The rationale of part-time farming: empirical evidence from Norway

Abstract

Purpose

Outside farming, pluriactivity is generally considered as undesirable, whereas agricultural economists tend to recommend part-time farming. This contradiction is to be solved. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Linking tax-payer and statistical farm-level data from Norway, the authors tested how profitable part-time farming is for Norwegian farm households.

Findings

The analysis showed that concentrating on either working on-farm or off-farm generates a higher household income than combining the two.

Practical implications

Part-time farming may be a lifestyle decision, but apparently is not economically optimal for most farms.

Originality/value

The contribution solves an apparent contradiction between the discourses inside and outside agriculture.

Citation

Mittenzwei, K. and Mann, S. (2017), "The rationale of part-time farming: empirical evidence from Norway", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 44 No. 1, pp. 53-59. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-10-2014-0207