Includes bibliographical references. Assessing smallholder farming: Diagnostic analysis of family-based agricultural systems in a small region. (2012). Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines: SEARCA.

The Handbook : A Learning/Training Tool -- Introduction -- Why study family farming? -- A renewal of development work -- Our approach: a diagnostic analysis of farming systems -- The complexity of farming -- Farming, a changing reality -- The reasons for a diagnostic study -- A system analysis -- An approach based on observation and dialogue -- Whatever happens, always be sure to introduce yourself -- Starting the Study by Observing the Landscape: Getting to know the biophysical environment and the diversity of agricultural uses -- How to proceed? -- From the more general to the more specific -- Describing observations -- What needs to be observed? -- Links between the morphology of the landscape and the location of the various cultivated and "natural" areas within the landscape -- Human settlements and infrastructures -- What to aim for: defining agro-ecological zones -- New questions arising from these observations -- Studying How Farming Has Changed in Order to Understand Current Farm Diversity -- The concept of an agrarian system -- How to find out about changes? -- Sources of information -- Open interviews -- The awaited results -- Describing and Understanding Cropping Practices: studying cropping systems -- How to identify cropping systems? -- How to characterize cropping systems? -- Soil characteristics and the local climate under which the cropping systems is practiced -- The species and varieties planted -- Multiple cropping -- Crop sequence and crop layout -- Cropping practice sequences -- Organization and division of labour -- What products and by-products are obtained from the crops? -- How to assess the technical results of a cropping system -- Estimating the quantities produced -- Yields -- How is the land's fertility maintained? -- How to assign a value to cropping systems' economic output? -- Gross output -- Intermediate inputs -- Calcultating gross value-added -- "Gross value-added per land unit" or "land productivity" -- "Gross value-added per unit of labour" or "labour productivity" - Gross remuneration of family labour -- The maximum area of one cropping system -- How to carry out the interviews? -- Who to interview? -- How to proceed? -- How many interviews are necessary to characterise one system? -- Describing and Understanding Livestock Rearing Practices: studying livestock rearing systems -- How to identify livestock rearing systems? -- How to characterise livestock rearing systems -- Technical characterisation -- Breeding practices and numerical productivity -- The herd's breeds and breeding practices -- Estimating the herd's reproductive results -- What happens to the products? Practices and relevant parameters -- Enquiring about what the farmers do with the young, understanding these practices and describing them with the relevant parameters -- Enquiring about what the farmers do with any other products, understanding these practices, and describing them with the relevant parameters -- Food and water for the herd -- Healthcare practices -- Modeling the livestock rearing system: the relationships between the different calendars -- Estimating the economic results of the livestock rearing systems -- The gross output -- The intermediate inputs -- The indicators of the economic results -- Analysing the Farming Systems -- The Farming system concept -- Identifying the various farming systems -- Characterising the different farming systems -- Describing the production factors of production -- Describing and understanding interactions between sub-systems -- Measuring the economic efficiency of farming systems -- Calculating a farm's gross value-added -- Net value-added and economic depreciation -- Farm income -- Comparing the farming systems: back to the regional level -- How many interviews? -- How to determine the number of farms in each farming system? -- Conclusion