Structural Changes In Agriculture Research Articles

Explaining land management decisions to understand local landscape functions and change. Some insights from Tuscany

Structural changes in agriculture and urbanisation affect land management regimes and local landscape functions. Studying the new functions of land is as relevant as the owners' land management decisions, the replacement of farming with different activities and land uses may impact not only the local landscape's functions but also, in the long run, its structure and the environment. Drawing on a detailed case study in Tuscany based on qualitative interviews with landowners and on the understanding of the socio-economic context, this article analyses landowners' attitudes towards land property and farming in relation to individual motives as well as to local and supra-local contexts. Five relational typologies of landowners are identified: pure farmers, amenity farmers, land developers, land-with-house owners and house-with-land owners. Diverse trends – such as particular farmers’ attitudes towards land development, or the emerging role of non-professional farmers in land management – are found to raise challenges related to rural land planning and management.

Analyse der Motive österreichischer Kleinwaldeigentümer als Schlüssel für die Holzmobilisierung

Analysis of Austrian small forest owners′ motivation as a key to wood mobilisation The largest potential to mobilise unused wood reserves in Austria is from small private forest owners (holdings under 200 ha). Small forest owners who participate in wood markets have shown high supply elasticity with respect to the sawlog price. Due to the ongoing structural change in agriculture the share of owners whose forest management is economically motivated is expected to fall. However, many of the small forest owners are very concerned to look after their forest well, although the understanding of what constitutes a clean and healthy forest can differ widely. Their objectives and motives were investigated by qualitative social research methods. Among respondents that did not have any forest related education or background the phenomenon known as “forest gardening” was observed. These people looked at and managed their forest with objectives and motives usually associated with private gardens. Overall, five different action patterns related to forest management were distinguished. Understanding the goals and motivation of small forest owners gives insight into the potential effectiveness of different wood mobilisation measures. Especially among inexperienced small forest owners, the offer of information, motivation and service is welcome. “Dialogue marketing” is an appropriate communication tool. New information channels, such as Facebook, should be used more to motivate small forest owners to manage their forests sustainably and produce more wood.

Characteristics of Recent Structural Changes in Agriculture and Developmental Direction of Agriculture

Characteristics of Recent Structural Changes in Agriculture and Developmental Direction of Agriculture

Structural Changes in Agriculture of Ukraine: Results and Perspectives

The paper examines structural changes in the Ukrainian agriculture during the reform period. The tendencies in the agricultural sector and directions of its transformations are considered. It has been concluded that the multifunctional model of agriculture should be implemented in Ukraine, because it can create good opportunities for an increase in the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, a solution of socio-economic issues of the rural areas and a provision of an integrated development of rural areas in the long-term perspective.

Structural Change of European Dairy Farms – A Cross‐Regional Analysis

AbstractPrevious analyses of dairy farm structural change focus on the variation over time in one or a small number of regions. We present an EU‐15 cross‐regional analysis of the development of dairy farm numbers in different size classes over the period 1995–2005. Our purpose is to measure the explanatory relevance and effect of key factors suggested in the theoretical and empirical literature on structural change. Apart from the unprecedented scope, the underlying Markov chain analysis also contributes by combining observed transitions in micro (farm level) data with macro (sector level) data on farm numbers. Results show widely significant impacts of most considered explanatory variables, but also reflect and illuminate the complexity of the underlying processes.

Scenarios of long-term farm structural change for application in climate change impact assessment

Towards 2050, climate change is one of the possible drivers that will change the farming landscape, but market, policy and technological development may be at least equally important. In the last decade, many studies assessed impacts of climate change and specific adaptation strategies. However, adaptation to climate change must be considered in the context of other driving forces that will cause farms of the future to look differently from today’s farms. In this paper we use a historical analysis of the influence of different drivers on farm structure, complemented with literature and stakeholder consultations, to assess future structural change of farms in a region under different plausible futures. As climate change is one of the drivers considered, this study thus puts climate change impact and adaptation into the context of other drivers. The province of Flevoland in the north of The Netherlands was used as case study, with arable farming as the main activity. To account for the heterogeneity of farms and to indicate possible directions of farm structural change, a farm typology was developed. Trends in past developments in farm types were analyzed with data from the Dutch agricultural census. The historical analysis allowed to detect the relative importance of driving forces that contributed to farm structural changes. Simultaneously, scenario assumptions about changes in these driving forces elaborated at global and European levels, were downscaled for Flevoland, to regional and farm type level in order to project impacts of drivers on farm structural change towards 2050. Input from stakeholders was also used to detail the downscaled scenarios and to derive historical and future relationships between drivers and farm structural change. These downscaled scenarios and future driver-farm structural change relationships were used to derive quantitative estimations of farm structural change at regional and farm type level in Flevoland. In addition, stakeholder input was used to also derive images of future farms in Flevoland. The estimated farm structural changes differed substantially between the two scenarios. Our estimations of farm structural change provide a proper context for assessing impacts of and adaptation to climate change in 2050 at crop and farm level.

