The Uplands after neoliberalism? – The role of the small farm in rural sustainability

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThe modernist project foresaw no role for small farms, but this can no longer be regarded as axiomatic as neoliberalism enters what Peck et al. call its "zombie phase". This paper asks what contribution small farms in the uplands can make to societies' goals, what role they might play in the sustainability of rural communities in such regions, and how this contribution might be supported by state policies. In Scotland and in Norway these questions have recently been the subject of policy debates which appear to offer exceptions or alternatives to neoliberal universalism, and these are considered specifically in this paper. In each case support for small farms is seen as necessary to maintain 'lights in the windows' of remoter rural areas. Moreover, each highlights the vital role of the state in offering not only financial support but also in regulating land transfers and occupancy. It is argued that the dismantling of such regulatory powers depletes the state's ability to manage the tensions between continuity and change which are at the heart of sustainable rural development. The paper concludes that small farms can persist and can contribute to rural sustainability in ways that have been infrequently recognised under neoliberalism.

Landscapes of transhumance in Norway and Spain: Farmers' practices, perceptions, and value orientations

“…Park rules and regulations are seen as interfering with farming practices and priorities, and are associated with feelings that farming is considered as less important than highly valued 'wild nature' and that peripheral communities are of less importance than central communities. This centre-periphery or national-local dimension is also found in other studies where 'periphery' and the 'local' are related to powerless (Shucksmith & Rønningen 2011). Such opinions are more strongly present in Asturias than in Forollhogna.…”

“…Further, as a country that imports 50% of its agrarian-produced calories, upland and mountain pastures have been crucial for dairy and beef production due to the scarcity of arable land for fodder production in the lowlands while there are abundant natural grazing grounds in the mountains (Shucksmith & Rønningen 2011). In comparison, the highly productive regions of southern Spain make the country one of the main contributors of agrarian produce in the Mediterranean region (European Commission 2010).…”

A comparison of the means and ends of rural construction land consolidation: Case studies of villagers' attitudes and behaviours in Changchun City, Jilin province, China

“…However, the varied effects of the different means and ends of RCLC on rural residents and their responses are neglected by these studies, especially with regard to the differentiation of attitudes and behaviours under constrained socio-economic, biophysical, and institutional situations. On a broader scale, there have been a lot of on-going debates about rural land tenure system and rural governance in transitional China (Day, 2008;Smith, 2010;Zhang and Donaldson, 2013;Fergusson, 2013;Yuen, 2014;Wang et al, 2015;Ho, 2015) and also in developed and developing countries (Oestereich, 2000;Shucksmith and Rønningen, 2011;Braaten, 2014;Sulieman, 2015). With regard to transitional rural China, some scholars argue for the priority to efficiency and hold that privatization and protecting the private property rights are necessary for the transformation (Qin, 2007;Yuen, 2014); others argue for the priority to fairness and think privatization would only led to growing socio-economic inequality and unrest, while limited property rights and equal distribution are critical (Wen, 2009;Zhang and Donaldson, 2013).…”

Noves ruralitats i desenvolupament rural. Estat de la qüestió i aplicació d’un nou mètode d’anàlisi a Catalunya: la «rural web»

“…Conseqüentment, durant els últims anys s'ha anat consolidant un nou corrent d'opinió que reivindica l'important paper que està destinat a tenir el sector agrari en el desenvolupament rural (Ploeg i Marsden, 2008;Shucksmith i Rønningen, 2011;McDonagh, 2013;Paül, 2013). No obstant això, la recuperació del paper primordial de l'agricultura depèn inevitablement de la sostenibilitat del sector (Marsden i Smith, 2005), ja que aquesta és l'única manera de poder generar sinergies amb el turisme (Matthews i Selman, 2006;Nogué, 2010: 142).…”