Working Group 2.3

The New Productivism: Agricultural Responses to Increasing Food and Energy Prices and Climate Change 

Convenors:
Reidar Almås, Centre for Rural Research, Norway reidar.almas@rural.no
Hilde Bjørkhaug, Centre for Rural Research, Norway hilde.bjorkhaug@rural.no
Katrina Rønningen, Centre for Rural Research, Norway katrina.ronningen@rural.no

In the late-1980s and 1990s a common view was emerging amongst farmers, policy-makers and academics in Europe that a new world agricultural order was upon us. The post-war ‘productivist years’ appeared to be over as the problem with global agriculture switched from under-supply to over-supply, and public sentiment from food security and prices to environment, animal welfare and health. European governments reacted by partly de-coupling the link between production and subsidies and promoting alternative income sources often oriented towards the consumption of the countryside. Although characterised as ‘conforming to an embedded neo-liberal mode of governance’ (Tilzey and Potter 2008), this turn has been of significance both politically, ideologically and practically, and also with some environmental benefits. Multifunctionality has been an important consideration in WTO agricultural negotiations, and even those countries who dismiss it as ‘disguised protectionism’ (Potter and Burney 2002) have developed agri-environment programmes of their own (Robinson 2008).  However, the past two years have introduced some serious doubts (Almås 2008). Rising income in countries like India and China has increased demand for food. Increasingly pessimistic predictions from the IPCC (2007) concerning the impact of global warming on agriculture, coupled with major climate change events, have led to doubt about the capability of the current agricultural system to provide a reliable supply of food in the future. Further, attempts to promote biofuels have seen huge areas of grain producing land converted to crops for fuel production. Food market speculation is another factor pushing up commodity prices.

In response to these developments, do agricultural policies need to regain a strengthened production focus? Can the rural bite back by reasserting its importance for primary production? If so, is a neo-productivist regime emerging? Or is the concept not adequate to describe the changes taking place? Do these changes amount to the advent of a new ‘bioeconomy’? Can farmers make a living growing feed stock for industrial, energy or pharmaceutical production? Are we seeing a new technological imperative in agriculture? How do responses differ between countries and between different agricultural policy regimes? What are the consequences for rural, environmental and socio-cultural sustainability? What are the implications for rural diversification strategies and for the inclusion of previously excluded social groups (such as women) that they have encouraged? Is there a decisive shift in the balance of power occurring in rural areas between production, consumption and environmental interests? And does the new focus on climate, food and energy production challenge conceptualisations and (theoretical) approaches within rural studies, or is what we are seeing only a confirmation of the driving forces of capitalism, productivism and neoliberalism? The working group welcomes papers which describe, explore and discuss impacts of the new situation for rural societies, social groups and for rural studies.

References:
Almås, R. 2008: Norsk landbruk i eit generasjonsperspektiv (Norwegian agriculture in a generation perspective). In Almås, R. M.S.Haugen, J.F. Rye and M. Villa, 2008. Den nye bygda. Tapir Academic Publishers. Trondheim.
Potter, C. and  Burney, J. 2002. Agricultural multifunctionality in the WTO – legitimate non-trade concern or disguised protectionism? Journal of Rural Studies 18, 35-47.
Tilzey, M. and Potter, C. 2008: Productivism versus post-productivism? Modes of agri-environmental governance in post-fordist agricultural transitions. In Robinson, G. (ed.) Sustainable Rural Systems. Sustainable agriculture and rural communities. 41-63 Ashgate
Robinson, G. (ed.) 2008: Sustainable Rural Systems. Sustainable agriculture and rural communities. Ashgate