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small farmer

small farmer

9 2.0
A person who owns or works on a small farm to grow food
  • noun
  • /smɔl ˈfɑrmər/
translation icon : pequeño agricultor
  • Many small farmers in the region struggle to compete with larger agribusinesses.
  • small farmers and agricultural laborers
  • small farmers and peasants
  • small farmers and workers

It protects big, you know, agricultural, industrial agricultural production and basically enables war against small farmers.

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Examples

  • The unit has set up well-organized programs to train small farmers.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Why should livestock figure so prominently in the strategy of small farmers?

    Academic text (1993)
  • It's hard times for small farmers like you and myself.

  • - As long as we can help the small farmers.

  • Financial support for small farmers' agencies has also been greatly reduced.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Some object that the huge new operations will squeeze small farmers.

    Academic text (1997)
  • In St. Lucia, he worked with small farmers in a remote area.

    Academic text (2011)
  • In this case, the national law is seen as unfairly placing greater restrictions on small farmers.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Shannon's father and grandfather were both small farmers whose hard work and dedication went into every crop.

    Blog text (28)
  • The land will specifically be legally transferred to the peasants and small farmers, who are beneficiaries of the Agrarian Reform law.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

farmer
vssmall farmer
898 1.0

A person who grows crops or raises animals on a farm

is narrower, limited to people with very small farms
peasant
vssmall farmer
157 3.5

A person who works on land for a living, usually on a small farm

is neutral about status and emphasizes ownership or management of small farms
grower
vssmall farmer
87 2.6

A person who raises plants or crops to sell

focuses on managing or owning a small farm rather than plant growing alone
tenant farmer
vssmall farmer
3 3.7

A farmer who rents land from a landowner instead of owning it

may be small but the main difference is ownership status
smallholder
vssmall farmer
  • UK
1 5.8

A person who farms a small piece of land, often with family help

focuses on managing a small farm with limited resources
crofter
vssmall farmer
  • UK
1 9.4

A person who works a very small farm often in Scotland or northern England

is similar but not regionally specific
cropper
vssmall farmer
1 7.5

A small farmer who grows and gathers food plants

focuses on owning or managing a small plot rather than just harvesting
culturist
vssmall farmer
6.0

A person who grows plants or crops on land

is specific to small-scale farm management rather than general cultivation
landman
vssmall farmer
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who lives and works on the land, like a farmer

is modern and specific to owning or managing a small farm rather than archaic term

How Big

agribusiness
14 5.8
farmer
898 1.0
small farmer
9 2.0
hobbyist
12 3.5

Surface Forms

small farmer singular
small farmers plural

Morphology

small + farmer

The meaning 'a person who owns or manages a small farm' is directly compositional from 'small' (limited in size) modifying 'farmer' (person who operates a farm), so the sense is predictable from the parts. This adjective + noun structure is a basic, cross-linguistically common pattern and therefore readily understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Small farmer comes from a simple picture of a person and their family working a few fields by hand. The word small shows the farm is little and farmer is the person who grows food, so the phrase means 'a person who owns or manages a small farm'.