Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 19.2
Other gainful activities (OGAs) in France
The amount of farm household income coming from on-
and off-farm OGAs in France increased from 15 per cent
in 1956 to 42 per cent in 1988 (Benjamin 1994). However,
there are wide variations between the regions, from 25
to 52 per cent, and Campagne
et al
. (1990) related these
to different levels of agricultural modernisation. They
examined the different types of pluriactivity practised in
three contrasting agricultural regions:
1
Picardie,
an area of large-scale arable production in
northern France.
2
Languedoc,
a region in southern France with a long
history of combining wine production with other work.
3
Savoy valleys,
a physically marginal area for
agriculture in southeast France.
Campagne
et al
. described Picardie as a zone of
'business pluriactivity' because household members are
using agricultural resources to increase non-agricultural
activities. Many spouses (especially wives) work outside
agriculture and there is a culture of accumulation among
the mainly family-based farms in this prosperous
agricultural area. In contrast, the generation of mainly off-
farm income in Languedoc, especially by the spouse and
children, is vital to the maintenance and modernisation
of the farm business. The authors referred to this as the
'pluriactivity of maintaining farming'. Finally, in the Savoy
Valleys, where there is a progressive abandonment of
marginal farming, farm households are having to search
for a diverse range of on- and off-farm income-generating
activities. Not surprisingly, this was described as
'pluriactivity for survival'.
Explanations for such patterns would need to take
account of both 'external' and 'internal' factors. For
example, Benjamin (1994) indicated that CAP
reforms have increased wives' participation in off-
farm work. However, she also showed that the age
and education of farm wives have a greater positive
effect on off-farm participation, especially among
women aged between 26 and 42 who do not have a
high school diploma.
Plate 19.1
Diversifying the farm business into alternative (non-agricultural) enterprises.
