A small farm or property in Latin America, especially one that is too small to support a single family.
‘Small landowners, with their small plots of land called minifundia, are gradually being forced out.’
‘There are many examples throughout Europe, including crofting in northern Scotland, the tanya system in central Hungary, coltura pro-miscua in Italy and minifundia in central and northern Portugal.’
‘In connection with this, one has to face the challenge of the special problems of the minifundia in order to improve the living conditions for the small farmers.’
‘The landscape around Vigo is very picturesque, with pine and eucalyptus covered hills and lush green valleys with typical minifundia where the campesinos produce the traditional Galician wines.’
‘Restrictions on property rights were so abundant and legal frameworks so dodgy that a few years later Bolivia had to import food because its unproductive minifundia were useless.’
Origin
1950s modern Latin, or from Spanish minifundio ‘smallholding’.
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