Monday, November 2, 2009

HOW FARMS ARE ORGANISED

HOW FARMS ARE ORGANISED

Land tenure is an important aspect of agriculture. Farmers may own their land or they may lease land from a landowner. In parts of USA, Latin America and Europe, share cropping or metayage is common: the landlord usually provides the seed because the tenant has no money to buy it, and the tenant then works the land. On the crop being harvested, the landlord receives a part of the crop in lieu of rent and to pay for the seed. Generally owner-occupation is considered to be better than tenancy as it encourages farmers to improve the land.

The traditional type of farm in most regions of southern Europe, e.g., Spain, Italy, as well as in Latin America and other-- 'new' lands was the large estate­variously called in Europe as estancias, hacienda and fazemias; stations in Australia; and plantations in other areas. They are owned by a single person or by a company and are both capital- and labour-intensive.

Cooperative farming is practised in highly developed countries. An advanced form of farm organisation, it works in rural societies with a literate population, capable of understanding the cooperative principles and competent in managing the business of the cooperative in the best interests of the farmers. In Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium, the cooperative movement has been very success­ful. In Denmark, practically every farmer is a cooperative member.

A collective farm, according to communists, is a vol­untary productive cooperative union based on socia/. ownership of the means of production and on collective labour in which there is no exploitation of man by man. In reality, these farms are state co-operatives run by it managing committee and headed by a farm manager who is responsible to the government. With the collapse of communism in Europe, farm land has once again gone to individuals.

A slightly different type of communal farming is practised in Israel on the kibbutzim. Farmers living on the kibbutz work on the land together but receive no formal payment. They only receive spending money while hous­ing, clothing, food, medical attention and education come free. However, the system is a 'voluntary' one.

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