Situating tenure, capital and finance in farmland relations: implications for stewardship and agroecological health in Ontario, Canada

Rotz, Sarah; Fraser, Evan D. G.

doi:10.1080/03066150.2017.1351953

Cited by 28 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Investigation of these access mechanisms, often codified in the informal and formal rules associated with land tenure, help explain who is able to make land use decisions and why DFS farmers are often marginalized in this process (Sikor and Lund, 2009). This research suggests that if the agency of agricultural decision making is found in the socio-legal structures that shape tenure, the role of property ownership and land governance is a "lock-in" that inhibits many food movement aspirations and is thus a target for change (Rotz et al, 2019;Lang, 2020). The constraining role of land access is a chief concern of global peasant groups like Via Campesina, who prioritize land reforms in the name of their agroecological objectives (Desmarais, 2002).…”

Section: The Role Of Land Tenure On Agrarian Change Farmer Decision mentioning

confidence: 95%

“Who Has the Power to Adapt?” Frameworks for Resilient Agriculture Must Contend With the Power Dynamics of Land Tenure

Calo

2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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This special issue aims to develop how Diversified Farming Systems (DFS) may contribute to adaptive capacity in order to confer resilience to agricultural systems. In this perspective article, I argue that a framework for DFS and adaptive capacity must adequately contend with the role of farmland tenure on the shape of food systems to be both internally coherent and socially redistributive. Yet, both DFS and adaptive capacity scholarship deemphasize or mischaracterize the role of farmland tenure in favor of ecosystem dynamics. In this paper, I bring together lessons from the agrarian change literature and established critiques of resilience thinking to demonstrate core problems with a framework aimed at linking DFS to adaptive capacity without adequately addressing the role of farmland tenure. Namely, applying resilience thinking as a framework to understand food systems change prioritizes concern over final “states” or processes of farming systems and may ignore who has the power to adapt or who derives benefits from adaptation. The critiques of resilience thinking inform that the result of this apolitical elision is (1) entrenchment of neoliberal logics that place responsibility to cultivate adaptation on individual farmers and (2) provisioning of legitimacy for land tenure systems that can most readily adopt DFS, without understanding how well these systems distribute public benefits. Resilience reformers call for ways to include more power aware analysis when applying resilience thinking to complex socio-technical systems. I suggest that centering the role of land tenure into the frameworks of DFS and adaptive capacity provides a lens to observe the power relations that mediate any benefits of agricultural diversification. Integrating analysis of the social and legal structures of the food system into the DFS for adaptive capacity formulation is a crucial step to transforming resilience thinking from an apolitical tool to transformative and power-aware applied science.

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Section: The Role Of Land Tenure On Agrarian Change Farmer Decision mentioning

confidence: 95%

“Who Has the Power to Adapt?” Frameworks for Resilient Agriculture Must Contend With the Power Dynamics of Land Tenure

Calo

2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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“…Although concerns have been raised that non-Indigenous farmers leasing land are not considerate of its long-term sustainability (Friesen 2009;Lagimodiere 2009), one long-term land manager indicated that the lessee farmers he works with have a sense of accountability to the band to sustainably manage farm land for long-term cultivation; the farmers "treat it as their own" (Table 1; c). It is unclear whether the majority of farmers that lease First Nations land share this view, or if this is a unique situation; though the limited studies on the effects of leasing on soil quality even in non-Indigenous lands suggest that leased lands are not managed with the same degree of care for long-term sustainability (Fraser 2004;Rotz et al 2019).…”

