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Die Broschüre fasst die Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung zur Situation und Bedeutung der Nebenerwerbslandwirtschaft in Sachsen zusammen. Dargestellt werden Statistiken und Befragungsergebnisse zur Agrarstruktur, zur Sozioökonomie und zu Umweltaspekten. Es wird deutlich, dass es keinen typischen Nebenerwerbslandwirt gibt und die Berufsgruppe nur in ihrer Vielfalt beschrieben werden kann. Nebenerwerbslandwirte haben eine große Bedeutung für den ländlichen Raum, z. B. durch Nischenproduktion, durch Bewirtschaftung von Rest- und Splitterflächen oder als Gestalter des Dorflebens. Die Zahl der Nebenerwerbslandwirte wird sich in den nächsten Jahren nur geringfügig verringern.

We examine the relationship between participation in non-agricultural labor activities and farming production decisions, focusing on the use of inputs. In particular, we are interested in the hypothesis that income from non-agricultural labor relaxes credit constraints. Using longitudinal data for Vietnam from 1993-98, we find that households participating in non-agricultural labor activities, consistently with our hypothesis, spend significantly more on seeds, services, hired labor and livestock inputs.

Agricultural biodiversity is a crucial environmental resource. Much of the agricultural biodiversity remaining today is found on the semi-subsistence farms of poorer countries and on the small-scale farms and home gardens of more industrialised nations. The traditional Hungarian home gardens, which serve as small farms, are an example. Historically, these home gardens have served important functions related to food security, diet quality, and local culture. Some policies related to European Union accession threaten the survival of traditional home gardens in Hungary's transitional economy. This paper applies the choice experiment method to estimate the value farmers themselves attach to the agricultural biodiversity still found in these micro-agroecosystems. One of several related studies, its aim is to enhance policy understanding of the role of Hungarian small farms and home gardens in the National Agri-Environmental Programme. The analysis is based on primary data collected in three environmentally sensitive areas of Hungary where pilot agri-environmental programmes have been initiated. Findings demonstrate the variation in values farmers assign to home gardens across regions and households, with implications for the design of efficient public conservation programmes.

In the past decade, the European agricultural sector has undergone rapid structural change. Part of that change is manifested in extended early retirement plans. As pensions play a crucial role in determining the characteristics the change, it is important to establish the factors determining the exit from farming among elderly farmers. This study analyses the choice of pension scheme of farmers. The focus is on the effects of farm and off-farm incomes and various offered economic incentives on farmers? retirement decisions. The results provide valuable information concerning evaluation of existing programmes and the design of future retirement systems and policies.

This paper investigates the relationship between farm exits and various farm, family, and regional characteristics during the period of 1991 to 1999. Using county-level data for 326 regions in western Germany, econometric cross section estimations indicate that exits from farming are strongly influenced by farm and family characteristics. In particular, exit rates are higher in regions with smaller farms. Further, farm exits are closely related to retirement and succession considerations. Exit rates are lower in regions with a high share of part-time farms, which indicates that off-farm income has a stabilizing impact on structural change in agriculture.

Russian agriculture in transition (1991-1998) was characterised by a production collapse due to aloss in quality and quantity of acreage, disinvestments, falling purchasingpower, and increasedimports. Neither traditional agriculture nor the nascent family farm sector havebeen able to ensure sustained food production. Instead, the impoverishment of the population hasresulted in a considerable increase in the relative importance of household food production.In the present paper some features of household food production are explored: (1) thedevelopment in acreage used forHFP, (2) the number of people involved over the years, (3) the availability anduse of the necessary factors of production, such as land, labour, and variable inputs, (4)characteristics of households involved, and (5) implications for welfare.