Modes and Forms of Knowledge of Farming Entrepreneurship: An Ethnographic Analysis among Small Farmers in NW Italy

Abstract

This article investigates the modes and forms of knowledge underpinning farming entrepreneurship through an ethnographic case study of Alessandria province in NW Italy. It shows that farming entrepreneurs base their decisions on explicit and implicit knowledge encompassing forms of knowledge linked to the environment where they live, their trade, the characteristics of their firms, issues concerning their family and private life, and even the emotions linked with their surroundings. All these forms of knowledge inform their vision of their future and guide them in their choices in terms of investments and crop selection. Accordingly, the article argues that farming entrepreneurship is embedded in the locale.