Side Activities of Non-Farmers in Rural Areas in the Netherlands

In many rural areas, not only in The Netherlands but also elsewhere in Europe, has been observed a variety of employment opportunities for rural populations, following the decline in traditional agricultural employment. This contributes to the fact that the countryside is changing and rural areas can be viewed as new spaces of work. As a result, rural economy is no longer dominated by agricultural activities, but by activities such as small scale industrial production, service provision, landscape management, and residential use. To a certain extent these activities have the form of side-activities next to primary income sources. Most attention in both scientific literature and policies is focused on side-activities by farmers, such as agro-tourism and direct marketing. However, according to empirical data from The Netherlands, most side-activities are developed by non-farmers. In this paper the focus is on this last group. The amounts and types of non-farmers’ and farmers side-activities will be deployed, together with their motives to start new entrepreneurship endeavors and the impact on the local community. It will be argued that this type of activities will stimulate rural economic development offering new job opportunities for income generation to the rural inhabitants and create new economic spaces in rural geographical contexts transforming the rural economy

Motives for starting up a side activity in rural areas in the Netherlands

This paper explores the side activities of non-farmers in rural areas in the Netherlands and more specifically their start up motives. A side activity is a small-scale home-based activity, which provides a supplementary income to the household. Side activities may have the potential to diversify the economic base of rural areas and to contribute to the quality of life and the social well-being in rural communities. Yet, little is known about their role for the development of rural areas. Furthermore, to date, rural policies have largely neglected non-farmers’ side activities in their rural development strategies partly because of their small size and partly because of the lack of available data in business registers. This study, by exploring the side activity motives, brings to light the specific needs and aspirations of the owners and is based on the results of 260 interviews by side-activity owners. The results highlight that the owners are mainly oriented towards non-economic benefits corresponding to the individuals’ needs, dreams and desires, while financial betterment falls into a secondary place. People are in search of a different type of pay-off than economic rewards, namely the opportunity for a better quality lifestyle. This is relevant for policy makers because of the potential contribution of side activities to providing services, diversifying rural activities and adding to the resilience of rural communities

Side activities by non-farmers : in search of personal and rural development

Nevenactiviteiten van burgers (niet-boeren) zijn belangrijk voor het platteland. Ze hebben economische, sociale en ruimtelijke effecten op plattelandsgemeenschappen. Toch is er niet veel onderzoek naar gedaan, en is er ook in het plattelandsbeleid weinig aandacht voor; nevenactiviteiten van boeren krijgen veel meer aandacht. Toch is in deze studie vastgesteld dat de helft van alle nevenactiviteiten op het platteland in handen is van burgers. Daaruit volgt dat dit soort ondernemers een rol van betekenis kan spelen in plattelandsontwikkeling. Een nevenactiviteit zoals die hier bestudeerd is, is een activiteit die thuis uitgeoefend wordt, die voor een neveninkomen zorgt op het niveau van het huishouden, en die wordt uitgeoefend door niet-boeren. Nevenactiviteiten kunnen allerlei vormen hebben, zoals het aanbieden van goederen en diensten voor recreatie en toerisme, van zelf geproduceerde goederen en van ambachtelijke producten en kunst. Het onderzoek combineert kwalitatieve en kwantitatieve methoden, en is gebaseerd op gegevens over 260 activiteiten in 36 gemeenten in Nederland. Nevenactiviteiten blijken in de eerste plaats belangrijk op het persoonlijke niveau, ze dragen bij aan het welbevinden. De eigenaren streven naar meer kwaliteit van leven, persoonlijke ontwikkeling, en naar evenwicht tussen werk en privé. De aanleiding voor het beginnen van een nevenactiviteit zit vaak grote veranderingen in het persoonlijk leven. Ook speelt de plek een belangrijke rol. Economisch blijken de bestudeerde nevenactiviteiten niet erg belangrijk. Toch dragen ze bij aan de verbreding van de plattelandseconomie en aan de leefbaarheid. Het zijn vaak aanjagers van sociale vitaliteit en welbevinden. Side activities by non-farmers are an important part of rural life. They contribute to economic, social and spatial outcomes in the rural communities in which they are located. In spite of these outcomes, side activities have remained understudied in rural development and policy, mainly due to the focus on farmer’s activities. Counteracting that, this study found that about half of the ‘rural’ activities in the Netherlands are initiated by non-farmers, implying that these entrepreneurs can also play a role for the development of rural areas. Side activity is a home-based activity which provides a supplementary income at the household level and is carried out in rural households by non-farmers. They cover diverse activities related to: tourism/recreation, services/facilities, sale of home-grown products and crafts/arts. With a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods this study examined in total 260 side activities in 36 Dutch municipalities. At the personal level, side activities are found to play an important role for improving the quality of life and well-being of individuals. People are in search of a ‘qualitative growth’, seeking personal development, enrichment, a healthy balance between personal, family and work life via their side activities. Family, household, life transitions and rural location play an essential role for the start-up decision. Within a broader rural context, side activities mainly because are small and home-based activities have a small direct economic importance (e.g. income, employees). They provide, however, the much needed diversification of rural economic activities and revitalization for rural economies, acting as a catalyst for promoting and strengthening social vitality and enhancing social well-being within rural areas.

Side-activity entrepreneur:Lifestyle or economically oriented?

Rural areas are increasingly becoming places of consumption rather than merely places of agricultural production (Ilbery, 1998). Although agriculture is the hub of the rural economy, rural employment is no longer dominated only by agricultural activities. Instead, many other activities have sprung up, such as those related to the service sector, tourism/leisure, landscape management, water management, industry and manufacturing (Strijker, 2000; Van Depoele, 2000). Van Depoele (2000) argues that the word 'rural' is no longer synonymous with 'farming' and that non-agricultural employment is increasing in rural areas; that is, farmers are increasingly becoming part-time farmers. In addition, the decreasing number of farms has contributed to the replacement of agricultural activities by new economic activities (Daalhuizen et al., 2003; North and Smallbone, 1995; O'Connor et al., 2006). All are components of a larger economic change in rural areas away from agriculture and industrial production and toward a more service-intensive economy. According to Ilbery (1998), where agricultural employment in rural areas is in decline, new activities can be a substitute. In particular, tourism and environmental conservation are creating multiple development trajectories in rural areas (Murdoch and Marsden, 1994). Furthermore, the countryside can offer new avenues for activities, such as campsites, nature development/recreational sites in rural areas, bed and breakfasts, and service firms in old farmhouses. In this chapter, we focus on these new activities, especially side activities that provide extra income for the rural household.</p