Gümrük Birliği’nin Türkiye-AB Tarım Ürünleri Dış Ticareti Üzerine Etkileri / The Effect of Customs Union on the Foreign Trade of Agricultural Products between Turkey and European Union

OZET : Bu calismanin amaci, Gumruk Birligi’nin Turkiye-AB tarim urunleri dis ticareti uzerine olasi etkilerini analiz etmektir. Bu amacla, 1982-2011 yillari arasi zaman serisi verileri kullanilarak regresyon analizi yapilmistir. Arastirma bulgularina gore, 1982 yilina gore AB’ye yapilan tarim urunleri ihracati 8,8 kat, AB’den yapilan tarim urunleri ithalati ise 36,6 kat artmistir. Gumruk Birligi’nin Turkiye ile AB arasindaki tarim urunleri dis ticaretine olumsuz yonde etkiledigi tespit edilmistir. Gumruk Birligi, AB’ye yapilan tarim urunleri ihracatinda yapisal bir degisime neden olurken, tarim urunleri ithalatinda yapisal bir degisime neden olmamistir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Gumruk Birligi, Tarimsal Ticaret, Avrupa Birligi, Turkiye. The Effect of Customs Union on the Foreign Trade of Agricultural Products between Turkey and European Union ABSTRACT : The objective of this study is to make an analysis on the possible effects of Customs Union on the trade of agricultural products between Turkey and European Union. For this purpose, regression analysis was conducted using time series data between 1982 and 2011. According to the study, export of agricultural products from Turkey to European Union increase 8.8 fold while the import of these products increase 36.6 folds during 1982-2011 period. It has been concluded that the Customs Union had a negative effect for Turkey on the trade of agricultural products between Turkey and European Union. The export of agricultural products has caused a structural change in Agriculture in Turkey while the import of these products had no effect on the structure of agriculture in the Country. Key words: Customs Union, Agricultural Trade, European Union, Turkey

Introduction

Structural change in agriculture can be understood in a broad sense as adjustments of economic entities in the agricultural sector in response to various driving forces. Depending on the perspective and the aggregation level of the analysis, these entities are single farms, value chains, markets or institutions. Decisions that affect structural change are, for example, market entries and exits of farms, growth and shrinkage, change of the production structure, the adoption of new key technologies or the implementation of policies aiming at internalising environmental externalities. These decisions have an impact not only on business goals, such as profitability and competitiveness, but also on public goals, such as employment, sustainability and food security. Structural change is a fundamental phenomenon that accompanies the development of market-based economies. Since the industrial revolution, structural change has been driven by shifts of supply and demand, which has led to a permanent shrinkage of the agricultural sector within growing economies. This process is characterised by high productivity gains and a relatively slow increase of demand for food, resulting in price pressure in mature markets as well as migration of the workforce away from agricultural production. This stylised picture of structural change in agriculture is well known and widely documented; however, it can no longer capture the complexity of structural adjustment processes that have recently taken place in developed economies. Today, structural change is characterised by an array of economic, political and institutional changes, which are interrelated in a complex manner.

Глобальные тенденции и приоритетные направления развития сельского хозяйства в начала XXI века

This paper pays attention to global issues related to the growth of population and food production: reduced growth rate of agricultural production, reduction of resource potential of agriculture and others. Critical factors and trends of structural changes in agriculture are identified. Results of comparative analysis of the development of farms in European countries and Russia are presented. Studies have shown that at the end of the last century there have been the following trends in the global agriculture: there has been a trend of farm consolidation in size, new controls and control of production are were introduced as well as more stringent quality standards of ecology were launched, which, in turn, require introduction of new technics and technologies; the processes of plants and animals development become more controllable and manageable. Conseptual foresights of pricing in the food market are given. Priority areas of agricultural policy aimed at creating conditions for sustainable rural development and accelerated growth in agricultural production by improving its competitiveness are identified.

