Definition of minifundio - What it is, Meaning and Concept

Minifundio is a term composed of the prefix mini (something small, short or short) and the noun latifundio (a rustic estate of great extension).Specifically, we would have to say that the second part of the term, fundio, comes from Latin.More exactly, etymologically speaking, we can say that it emanates from the word “fundus”, which was used to record the basis on the that settled anything.

A smallholding, therefore, is a farm that is characterized by its reduced extension .

For example: "My father has a smallholding on the outskirts of the urban area" , "The progress of the region will be in smallholdings, and not in large land areas distributed among few hands ”, “ The government announced an aid plan for smallholders affected by the drought ”.

It should be noted that, due to its small size , the economic exploitation of a smallholding is difficult .For the exploitation to be viable, various issues such as work , the quality of the land, the capital and the techniques used.Some crops can be grown on surfaces of 2 hectares , while others require more than 100 hectares to be profitable.

When the size of the smallholding prevents its economic exploitation and the commercialization of production, the farmer can take advantage of the crops for the self-consumption .This means that the plantations are destined for agriculture of subsistence (what is produced is consumed) and not for sale to obtain monetary income.

Thus, currently, in many cities of the world there are areas that have become complete smallholdings for the neighbors.And in these lands, they take advantage to plant crops that allow them to subsist and save a significant amount of money, because These are foods that you no longer have to buy at commercial establishments.

Tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce or onions are some of the products that are usually planted in this type of land that historically has been defined by two of its characteristics: for its very small dimensions and because they have no economic efficiency, that is, They are not used to generate income.

In addition to all of the above, it is worth knowing other data of interest about the smallholding: • Various are the measures that are established to consider that a land has that category.However, for example, in Spain it is established as such the ten hectares while in America it extends up to thirty hectares • It is important to keep in mind that, depending on the crop, these quoted sizes can only be used for subsistence agriculture or even to make them profitable.

The origin of the smallholding is associated with the inheritances , when the landowners divide a property to leave land to their children.This way, the large estates began to subdivide into smaller lands ( smallholdings).As these smallholdings cannot be profitably exploited, new generations of farmers tend to emigrate to the city.

This hereditary phenomenon can be said to be one of the consequences of the actions of social injustice committed by the so-called “lords” in previous centuries.