Section: Emergent Themesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Academic scholarship on contemporary Canadian Indigenous agriculture is scarce (Natcher and Allen 2017;Sommerville 2020) and information on agricultural land tenure and First Nations is not captured by census data (Rotz et al 2019). Newspaper reports (e.g., Pratt 2003Pratt , 2004Pratt , 2006Briere 2006) and grey literature (e.g., Champ et al 2010) are the sole primary sources of information cited in the few academic publications that address contemporary Indigenous agriculture in the Prairies (Magnan 2012;Natcher and Allen 2017;Sommerville 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Newspaper reports (e.g., Pratt 2003Pratt , 2004Pratt , 2006Briere 2006) and grey literature (e.g., Champ et al 2010) are the sole primary sources of information cited in the few academic publications that address contemporary Indigenous agriculture in the Prairies (Magnan 2012;Natcher and Allen 2017;Sommerville 2020). First Nations have expressed concerns that non-Indigenous leasing has degraded soil quality (Friesen 2009;Lagimodiere 2009), but no studies have examined the effects of leasing on the health of agricultural lands on First Nations-in spite of studies elsewhere in Canada indicating poorer soil quality on leased compared with owned land due to lower implementation of soil conservation practices (Fraser 2004;Rotz et al 2019). Indigenous people involved in agricultural leasing at the band level have expressed concern that racial tensions exacerbate mistreatment of leased land (Sommerville 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sowing a way towards revitalizing Indigenous agriculture: creating meaning from a forum discussion in Saskatchewan, Canada

Bradford

Worme²,

Strickert

et al. 2020

FACETS

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Agriculture is practiced on 3–4 million acres of First Nations reserve lands in the Saskatchewan Prairies—predominantly by non-Indigenous farmers. A confluence of factors including an increase in agricultural land holdings on reserve and greater autonomy in land management have renewed conversations on how First Nations can realize the full economic benefits and exert greater control over agricultural activities that affect the reserve land base. We hosted a Forum on Indigenous Agriculture to share current knowledge on the contemporary status of Indigenous agriculture and to co-formulate research, capacity building, and policy priorities. First Nations’ roles in agriculture are diverse and were categorized in three broad contexts: as farmers, relying on traditional Indigenous or western practice, or a synergy of both; as landlords negotiating lease agreements; and as agribusiness entrepreneurs. Five themes emerged from the forum: centring Indigenous knowledge and traditional relationships to the land, capacity building, building respectful partnerships and relationships, financing farming and equitable economies, and translating research to policy and legislation. The forum provided foundational data to inform research and capacity building to meet community-defined goals in agriculture on reserve lands and by First Nations people.

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“…Notably, Iroquois Valley has developed financing strategies that reflect the delayed cash flow and return on investment inherent in transitioning to organic and long-lived perennial crops. As the interest in impact investing grows, MA could help counter the trend of worse environmental outcomes on leased land compared to owner-operated land [43].…”

Section: Land Access and Tenure In Mamentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Party Agroforestry: Emergent Approaches to Trees and Tenure on Farms in the Midwest USA

Keeley

Wolz²,

Adams³

et al. 2019

Sustainability

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Agroforestry represents a solution to land degradation by agriculture, but social barriers to wider application of agroforestry persist. More than half of all cropland in the USA is leased rather than owner-operated, and the short terms of most leases preclude agroforestry. Given insufficient research on tenure models appropriate for agroforestry in the USA, the primary objective of this study was to identify examples of farmers practicing agroforestry on land they do not own. We conducted interviews with these farmers, and, in several cases, with landowners, in order to document their tenure arrangements. In some cases, additional parties also played a role, such as farmland investors, a farmer operating an integrated enterprise, and non-profit organizations or public agencies. Our findings include eleven case studies involving diverse entities and forms of cooperation in multi-party agroforestry (MA). MA generally emerged from shared objectives and intensive planning. MA appears to be adaptable to private, investor, institutional, and public landowners, as well as beginning farmers and others seeking land access without ownership. We identify limitations and strategies for further research and development of MA.

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Situating tenure, capital and finance in farmland relations: implications for stewardship and agroecological health in Ontario, Canada

Cited by 28 publications

References 54 publications

“Who Has the Power to Adapt?” Frameworks for Resilient Agriculture Must Contend With the Power Dynamics of Land Tenure

“Who Has the Power to Adapt?” Frameworks for Resilient Agriculture Must Contend With the Power Dynamics of Land Tenure

Sowing a way towards revitalizing Indigenous agriculture: creating meaning from a forum discussion in Saskatchewan, Canada

Multi-Party Agroforestry: Emergent Approaches to Trees and Tenure on Farms in the Midwest USA

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