Acceso usuarios
The relationship between farm size and performance remains a central but contested issue in agricultural economics. While existing studies tend to classify this relationship (positive, inverse, or neutral), they rarely explore the underlying mechanisms, leading to context-dependent findings. This study addresses this gap by analyzing three agricultural value chains in Algeria – artichoke, honey, and tomato – using a comparative, mixed-methods approach. It identifies “structural differentiation levers”, internal or external factors rooted in specific spatiotemporal contexts, that indirectly affect performance via techno-organizational practices and economic mediators. In the artichoke chain, these levers relate to access to water and market structures favoring large farms. In the honey chain, they reflect sanitary, organizational, and commercial conditions benefiting small-scale producers. In the tomato chain, their absence explains the performance parity across farm sizes. The analysis shows that size-related advantages arise only when three conditions are met: favorable levers, a size suited to them, and the farmer’s capacity to activate them.
