ABSTRACT
Farm households, also called family farmers, smallholder farmers, and peasants, are one of the most important social categories in the world. In terms of economics, smallholders have a fundamental role to play in national agricultural production in most developing countries. In terms of social welfare, these households comprise the bulk of world poverty, and include the poorest of the poor. In terms of politics, farm households tend to be dominated by and subservient to other social classes, but they can have major roles to play, often in sporadic and unpredictable fashions. For economists, a household is a group of people who jointly make decisions regarding production, consumption, and reproduction. Having defined a household in general, there are characteristics that will specifically apply to farm households. There are two sets of characteristics that have been identified as defining a farm household: one is Ellis’ six conditions; the other is a household’s position in the labor market.
