agreste

Agreste cahiers n° 41 - septembre 1999

The development of farms under corporate form is continuing at a sustained rate.

The development of farms under corporate form is continuing at a sustained rate. In 1997, 16 % of farms were societies. They made use of over 43 % of the economic potential of French agriculture. If corporate forms have on average an economic size superior to that of individual farms, they remain man-sized : less than 4 % of farmers’ economic interest groups (GAEC) and limited responsibility farms (EARL) go beyond the 300 hectares wheat-equivalent. Co-holders of a corporate form are seldom more than 3 and they are generally related. Women are quite a few among them, e.g. a mother inside a GAEC or a spouse within an EARL. The agricultural activity remains for a large part carried out within the family. By their age and their training level, co-farmers are rather close to individual holders of farms with a comparable size. Civil farming societies (SCEA) stand out however, with more large units and more women, paid workers and a higher education levell among the holders.