A technical and economic approach to the viability of small-scale organic market gardening

Over the past fifteen years, more and more farmers have been setting up diversified organic market gardening on small area (less than 1.5 ha), while microfarms are complex systems lacking clear technical, economic, and organizational references. The MMBio project aims to establish such references through surveys conducted on 42 microfarms in France. The viability of these microfarms is assessed based on available income (average of €13,894/year/farmer with a standard deviation of €10,058; €6.80/h with a standard deviation of €4.49), demonstrating that this activity can generate an acceptable income. Multivariate analysis of various technical and economic indicators, about diverse farm components, does not reveal a consistent combination of factors directly related to viability or livability. Further analysis of specific dimensions, such as work efficiency and farmers' temporal trajectories could help identify advantageous conditions for viability and livability in micro-scale market gardening.