‘Out of Proportion to the Small Loss’: Productivist Agriculture in the Farming Novels of John McGahern and Halldór Laxness

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-89
Author(s):  
Ryan Dennis
Keyword(s):  
World Literature ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Agriculture Policy ◽  
Rotational Grazing ◽  
Small Loss ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
Political Intent

Ireland and Iceland, both (semi-)peripheral islands in relation to Europe's core hegemonic capitalism, once shared similar farming systems based on small holdings and rotational grazing. Today, however, agriculture looks increasingly different in each nation, for at critical junctures their agriculture policy decisions took radically divergent paths. This paper will examine Irish writer John McGahern's That They May Face the Rising Sun and the Icelandic novel Independent People by Hálldor Laxness as farming novels that ultimately stand as responses to these agricultural policies during the periods they were made. It will contend that, given each author's experience in farming, the novels must be read as acts of political intent meant to provide warnings against productivist policies and the loss of social and rural capital they generate. In connecting these works to the specific agricultural policies enacted and practiced at the time of their writing, a form of resistance will be brought to light that has been overlooked thus far in their registration as world literature.

scholarly journals A farming systems approach to linking agricultural policies with biodiversity and ecosystem services

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
José L Santos ◽  
Francisco Moreira ◽  
Paulo F Ribeiro ◽  
Maria J Canadas ◽  
Ana Novais ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural Policies

Tedera proves its value as a summer and autumn feed for sheep in Mediterranean-like climates

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 2269 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Real ◽  
C. M. Oldham ◽  
A. van Burgel ◽  
E. Dobbe ◽  
J. Hardy
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
Rotational Grazing ◽  
The Third ◽  
Continuous Grazing ◽  
Condition Score ◽  
Sheep Production

Tedera (Bituminaria bituminosa C.H Stirt. vars. albomarginata and crassiuscula) is a traditional forage species for goats in the Canary Islands, Spain. It has agronomic characteristics ideally suited to Mediterranean-like climates that allows it to provide high quality green forage for grazing animals during summer and autumn. It can be used to extend the growing season into late spring and early summer and/or to reduce or eliminate the need for expensive hand feeding of grain and hay to sheep to fill the ‘feed gap’ during the dry season in southern Australian farming systems. Three sheep grazing experiments were carried out with the objective to evaluate sheep production during summer and autumn with tedera as the sole diet. A 3-ha site at Dandaragan, Western Australia was grazed during the summer and autumn of 2014–2015 and 2016 and a 2.4-ha site was grazed at Kojonup, Western Australia during the same period in 2016. At each site, two grazing treatments were evaluated, continuous grazing and rotational grazing with six plots (14 days of grazing and 70 days of recovery). The first hypothesis tested was that tedera plants would not survive continuous grazing during summer and autumn. The second hypothesis tested was that without hand feeding, 10 dry sheep equivalents/ha would be able to at least maintain weight and condition score during summer and autumn. The third hypothesis tested was that rotational grazing would improve the production of the sheep (liveweight and condition score) compared with continuous grazing. The first hypothesis was rejected, the population of tedera plants did not significantly decline due to being continuously grazed during summer and autumn. The second hypothesis was confirmed, at the three experimental sites, 10 dry sheep equivalents/ha were able to at least maintain weight and condition score without any hand feeding. The third hypothesis was partially rejected; continuous grazing had a better performance of the sheep than rotational grazing. However, the rotational grazing plots had more tedera on offer in the remaining grazing plots in the rotation with the potential for a longer grazing time. These three experiments clearly demonstrate that tedera can be used to reduce or eliminate expensive hand feeding during summer and autumn using the simplest and least expensive grazing management; continuous grazing.

scholarly journals Assessing the importance of High Nature Value farmlands for the conservation of Lesser Kestrels Falco naumanni

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-46
Author(s):  
Antonia Galanaki ◽  
Theodoros Kominos ◽  
Martin J. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Additive Models ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Low Input ◽  
Falco Naumanni ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Lesser Kestrel

AbstractAgricultural areas, such as cereal cultivations, that support species of European and/or national conservation concern are considered as ‘High Nature Value’ farmlands (HNVf) and are very important for the preservation of biodiversity in Europe. The lesser kestrel Falco naumanni is a migratory falcon breeding largely in the HNVf of the Mediterranean basin. The main cause of its decline in Europe has been habitat loss and degradation as a result of agricultural intensification driven largely by the EU Common Agricultural Policies (CAP). In Greece, its population dropped by about 50% since the 1970s and its preferred habitats have shrunk. The aim of this study was to assess habitat preferences of breeding Lesser Kestrels in agro-ecosystems of Greece and relate these habitats to HNVf for conservation purposes. The study area is located in the plain of Thessaly, Central Greece, holding the main lesser kestrel breeding populations in the country, where dry cereal crops have been significantly depleted over the past decades. Species distribution models were developed with generalised additive models for the analyses. Predicted probability of lesser kestrel occurrence was found to be positively associated with farmed landscapes of dry cereal cultivations. Other important predictors were cultivated irrigated farmland and landscape heterogeneity. Main results of the statistical models agree with the findings of other habitatbased studies that highlight the importance of low-input farming systems, that is, HNVf, for safeguarding vital Lesser Kestrels habitats in their breeding grounds in the Mediterranean. A key conservation priority for conserving species dependant on HNVf is the maintenance of those low-input farming systems and the implementation of a greener CAP that would promote environmental-friendly farming practices to preserve and enhance biodiversity in the agro-ecosystems of Europe.

scholarly journals Caught in a Deadlock: Small Ruminant Farming on the Greek Island of Samothrace. The Importance of Regional Contexts for Effective EU Agricultural Policies

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Noll ◽  
Christian Lauk ◽  
Veronika Gaube ◽  
Dominik Wiedenhofer
Keyword(s):  
Social Factors ◽  
Small Ruminant ◽  
Small Ruminants ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Mediterranean Regions ◽  
Livestock Systems ◽  
Greek Island

Sedentary extensive small ruminant farming systems are highly important for the preservation of High Nature Value (HNV) farmland. Both the abandonment of grazing and overgrazing have led to environmental degradation in many Mediterranean regions. On the Greek island of Samothrace, decades of overgrazing by sheep and goats has caused severe degradation of local ecosystems. The present study highlights the importance of regional contexts for national and EU agricultural policies in regard to sustainable development of sedentary extensive livestock systems. By utilizing the conceptual framework of socio-ecological systems research, we analyze the interdependencies of environmental, economic and social factors on a local island level. Results show that between 1929 and 2016, the livestock and land-use system of Samothrace transformed from a diverse system towards a simplified system, solely used for small ruminant production. Total livestock units increased from 2200 in 1929 to 7850 in 2002, declining to 5100 thereafter. The metabolic analysis conducted for the years 1993–2016 shows that 80–90% of the feed demand of small ruminants was covered by grazing, exceeding available grazing resources for at least a decade. The regional implementation of CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) continues to support excessively high animal numbers, while farmers are highly dependent on subsidies and find themselves in an economic deadlock.

Development of Smallholder Dairy Systems in the Kenya Highlands

2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.O. Bebe ◽  
H.M.J. Udo ◽  
W. Thorpe
Keyword(s):  
Market Access ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Household Resources ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Market Opportunities ◽  
Milk Market

Kenya is recognized among developing countries for its success in integrating dairy into smallholder farming systems, particularly in the highland areas. The major determinants of this success were colonial history, its favourable agroecology and supportive agricultural policies, and the importance of milk in rural and urban diets. In response to agricultural policies, market opportunities and human population pressure on land, smallholders have changed their farming systems by introducing the Friesian and Ayrshire breeds, keeping smaller herds with fewer heifers but more cows, increasing stocking rates through stall-feeding, growing fodder, purchasing feeds and becoming more dependent on external inputs and services. As a result, they can sell more milk. This increasing intensification, here defined as the use of external inputs and services to increase the output quantity and/or value per unit input, has ensured that more people are maintained per unit of land through increased returns per ha of family land. Because the level of intensification varies with the agroecological potential for cropping and dairying and with the level of milk market access and household resources, recommendations for production practices supporting intensification will be site-specific. Identifying appropriate recommendations will require a thorough understanding of farmers' objectives for keeping cattle.

scholarly journals Serbian Agriculture Policy: Economic Analysis Using the PSE Approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarina Đurić ◽  
Drago Cvijanović ◽  
Radivoj Prodanović ◽  
Miroslav Čavlin ◽  
Boris Kuzman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Economic Sustainability ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Agriculture Policy ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Significant Support

The purpose of the research is to identify the level of Government support to farmers’ income in the Republic of Serbia. This support is based on market measures and budgetary transfers directed towards producers. As budgetary transfers are defined in the agricultural policy, by applying the producer support estimate (PSE) methodology, it is indirectly evaluated whether agricultural policies have a positive or negative impact on farmers’ income and their economic status and the economic sustainability of farms. Producers of more significant agricultural commodities covered by the analysis in the period between 2012 and 2016 did not get any significant support from the state. Namely, most of the analyzed commodities had negative values of single commodity transfer (SCT) indicators, which means that agricultural producers received more taxes than incentives. In addition to the modest budgetary transfers, variations in their forms further negatively affect producers’ income. Low share of budgetary transfers in the support structure to farmers leads to the conclusion that the support to farmers’ income through higher prices on the domestic market is paid by consumers.

scholarly journals Prospects of Agroforestry as Climate-smart Agricultural Strategy in Cocoa Landscapes: Perspectives of Farmers in Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Albert A. Arhin ◽  
Ernestina F. Antoh ◽  
Sampson Edusah ◽  
Kwaku Obeng-Okrah
Keyword(s):  
Woody Plants ◽  
National Park ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Agriculture Policy ◽  
Smart Agriculture ◽  
Agroforestry Practices ◽  
Extension Support

Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is increasingly being promoted by the international community to help farmers adapt to climate change and lift them out of poverty. An essential technique that is promoted under the climate- mitigating smart agriculture policy package to reduce forest loss is agroforestry—the planting of woody plants or trees into farming systems. Integrating agroforesty into cocoa landscapes, it is argued, create forest-like habitats which serves as faunal refuges, sequester carbon and therefore contribute to increasing agricultural productivity, resilience (adaptation) and removal of greenhouse gas emissions. This article uses a qualitative data collected from 100 households in seven communities around the Kakum National Park in the Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District in Ghana, where a climate-smart agriculture programme is being piloted. The study analysed the extent of willingness of farmers to participate in interventions that promote increased adoption of agroforestry in cocoa landscapes. The result shows that though farmers have favourable perception about the role of agroforestry on cocoa systems, and are willing to adopt the practice, this does not automatically translate into their willingness to participate in agroforestry program that was asking them to extend the number of trees currently maintained on their cocoa landscapes. The study further reveals that size of farms, the age and height of cocoa trees, extension support and the general ecology of the cocoa varieties as some of the reasons influencing whether the agroforestry practices promoted could be adopted or not.

scholarly journals Sustainability Analysis in Agricultural Policies in Benin

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Clotilde Gnon Bio N’Goye ◽  
Janvier Egah ◽  
Mohamed Nasser Baco
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Agriculture ◽  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Sustainability Analysis ◽  
The Will

Agriculture in Benin is confronted with new problems which require more sustainable and resilient strategies for its development. The question of its sustainability is thus at the center of agricultural policies. This study analyzed how issues of sustainability of farming systems are taken into account in argicultural policies frameworks.  An analysis and review of the four main agricultural policy documents adopted over the last thirty years being completed to assess the measures taken to ensure the sustainability of farms. It emerges that agricultural policies do not integrate into their framework the pillars on which the development of sustainable agriculture is based. However, in their implementation, they have been strongly oriented towards the pursuit of economic and social objectives, which is reflected in the will to improve the productivity and attractiveness of the agricultural sector. However, the lack of long-term strategies, the lack of coherence between policies and the dependence on the international political context has not allowed interventions in the agricultural sector to be placed in a sustainable perspective.

scholarly journals Food-based strategies to meet the challenges of micronutrient malnutrition in the developing world

2002 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kraisid Tontisirin ◽  
Guy Nantel ◽  
Lalita Bhattacharjee
Keyword(s):  
Developing World ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Indigenous Plants ◽  
Total Food Intake ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Micronutrient Malnutrition ◽  
The Right

The purpose of the present paper is to review the evidence in favour of food-based strategies to meet the challenges of micronutrient malnutrition in the developing world. Increasing dietary diversification is the most important factor in providing a wide range of micronutrients, and to achieve this objective in a development context requires an adequate supply, access and consumption of a variety of foods. Diets in developing countries generally lack many nutrients, including energy (inadequate amounts of food), so that strategies need to also emphasize an increase in total food intake, in addition to a greater variety. Agricultural and food policies tend to be oriented to primary agricultural productions, but they could also be formulated to promote and support home gardens and small livestock production for the explicit purpose of increasing the household consumption of micronutrient-rich foods. The adoption of ‘desirable’ dietary patterns for nutrition improvement, e.g. appropriately formulated to meet micronutrient needs, could be used in the formulation of agricultural policies and programmes. This process could be achieved through support for integrated farming systems oriented to assuring household food security, but also based on a variety of foods that will meet total dietary (including micronutrient) needs. Thus, availability of energy-rich staples, animal and/or fish as major sources of protein, and vitamin-, mineral- and phytonutrient-rich fruit and vegetables could constitute the types of production envisaged. The cultivation of edible indigenous plants as additional sources of micronutrients could also be added. The low bioavailability of some key micronutrients from foods, such as Fe, are substantially enhanced with the right food combinations and with appropriate food processing and preparation techniques. Simple appropriate technology for the preservation of micronutrientrich foods would need further development and promotion for their year-round availability. Linking community development policies to national programmes for the alleviation of hunger and malnutrition, with an emphasis on increasing the variety of foods consumed, is probably the best strategy for improving micronutrient malnutrition sustainably.

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