Kent Business School, Canterbury campus of the University of Kent, CANTERBURY, Kent, UK

This seminar will focus on the ongoing debate about the roles and functions of small farms and their future within the context of rapid structural changes in agri-food chains and the "retail revolution". The seminar will incorporate discussions about the changing role of small farms in the EU, transition and developing countries. It will also explore the environmental consequences (externalities) stemming from the decline of small scale farming, particularly in EU New Member States. The small farm debate has taken on special significance for the EU as it seeks to accommodate the large number of small farms in New Member States within the Union's agricultural and environmental programmes and policies. The seminar will seek to learn from comparative studies of the roles of small farms in other parts of the world, and will explore appropriate policy options.

The seminar is organised by the Centre for European Agri-Environmental Studies (CEAS) at Kent Business School.

http://www.inra.fr/internet/Departements/ESR/vie/agenda/docs/2009-06-seminar-kent.doc [1]