Differences in emission of nitrogen and phosphorus into the Vistula and Oder basins in 1995–2008 — Natural and anthropogenic causes (MONERIS model)

The aim of the modeling studies (MONERIS) was to estimate annual source apportioned nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) emissions into the Vistula and Oder basins in 1995–2008, thus, during the transition period in Poland, characterized by changes in both agricultural sector and handling of point source pollution. N and P emissions into both basins showed declining tendencies. Between the sub-periods 1995–2002 and 2003–2008, the overall N emission into the Vistula and Oder basins decreased by 16–17% (i.e. by ca. 26,900 tons in the Vistula and by ca. 18,000 tons in the Oder basin); P emission declined by 23% in the Vistula and by 32% in the Oder basins (i.e. by ca. 3400 tons in the Vistula and by ca. 2200 tons in the Oder basin). The temporal patterns of N and P emission into the Vistula and Oder basins, as well as the percentage contribution of N and P pathways (particularly: overland flow, tile drainage, groundwater, waste water treatment plants) showed great differences between the basins. Natural (type of bedrock, soil type, lake area) and anthropogenic (regionally and temporarily different type and intensity of agricultural activity, spatially different structural changes in agriculture during the transition period, regionally and temporarily different investment in waste water treatment plans) factors were found to be responsible for the differences, and the relationships are extensively discussed in the paper. In 1995–2008, 70% of N emission into both river basins was via groundwater and tile drainage, with the former playing more important role in the Vistula basin, and the latter playing more important role in the Oder basin; contribution of N emission from point sources was comparable in both rivers and it reached 11–12%. In 1995–2008, point sources, erosion, overland flow, and urban systems were found the most important P pathways in both basins, with a higher percentage contribution of point sources in the Oder basin.

South African agricultural R&D: Policies and public institutions, 1880–2007

In South Africa, government engagement in agricultural R&D and associated technical support services dates back to at least the 1880s. Over the subsequent century and more, the growth in public support for agricultural R&D, extension and technical services has waxed and waned and the policies and public institutions directed at them have changed markedly. In the early 20th century the focus was on tapping technologies and expertise from other countries. Subsequent changes in agricultural R&D mirrored broader agricultural and economy-wide policy thrusts. The period through to the Second World War saw an expansion of the area farmed, mostly involving white farmers. During the decades immediately following the war, public R&D mainly supported intensification and promoted technological change by large commercial operators. The early 1980s heralded large structural changes in agriculture and the economy generally and policies were enacted to redistribute land to black farmers, with associated shifts in the focus of public research and extension services. The emphasis given to regional versus more centralised cum national research and extension agencies has changed dramatically as well over the decades. As food security and associated agricultural productivity concerns resurface, the R&D policies and institutions supporting agriculture are likely to be revisited, hopefully with an eye to the long-run nature and ramifications for agricultural R&D.

Consumer trust in animal farming practices – exploring the high trust of Finnish consumers

AbstractTrust in animal farming is a complex phenomenon and it is expressed in heterogeneous ways in different cultural contexts. Nordic countries are typically known as high‐trust societies in terms of food issues. Based on group interviews among Finnish consumers, this paper explores how citizen–consumers express trust and distrust regarding animal farming practices and whether it is possible to identify different forms of trust among different consumer groups. The foundations of emotional trust in animal farming have been weakening due to urbanization and the structural change in agriculture. Ordinary shoppers responded to this situation by transferring responsibility for farm animal welfare to public authorities, relying on habitual policy‐generated trust in animal farming. In contrast, gastronomes and organic consumers actively cultivated their emotional trust in livestock production by creating new kinds of contacts to farming. Gastronomes, organic consumers and vegetarians especially acknowledged the complexity of the claims made in farm animal welfare politics. As trust in food has arguably become a subject of active negotiation in Finland, the foundations for the habit‐based policy‐generated trust may be partly weakening, creating more space for the politicizing of food issues and the developing of alternative sources for regaining trust in food production.

Structural Changes in Agriculture in the Pomurje Region After 1991

The Pomurje region is the most agricultural and the least developed region in Slovenia. Since 1991, the year when Slovenia gained its independence, the country transformed from the socialist system to the free market capitalism and was forced to restructure the agricultural policy. The decrease and the aging of the population, the abandon of the agriculture production and the decay of cultural landscape turned out to be serious problems. In Pomurje, agriculture was faced with unfavourable age structure of farmers in family farms. The Slovene agricultural policy was aware of this problem and took a number of measures to encourage the aging farmers to retire and the young generation to take over. Alongside this process began the process of merging land in the Pomurje rural areas. In the last 10 years, the agriculture in Pomurje underwent the improvement of agricultural technology, the specialization of productions and the enlargement of farms.

DIVERSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLDS’ INCOMES AT THE ŠKOFJELOŠKA’S HILLY AND MOUNTAINOUS AREAS

This paper analyses structural changes in agriculture in the Skofja Loka’s region in Slovenia based on the empirical analysis of the income diversification in the sample of agricultural households (AHs) in 2001 and 2006. The focus of the analysis is on the entire sample of AHs, by socio-economic types of AHs and by the areas with different levels of economic development and by different stages of less favoured areas for agricultural production. The numbers of households, which are professionally engaged in the farming activities, has dropped. In turn, the number of AHs, which are abandoning the farming activities, has risen. The structural changes in agriculture and AHs differ between the differently defined areas. The household’s income derived from agriculture is insufficient to sustain and to survive for most of the AHs, making the household’s income diversification inevitable. The development strategies of the AHs are unclear. The AHs are abandoning the farming due to uneconomical production and better employment opportunities in non-agricultural activities.

