Diversified agricultural and horticultural enterprises

According to Farm Structure Survey approximately 13,783 of Finnish agricultural and horticultural enterprises were engaged in other business operations in addition to agriculture and horticulture in 2023. According to the data of the Natural Resources Institute Finland it was about 33 per cent of the enterprises. The number of farms engaged in other business activities has decreased by roughly 760 farms since 2020.

The number of diversified farms has been the highest in urban areas, areas close to urban areas and thinly populated areas. Other business activities in addition to agriculture and horticulture were the most common in the ELY Centre regions of South Savo and Lapland. Most commonly, farms whose main production line was mixed production, were engaged in other business activities.

Other business activities employed approximately 17,600 people.. Other business operations employ nearly 4,700 hired employees. The turnover of other business activities usually accounted for 10 - 50 per cent of a farm’s total turnover.

Agricultural contractual work was the most common form of other business activities, with roughly 6,700 farms engaged in agriculture machine contracting.

This indicator represents how the number of diversified farms has developed. This indicator can be used to assess the impact of actions taken under the Rural Development Programme on the development of business operations outside the field of agriculture carried out by farms and to examine the strategies selected by farms.

The indicator data is obtained from Luke's Farm Structure Survey.

This is one of the national impact indicators of the 2014–2020 Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland.