The contemporary regional development of agriculture is commonly interpreted as a variable spatial response to exogenous pressures exerted by the globalisation of the farm sector. However, farm families and networks of institutions in interaction have the capacity to generate endogenous processes in regional agricultural development. This interpretation is explored in the context of farm diversification (alternative farm enterprises – AFE) in five lagging regions of the European Union – West of Ireland, Highlands of Scotland, northern Pennines of England, Massif Central of France, and West‐Central Greece. The varying regional development of farm diversification is explored through an analysis of ‘paths of farm business development’, ‘institutional thickness’ and the relationship between farm families and networked institutions. The analysis identifies a selective failure of ‘functional connectivity’ between farm families involved in endogenous agricultural development and regional institutional networks for rural development.
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Ian Bowler (1999) studied this question.
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