EXCERCISES

8 Answer the questions.

1. What are the factors of production?
2. What are some examples of capital as a factor of production?
3. What is the task of the entrepreneur?
4. How can a record of the factors of production be kept?
5. Why is the business plan particularly important in a farm?
6. What are the basic elements of a business plan?
7. What are the advantages of market strategies?
8. What does a good marketing strategy include?
9. What elements does the product price affect?
10. What does a promotional strategy deal with?

9 Read the text and fill in the blanks with the words given below.
activities • advocacy • agriculture • areas • development • families • food • land • markets • natural • population • smallholder • solve • support • sustainable

Smallholders and Family Farming

About 90 percent of the world’s 570 million farms are owned and operated by 1. ............................................ Most are small and are found in the rural 2. ........................................... of the developing world. Many of these 3. ........................................... family farmers are poor and have limited access to 4. ........................................... and services. Their choices are constrained, but they farm their own 5. ........................................... and produce food for a substantial proportion of the world’s 6. ............................................ Besides farming, they take on multiple (often informal) economic 7. ........................................... to contribute towards their small incomes.
Today, there is a need for a 8. ........................................... agriculture in order to tackle the triple challenge of producing more 9. ..........................................., creating more jobs, and preserving the 10. ........................................... resource base: small family farmers lie at the heart of the solution. FAO 11. ........................................... small family farmers overcome the many constraints they face and 12. ........................................... today’s challenges. FAO helps agricultural and rural 13. ........................................... policy thinking through analysis and advocacy. Analysis provides evidence on the strengths and weaknesses of small farms, and 14. ........................................... supports policies that address crucial long-term growth challenges in 15. ........................................... but also in the wider economy.
Adapted from: http://www.fao.org/family-farming/themes/smallfamily- farmers

10 Listen to a recording about agricultural marketing and complete the sentences.
1. Centuries ago people used to eat what was ...........................
2. With the modern agricultural revolution, a great variety of food was available from ................................................
3. Food surpluses were the result of improvements in
..........................................................................................................................................
4. It was possible to obtain food from ..............................................
5. Today, farmers must compete in .....................................................
6. The agricultural marketing programme takes into
consideration many .....................................................................................
7. The first element to consider is that the agricultural
products are ........................................................................................................
8. Prices are changeable because they depend on
..........................................................................................................................................
9. Every agribusiness has to use .............................................................
10. There are three effective marketing actions:
analyse complex ......................................................................., identify changes ............................................................. , develop persuasive ............................................................ in order to increase demand.


GLOSSARY

assets : patrimonio, attivo
balance sheet : bilancio
entrepreneurship : imprenditorialità
liabilities : debiti, passivo
to take risks : assumersi rischi