In a study recently published in the journal Sustainability, Italian researcher Lorena Giglio and her European co-authors analyze the economic sustainability of 56 pig farms in Europe, comparing intensive and extensive systems.
The aim is to assess the farms’ ability to withstand shocks and adapt in a context marked by market volatility and increasing environmental and societal requirements. The results highlight contrasting logics despite comparable levels of resilience. They demonstrate that economic resilience is not built with a single recipe, but through strategies adapted to each system’s specific realities. Extensive farms, despite lower productivity, can be profitable thanks to differentiation strategies (local breeds, certifications). Furthermore, their lower infrastructure needs facilitate innovation. Intensive farms show greater flexibility in relationships with suppliers and higher collective organization, giving them greater negotiation power.
To build their study, researchers defined the economic resilience of farms through three dimensions: resilience of resources (modern buildings, investment capacity, human capital), entrepreneurship (negotiation power, horizontal cooperation among breeders, etc.), and propensity for extensification (willingness or capacity to steer farming towards less intensive practices).
Lisa Le Clerc, lisa.leclerc@ifip.asso.fr
Source:
Economic Resilience in Intensive and Extensive Pig Farming Systems. Giglio, L.; Rousing, T.; Čodyga, D.; Reyes-Palomo, C.; Sanz-Fernandez, S.; Soffiantini, C.S.; Ferrari, P. Sustainability 2025, 17, 7026.
Adapting and managing risks to resist
The study highlights a result that offers an interesting parallel with the French pig industry: the economic resilience of farms does not only depend on the level of intensification, but especially on their ability to adapt and manage risks. In France, where pig farming is mainly based on conventional systems and solidly organized cooperatives, this structuring is an asset for stability. Conversely, extensive models – organic, free-range, PDO – remain very minority but can offer interesting valorization paths, especially in niche markets. In an environment subject to high volatility and increasing requirements, strengthening risk management tools and facilitating investment will sustainably support our systems.
