Ruralis Brage
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Creating culturally sustainable agri-environmental schemes
Get PDF-Evidence is emerging from across Europe that contemporary agri-environmental schemes are having only limited, if any, influence on farmers’ long-term attitudes towards the environment. In this theoretical paper we argue that these approaches are not ‘culturally sustainable’, i.e. the actions are not becoming embedded within farming cultures as part of conventional ‘good farming’ practice. We propose (following Bourdieu) that, in order to culturally embed the environmental values, beliefs and knowledges that underlie such schemes, policy-makers need to devise approaches that allow the creation of cultural and social capital within farming communities – rather than simply compensating for economic capital lost. We outline the theoretical basis of our position and discuss how the contemporary agri-environmental approach of paying for specified environmental management services restricts the ability of such schemes to generate cultural and, thereby, social capital. Finally, we outline two possible ways of accounting for cultural capital in scheme creation: either through the development of measures of cultural capital that enable its incorporation into contemporary economic models or through a major revision to the way we construct and apply agri-environmental schemes.the Foundation for Research Science and Technology, New Zealand, and the Research Council of Norway as part of the AGRIPOL project (in association with the Centre for Rural Research
Synergy or marginalisation? Narratives of farming and tourism in Geiranger, western Norway
Get PDF-Tourism is increasingly seen as a necessary income diversification strategy in rural Europe, especially in areas where traditional rural businesses are facing decreasing profitability. This view is clearly expressed in Norwegian government strategies. Measures to support tourism development are launched by public management bodies at national and regional level. For rural agrarian communities the cultural landscape is seen as an asset in developing tourism. The authors study the interplay between farming and tourism in Geiranger in western Norway using narrative and discourse analysis. Since the late 19th century, tourism and farming have co-existed in Geiranger. Recently, the area has also been subject to nature conservation and obtained World Heritage Status. Inspired by political ecology literature, the authors aim to identify and compare the narratives of local actors, and link these narratives to broader environmental discourses
Hvorfor ikke produsere økologisk?
No full textFor en enkeltperson som en bonde er, eller for et gårdshushold kan det være et stort steg å legge om til økologisk produksjon.acceptedVersio
Farm diversification into tourism - Implications for social identity?
Get PDF-This article deals with how diversification and transformation of farming into tourism may influence the social identity of farmers. Based on a study of 19 farms run by couples engaged with agritourism, it shows how the development of tourism on the farms can be understood in a perspective of repeasantization; and how the couples draw on their farm work, culture and place to situate themselves in a new working role. Through food, stories, activities and themselves as hosts they mediate a strong farm identity. The article also explores how identities change through identifying three processes by which the ‘new’ work of tourism may destabilize identities. One is a shift in the meaning of farmer identity. Another is the gradual change towards a new master identity, and thirdly it finds a multiplicity of identities practiced as serial identities that shift as they relate to various social memberships and settings.Research Council of Norway and the Agricultural Agreement Research Fund, Rural Tourism and Traditional Food in Norway (HANEN) and Sparebank1-SM
Increasing food and energy prices in 2008: What were the causes and who was to blame?
Get PDF-In early 2007 food prices started to increase dramatically, creating more hunger, social unrest, political protests, and a debate on causes and cures. According to the FAO, the number of people getting less food than necessary reached 1 billion. After a century of declining food prices, increased productivity and relative stability several curves started to shift. Due to production growth levelling out and a steady increase in the global demand for food, in addition to policy changes in the food sector, public food stocks declined and the market situation became tighter. As a result, the global food market became more vulnerable to external shocks, like negative impact from climate-related changes, growing demand from the bio-fuel sector, and speculation in food commodities. By focusing
on supply and demand forces in the food market, the growth of bio-fuel production, and financial speculation, we ask what caused food prices to peak in 2008, and which factors are the most important in explaining the events. In our view, deregulations within the financial sector led to extreme levels of financial capital entering the food commodity market, contributed to prices increasing more and faster than can be explained by supply and demand forces alone. Even if the growth in bio-fuel production by many is held as a climate change mitigation measure, and production short-falls over the last decade are caused by severe weather events, we do not believe that climate change directly or indirectly caused food prices to peak in 200
Factors influencing Norwegian small-scale private forest owners' ability to meet the political goals
Get PDF-Norwegian forest policy has high-level, complex objectives for the products and benefits from the forest, including increased contribution to the climate, preservation of biodiversity, and creation of economic values. In Norway, it is first and foremost small-scale private forest owners who have to deliver on these expanded goals. The article reveals owners’ lack of forestry competence, and elaborates on the role of forestry employees (advisers) in owners’ decision-making processes, be it forestry-
