USDA Initiatives to Assist Small Scale Agriculture

 Howard W. Kerr, Jr.
 Executive Director
 Small Farm Resources Development Work Group
 USDA, Washington, DC 20250


 Dr. Orville G. Bentley, Assistant Secretary, Science and
Education Department, recently announced the creation of a
USDA Working Group on Small Farm Resource Develop-
ment. The Working Group is responsible for 1) providing pro-
gram and policy leadership and facilitating communications
for USDA on Small Farm Resource Development; 2) identify-
ing existing programs and activities in order to determine what
steps should be taken to strengthen support for small farm
operators; 3) establishing an orderly method to provide


technical assistance and information to small farm operators;
4) recommending steps USDA should take to further address
this national concern; and 5) reviewing, and as feasible, im-
plementing the pertinent recommendations filed by the
various Departmental Task Forces bearing upon small-scale
agriculture. The effort is relatively new; however, the gains are
already significant. Discussed were achievements and how the
Working Group may impact or benefit "Small Farm Systems
in the Caribbean."


 I appreciate the opportunity to participate in the 20th Annual
 Meeting of the Caribbean Food Crops Society (CFCS). Indeed,
 this year's CFCS theme, "Small Farm Systems in the Caribbean,"
 is a timely one. The majority of the world's farms are small and
 even in the United States they are increasing.
 My presentation is perhaps different from that of my colleagues
 on the program. While this meeting will focus on small farm
 systems for the Caribbean, my remarks generally are directed to
 and about the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Northeastern
 Region (NER) Small Farms Research program that I coordinated
 from 1979 to 1984, and my new assignment, since March 1984, as
 the Executive Director for the Department's Small Farm Resources
 Development Work Group (SFRDWG). Hopefully, you will be
 able to draw upon my experience and findings in your efforts to
 improve small farm systems in the Caribbean.
 Programs over the years at the United States Department of
 Agriculture (USDA) have yielded benefits that are of con-
 siderable value to operators of farms of all sizes. However, in re-
 cent times more concern has arisen relative to the USDA pro-
 grams that specifically focus on the needs of small-scale
 agricultural entrepreneurs. At present, this is a very important
 issue because the recently released tabulations of the 1982 U.S.
 Census of Agriculture indicates that the number of small farms in
 the United States jumped sharply in the four years between 1978
 and 1982. Farms of less than 50 acres totalled 637,000 in 1982,
 up 17 percent from 1978, when they numbered slightly more
 than 542,000. These small farms constitute about 28% of
 America's farm population today and the number is expected to
 continue to increase in the future. This gain does not mean an in-
 crease necessarily in family farms or a reversal away from the con-
 centration of commercial farms among a few large business con-
 cerns; however, the statistics convey a clear message that a large
 and increasing segment of the domestic farm population needs
 and expects specific assistance from their government.
 Historically, the small farm family has played an integral part
 in both the development of America's food supply and
 agricultural programs. In the early years of America, Thomas Jef-
 ferson said, ". small land holders are the most precious part of
 a State." Today there are people who echo his words, and I
 suspect their numbers grow daily. Even after several decades of a
 general increase in the size of farms, the American small farm is
still the most common agricultural enterprise.


180


 What is a small farm? Over the years it has been defined in
many ways. It seems that statisticians and government officials
come up with all kinds of definitions about size of farms, gross an-
nual receipts and other economic measures. It perhaps is impos-
sible to establish or even agree on a definition because any answer
varies by type of farm, location, and even by individuals. Defini-
tions aside, small farms, both full and part-time operations,
regardless of the size of their contribution to the nation's
agricultural production, represent a large part of the rural popula-
tion and are an important part of the agricultural structure.
 In fiscal year 1979, as the coordinator of NER small farms
research, my task was to make the appropriation of more than 1.5
million dollars, specifically for small farm research covering a
wide variety of agricultural subjects, yield a maximum return.
 A survey was designed and implemented to determine the
specific research needs of small farmers in the 12 state region. The
State Extension Service directors were asked to select approx-
imately 25% of their state's county agents for the study. In May
1979, a questionnaire was sent to the 70 selected county exten-
sion agents with an explanation of the study and its purpose,
USDA's definition of a small farmer, and a list of various
agricultural enterprises. The agents were asked to rank the top
three enterprises of small farms and other than small farms in
their counties and to specify commodities involved. Also, the
respondents listed the research needed to provide immediate and
long range benefits to their county's small farms. Information ob-
tained from the survey is reported in ARR-NE-9, A Survey of
Current and Expected Research Needs of Small Farms in the
Northeastern Region, June 1980.
 Some high points from the survey identified:
 1. The immediate research priorities for small scale farmers as
 production, marketing and management;
 2. That small farm agriculture needed specific research on
 methods and systems enabling them to realize greater
 returns on controlled assets;
 3. That small farm operators in 1984 would require
 machinery and other mechanical devices to operate their
 farms more intensively;
 4. That ES and ARS needed to become more involved and
 utilize each others' contacts and unique attributes; and
 5. The Department's need to expect a 17% increase in the
 number of NER small farms by the year 1984.


 PROCEEDINGS of the CARIBBEAN FOOD CROPS SOCIETY-VOL. XX