The European Union (EU) introduced a special transitional semi-subsistence measure to promote the smallest agricultural producers, so-called semi-subsistence farm households (SFHs) in the enlargement process. An outlook on the future of SFHs requires comprehensive and reliable information on the phenomenon and the impact of policy measures on their development. Therefore, a survey using a standardised questionnaire was conducted in Poland (175 households), Romania (185 households), and Bulgaria (184 households) from July to September 2007. In a first step, four major types of SFHs could be identified by means of cluster analysis: (i) rural diversifiers, (ii) rural pensioners, (iii) farmers, and (iv) rural newcomers. In a second step, a multiobjective... |