Weed management: the broader context - Ecological Management of Agricultural Weeds - page 500

ecological weed management, it is not their sole determinant. Matheson et al .
(1991) described farms from 400 to 1100 ha in the northwestern USA and
western Canada on which weeds are managed with rotations, intercropping,
cultivation, adjustments in seeding rates, and other practices, but without
herbicides. Conversely, small farms may rely heavily on herbicides for weed
control. Smallholder Asian cereal producers have become increasingly reliant
on herbicides as expanded off-farm employment opportunities have driven
up agricultural wages and increased the cost of hand-weeding (Pingali &
Gerpacio, 1997).
Bigger obstacles to the adoption of ecological weed management than large
scale per se are the decision-making processes, relationships with adjacent
communities, and patterns of natural resource and labor management that
characterize industrial farming systems. As farms become highly industrial-
ized, decision-making increasingly resides in the hands of office-bound exec-
utives who by predilection, training, and feedback are oriented more toward
the growth of the farm enterprise than its long-term integration with the eco-
system that supports it (Kirschenmann,1991).In such situations,information
feedback from the fields to the manager may be minimal and environmental
problems will tend to elicit short-term fixes based on additional purchased
inputs rather than reorganization of the production process. Rural commu-
nities dominated by industrial farms tend to have higher levels of poverty,
lower quality and quantity of social and commercial services, lower education
levels, and weak local governments (MacCannell, 1988; United States
Department of Agriculture,1998).In addition to reducing economic opportu-
nities and retarding rural development, these social impacts of industrial
agriculture are likely to inhibit effective feedback from adjacent communities
to farm managers about environmental problems such as off-site herbicide
drift and water contamination.
Agricultural policy
Throughout the world, farm industrialization has resulted in over-
supply relative to market demand and long periods of low prices for a wide
range of commodities (Buttel, 1990; Pretty, 1995, p. 55). In response, govern-
ments in many nations attempt to raise farm income by providing farmers
with price supports, subsidizing input costs, and exporting surpluses. All of
these practices affect the likelihood of implementing ecological weed man-
agement and other components of sustainable agricultural systems.
Although cost savings associated with reduced use of purchased inputs
tends to favor adoption of sustainable farming practices,widespread adoption
is unlikely where government regulations, tax and subsidy policies, and