Locked into succession: family farming and poverty in Paraguay

Abstract

Family farms in the Global South are vital for global food security, yet they are particularly exposed to succession issues. In Paraguay, a country where family farming is predominant, we know little about the main aspects characterising the intention of having a successor. By using Social Reproduction Theory as theoretical construct and an original database of Paraguayan farmers, this study employs a logistic regression model to examine how productive capital, reproductive capital, and external frictions are associated to the likelihood of having a successor. The analysis reveals that economic factors, particularly land availability, play a decisive role, whereas human capital and mechanisation show weaker effects. Therefore, we argue that succession reflects a broader set of structural and contextual dynamics that situate Paraguayan family farmers within a dual agrarian structure marked by inequality and exclusion.