Files
Abstract
This article focuses on farms facing financial difficulties and on their subsequent
evolution, especially considering their marketing channel. The adoption of short food
supply chains appears as a way to preserve the business by retrieving more flexibility
and a greater share of added value. Using data from FADN-RICA 2005-2012 for
different agricultural sectors, we perform a statistical analysis and econometric
modeling. A financial score based on 5 financial key parameters measures financial
difficulties and determines the contrasting profile of distressed farms. Debt servicing
is a severe issue for all farms in difficulty. Farm survival translates into a reduction in
their cultivated area, the number of employees but an increase in pesticide expanses
to protect yields. Finally, it appears that market gardening and fruit producing farms
in difficulty tend to adopt retail selling in order to restore their financial situation.