Factors influencing the integration of alternative farm enterprises into the agro-food system

Financial stress and general crisis in European agriculture recently have g enerated a widespread interest in alternative paths of farm business develo pment and structural adjustment. One of the options suggested by policy mak ers and adopted by farmers was the development of alternative farm enterpri ses (AFEs), in which farmers recombine resources on the farm and produce a new mix of products and services in order to supplement their incomes. In t he present paper we examine the factors influencing the development of AFEs . According to empirical evidence from Etolia-Akarnania, a prefecture in we stern Greece that merits "less favored area" status. AFE adoption is influe nced by the amount of family labor, the ratio of hired to family labor, the presence of tobacco as a main enterprise, the proximity of the farm to gra de A roads, and the farmers' age. Education. management experience demonstr ated by the farm manager, physical size of the farm, enterprise specializat ion, the use of grants, and farm location are the main factors responsible for the farmers' integration into the agro-food system.