Family farms in the face of requirements of food security and environmental protection – global approach

Abstract

The world, as usually, has to cope with a number of serious problems. However, unlike in the past the problems the world is facing now have a global (planetary) character. Particularly important are two problems: the problem of food production and the problem of preservation of man's habitat – global eco-system (biosphere). The first of these problems primarily consists in the ability to generate a sufficient quantum of agricultural products, but almost equally important is the economic availability of food and its quality because all these factors decide about food security. As far as the biosphere is concerned the key issue is the fact that the economic system of planetary community has exceeded its capacity, which means that the present generation of people is living at the expense of future generations. It is impossible for such situation to continue for a long time. Agriculture has a special role to play in coping with the problems described above. Firstly, it provides the greater part of food products. Fishery, hunting, forestry and other spheres of obtaining foodstuffs play a supplementary role. As far as environmental protection is concerned the matter also becomes obvious when we take into account the area of the Earth's surface that is used ergo managed by agriculture and agriculture's extensive interactions with the natural environment. The article seeks to provide an answer to the question whether family farms are able at present to cope with the described problems. It starts with considerations relating to the general features of family farms. Next, it describes in some detail the problems of food security and environmental protection and then presents an assessment of the efficiency of family farms in the context of these problems. The point is to cope with the problems effectively – in accordance with social interpretation of effectiveness. In the conclusion of the article remarks about the future of family farms in the era of globalization are presented.