Functional and Structural Changes of Agricultural Landscapes: How Changes are Conceived by Local Farmers in Two Danish Rural Communities

The subject of this paper is the views of farmers concerning their local landscape. In two contrasting Danish case study areas previously analysed in the 1990s, a small number of farmers have been interviewed regarding their views of the landscape and recent changes in their respective area including landscape changes. One of the areas (Hvorslev) is characterized by good conditions for agriculture, intensive husbandry production and a relatively stable landscape history. The other (Nees) has more marginal conditions and major changes in land use characterize the recent landscape history. We analyze the way in which the landscape is perceived by farmers and compare their views of the changing landscapes with the actual recorded changes on the one hand, and with other significant changes on the other. Farmers in both areas emphasized the same type of structural changes in agriculture and in the villages as significant, whereas only farmers in Nees indicated that the landscape had changed. When asked to characterize the landscape, farmers in Nees replied with a greater degree of detail and were more locally focused compared to farmers in Hvorslev who mainly referred to (well known) sites located a few kilometres outside the area in question. Long-term experiences with landscape changes and collective actions concerning landscape issues are suggested as the main reasons that farmers in Nees share a well developed awareness of their local landscape. We conclude by discussing some implications of this study for landscape research and policy.

Agricultural Households in Mountain Areas in Pre- and Post-accession Slovenia

This paper analyses structural changes in agriculture and agricultural households in the mountainous areas of the Gorenjska region in Slovenia. The focus is on agricultural multifunctional roles, agricultural and agricultural households’ structural changes pre- and post-accession of Slovenia to the European Union (EU) on the basis of datasets obtained by two in-depth surveys from 2001 and 2007. The analyses confirm adjustments of farm households to the use of subsidies and new regulations, and diversification of agricultural households’ incomes. Short-term and long-term strategies of farm households vary depending on farms’ natural factor endowments for agriculture, farm size and structures of farm households, availability of agricultural land and their rental values, diversification of incomes with self-employment and employment outside the farm household.

Individual farm exit decisions in Croatian family farms

Successful structural change in agriculture depends on several preconditions, some of which are only indirectly linked to the farming sector. The rural non-farm economy is known as one important driver of structural change because it offers alternative employment. However, little is known about the factors that influence farm exit decisions. Based on a recent household survey of Croatian family farms, we analyse individual employment decisions of farm household members by taking a prospective look at developments to come in the medium term. We find that mixed activities and part-time farming will be at the core of expected future developments. A cumulative logit regression model is employed, showing that steps toward individual farm exit are least likely for elderly people and for those in households that are particularly successful in farming. Individual exit is more likely for better-off households. Generally, we find that there is a clear trend toward non-farm employment for individuals, but there are hardly any indications that this leads to final abandonment of the farm.

The Socio-Technical Aspects of Water Management: Emerging Trends at Grass Roots Level in Uzbekistan

In Soviet times, water management was presented generally as a technical issue to be taken care of by the state water bureaucracy. Due to structural changes in agriculture in the two decades post-independence, irrigation water management has become an explicitly political and social issue in Central Asia. With the state still heavily present in the regulation of agricultural production, the situation in Uzbekistan differs from other post-communist states. Water management strategies are still strongly ‘Soviet’ in approach, regarded by state actors as purely ‘technical’, because other dimensions – economic, social and political – are ‘fixed’ through strong state regulation. However, new mechanisms are appearing in this authoritarian and technocratic framework. The application of a framework for socio-technical analysis in some selected Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) in northwest Uzbekistan’s Khorezm region shows that the WUAs are becoming arenas of interaction for different interest groups involved in water management. The socio-technical analysis of Khorezm’s water management highlights growing social differences at grass root level in the study of WUAs. The process of social differentiation is in its early phases, but is still able to express itself fully due to the strict state control of agriculture and social life in general.

Analysis of Changes in Agricultural Structure and Employment Shift of Farmers in Rural China

Analysis of Changes in Agricultural Structure and Employment Shift of Farmers in Rural China

Changes in the age of New Zealand farmers: Problems for the future?

AbstractEarlier research shows that between 1971 and 1981, the number of farmers in New Zealand increased and their average age decreased, whereas between 1981 and 1991, the opposite trend occurred. This article addresses the issue of change in the average age of farmers since 1991 using recent census data. It reviews the difficulties in obtaining good data and describes the adjustments need to be made to obtain a consistent data series from 1971 to 2006. The long‐term trend for increasing age of farmers and farm workers continues. This demographic aspect of farm structural change is then discussed in terms of the sustainability of farming by reference to productivity and potential problems with succession.