3 ms·

Small farmers don't want higher productivity already?

• mc32 7y ago
  How? They can’t leverage the same markets they can’t leverage economies of scale, etc. A conglomerate can find new markets when another one dries up. A grocery store closes, it’s not easy for s local farmer suddenly find a new buyer, for example.
  • croon 7y ago
    I understand that. What I'm pointing out is that the small farmer already needs to cover all expenses through their sales price, which already is competing with conglomerates capable of much higher economies of scale. An expense increase for both parties won't affect the dynamic already in place.
• naravara 7y ago
  You'd be surprised. They certainly want higher yields and returns, but many people can be resistant to making the kinds of changes or long term investments to actually realize those goals. Corporate/bureaucratic governance is arguably more prone to doing the sorts of bloodless cost/benefit analysis that can push productivity, while smaller family farms might be more focused on just getting through the day-to-day work. That plus a lot of productivity gains come from returns to scale and logistical capacity that you need to be at a certain size to realize. It's just out of reach for smaller entities.
  • croon 7y ago
    None of these facts differ between a before/after of the discussed scenario.