competent owners or not. There is, however, a decreased number of advisers in the private and public forest services, implying that forest owners are atomised in the meaning of being alone. This type of individualization and an increasing lack
of forestry competence among forest owners are a contradiction. The mismatch is serious for the government and the forestry business because it probably hampers the fulfilment of the political objectives. The article presents six options for meeting the obstacles to goal fulfilment. The article is based on two research projects from the counties of Trøndelag and Hedmark. Data were collected between 2002 and 2007 and include survey, focus group interviews, in-depth interviews, fieldwork and document analysisThe Research Council of Norway (more specifically Utviklingsfondet for skogbruk),
Skogtiltaksfondet, the forest- and tree-based business in Trøndelag, Innovation Norway in North-Trøndelag, South-Trøndelag County Council District (byblilyst), The County
Governor of South-Trøndelag, North-Trøndelag County Council District and The County Governor of North-Trøndelag. ‘‘Management Active Forest Owners’’ was financed by The Research Council of Norway, Ministry of Agriculture (via the organization
Woman in Forestry) and The Norwegian Forest Owners’ Federatio
Den norske landbrukssosiologien. Historisk påvirkning i nåtidig forskning på familiejordbruket
Get PDFHva er landbruks- og matsosiologi – og kan ”klassikerne” brukes til å forklare familiejordbrukets utvikling og overlevelse i Norge? Denne artikkelen går til-bake til røttene til agrarsosiologien og diskuterer hvilken betydning både kjente og ikke fullt så kjente klassikere har hatt for landbruks- og matsosiologien og utvikling av teori om og forskning på familiejordbruket. Landbruks- og matsosiologi er nå et etablert felt innenfor sosiologien, både nasjonalt og internasjonalt. Feltet har et empirisk næringsfokus på landbruket som et sted for produksjon av mat og fiber, fra råvareleverandører til produksjon av ferdige produkter på markedet. Langs disse verdikjedene stilles sosiologiske spørsmål om aktørenes motivasjoner, om økonomisk fordeling, om arbeid og organi -sering, sosial ulikhet, institusjonelle forhold (reguleringer versus normer og kultur) og ikke minst spørsmål om makt, og maktrelasjoner mellom individer, grupper og sektorer. I disse verdikjedene finner vi også gårdsbrukene, bøndene og deres familier. Artikkelen har sitt analytiske fokus på utviklingen av og over-levelsesevnen til det norske familiejordbruket innenfor et kapitalistisk markeds-system som dominerer markedene i den vestlige verden.acceptedVersio
Local small-scale food enterprises: ambitions and initiatives for achieving business growth among male and female owners and managers
Get PDF-Since 1990 close to 2000 small-scale food enterprises have been established in Norway. This can be seen as a result of a proactive policy promoting diversification in rural areas. Part of the funding has been dedicated to women and young people to ensure better gender equality and recruitment. The instruments have been successful in terms of gender equality with women receiving over 40 percent of the new business start up grants. However, a recent evaluation reveals that the goals of increased profit, settlement and employment in rural areas have not been met. In this article we are analysing growth ambitions and initiatives for achieving business growth among male and female owners/managers of small scale food enterprises in Norway. We are also asking how these owner/managers ambitions correspond to public goals for such enterprises. Our analysis shows that growth aspirations are explained by wishes of owners to secure their businesses and receive higher income. Contrary to policy aims of expansion of small scale food products into a national market, enterprise owners/managers consider growth in established local and regional markets to be most relevant. Among small scale food enterprises, there are close to 50 percent female owners/managersThe Research Council of Norway, the Fund for Research Tax on Agricultural products, TINE BA, Valdres Matforum, Oi Trøndersk Mat og Drikke and County governors of Nord-Trøndelag, Sør-Trøndelag and Opplan
Focus on genetically modified food: How can five focus group interviews tell stories about the Norwegian discourse of genetically modified food?
Get PDF-Mange vil hevde at vi lever i en stadig mer usikker og uforutsigbar verden. En konsekvens av dette er økt fokus på risiko innenfor de fleste områder av samfunnslivet. Også innenfor matproduksjon og matkonsum har risikobegrepet fått betydning i forbindelse med nye produksjonsmetoder, som for eksempel genmodifisering innenfor landbruk og næringsmiddelindustri, og også i medias økte fokus på mat, helse og matskandaler de senere årene
Gender and Work in Norwegian Family Farm Businesses
No full text-The traditional way of organising agricultural production in Norway has been through family farming. A family farm is defined by the ownership of the farm through kinship over a number of generations. This article examines structural changes on Norwegian family farms based on the impact of increased competition and falling prices and subsidies. The strategy traditionally employed has been to increase total household income on the farm through working off-farm. We map changes in income allocation and work strategies on Norwegian family farms over time, changes in income allocation and work strategies among men and women on family farms over time and we show income allocation and work strategies among men and women as farmers and as farmers’ spouses. Through a quantitative analysis of data on Norwegian farmers from 1987 until 2004, we show that there are continuing changes in work and income allocation on Norwegian farms. The trend is a higher dependence on off-farm income. However, this development is not only explained by more off-farm work by farmers – which is an indication of lower value of farm work itself – but to a large degree this is a result of the increasing off-farm work of farm women. While at the same time more women are entering agriculture as farmers, we find clear evidence of differences in the organisation of farms operated by men and women. While male farmers are professionalising as ‘one-man farmers,’ female farmers to a larger degree depend (voluntarily or not) on their partner's assistance in the farm work