ABSTRACT
The key to success, the book notes, is adding value. Every single successful smallholding achieves high yields per unit area by ‘intensive and/or diverse cropping’, and increases value ‘through some form of processing and/or direct marketing’. Having a few different microbusinesses also improves resilience by spreading risk and enabling the more efficient use of land and resources. The most profitable small-scale land-based enterprises are labourintensive. Growing, harvesting and processing salad leaves, soft fruit, seeds and mushrooms or require careful attention to detail; this is only possible with relatively small acreages. The authors say that horticulture is better suited to this approach than is livestock management, although a dairy serving a local village or community might be viable on under ten acres, particularly if butter, cheese or yoghurt is produced. High property prices remain the greatest barrier to new entrants. The authors have the following key seven pieces of advice for people wanting to earn a livelihood this way:
1 Keep set-up costs low; 2 Add value by direct marketing and/or processing; 3 If possible supply local shops and restaurants which favour fresh, local
produce over that available from wholesalers; 4 Consider adding Environmental Health Office (EHO) approved
processing facilities; 5 Consider sharing investment in processing facilities between several
smallholders; 6 Avoid borrowing money by growing your business incrementally; 7 Ten acres offers little space for economically viable livestock
production, unless value is added to the product from making cheese, yoghurt or ice cream.
