Résumé
At the global level, family farming is the primary source of employment and the main supplier of food products (Chaps. 3 and 8). It is also, paradoxically, the sector which harbors the largest number of poor people, mainly due to its central place in the economies of many developing countries (IFAD 2011). There are many reasons for this paradox and they must be sought in the heterogeneity of agricultural performance. This heterogeneity results from radical differences between technical systems (Chap. 6) and the economic and institutional environments that result from power relationships built over time within each country’s particular context. These varied histories have led to very different statuses and room for maneuver for family farming systems at the economic, social and political levels.