Book review: new directions for smallholder agriculture by Peter Hazell and Atiqur Rahman

This book aims to examine the growing divergence between subsistence and business oriented small farms, and discusses how this divergence has been impacted by population growth, trends in farm size distribution, urbanization, off-farm income diversification, and the globalization of agricultural value chains. Chandni Singh finds that the strength of this book is that it consolidates recent research on the state of smallholder farmers and provides an unbiased report on future strategies that should be supported because of their proven relevance and success. For readers looking to understand recent transitions in smallholder farming, the book reflects on how drivers such as population growth, market integration, livelihood diversification, and national and global policies are affecting smallholder farmers.