Haine, M An Introduction to farming Systems. Longman Group, UK. Higgins, J A study of part-time farming in the Republic of Ireland. An foras Taluntais, Economics and Rural Welfare Research Centre. Himmighoten, W Part-time farming and Job Combination in Agriculture as elements of rural development: In Results, Conclusions and Recommendations of recent Research in Tilo (L.V Ulbricht, ed) p Integrated Rural Development. Kada, R Part-time farming. Center of Academic publications, Japan. Maclean, H The Case of the highlands and Islands development board, In The Place of Part-time Farming in Rural and Regional Development, (R. Gasson ed) p Wye College. Papayiannis, Chr., and M. Markou A Structural and Economic Analysis of Farming in Cyprus. Agricultural Economics Report 38, Agricultural Research Institute, Nicosia. 15p. Pearce, R Part-time Farming in Cyprus. Development Study No 21, University of Reading. 81p. Rozman, D Part-time Farming in Massachusett s. Massachusetts. Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 26 Zurek, E.G Part-time farming in the Federal Republic of Germany, Sociologia Ruralis 26:

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