The Decadence and Decline of Small Farms – Application Analogies to Natural and Social Sciences

Abstract

The authors apply the analogy method to analyse economic and socio-economic phenomena. The analogy method has been used to explain similarities between selected natural and economic processes and their consequences. For over a century economic sciences – as a relatively young branch of science – have been relying on methods of analysis applied in older and better equipped natural sciences, mostly in physics and biology. The application of natural sciences’ methods for the analysis and description of economic processes is not just an interesting and creative intellectual process which allows to better understand them but also gives an opportunity to develop solutions which stimulate desired economic processes. The paper focuses on semi-commercial family farms which face quite an uncertain future as a group. Based on the conducted analysis, the adoption of a specific strategy can be their chance to survive. That strategy involves both a behaviour modeled after an omnivorous snail (diversified incomes) which gradually and slowly works towards achieving its goal and hides in case of danger, and that resembling the behavior of a dove, i.e. the retreat and withdrawal from markets controlled by mass producers (hawks), avoiding confrontation with the stronger ones and seeking safe havens (market niches) in which beasts of prey fighting one another are not interested. Such a philosophy is consistent with the concept of multifunctional agriculture, the diversification of farm activities and the increased engagement of small farms in the performance of environmental functions and development of high-quality organic foods.