Lifestyle farming: countryside consumption and transition towards new farming models - Transition Pathways towards Sustainability in Agriculture: Case Studies from Europe - page 76

Fig. 5.3 shows the eight main factors which have been identified by the authors as
contributing highly, in different combinations, to the attractiveness of a rural area for
lifestyle farming. These attractiveness factors express the overlap of landscape trends (and
the opportunities and pressures it creates) and regime traits, and therefore are an expression
of the complex interrelations between the two levels. Several of these factors address the
physical characteristics of the land itself. The small-scale mosaic structure of farms reduces
their utility for commercial farming, and creates conditions for the farm to be managed as a
secondary activity. This was present in all three cases. Both the Bulgarian and Portuguese
cases were also located in regions of low potential for intensive and competitive
agricultural production, due to biophysical constraints, thus further limiting prospects for
commercial farming. Although the Scottish case study was set in one of Scotland's best
agricultural regions, owing to the northern latitude, the area does not have the highest
quality agricultural land. Lower quality agricultural land is often located in areas with high
'amenity appeal' (e.g. near mountains), which also facilitated the development of the three
cases. Strong local farming knowledge cultures were particularly important in the Bulgarian
and Portuguese cases, where food production was more emphasized. Active cultural life
also holds appeal for newcomers and returning residents. All three of the cases were within
commuting distance of large urban centres, and in the Scottish and Portuguese cases, no
legal framework required the use of agricultural land for agricultural production, thus
leaving the land available for personal recreational use.
Fig. 5.3. Comparative analysis of the factors that play a role in the attractiveness of a rural
area for lifestyle farming (Source: authors).
The difference between lifestyle farming and other niches typically studied with the
MLP, is that lifestyle farming represents a socio-technical transition where the social
aspects are predominant. Lifestyle farming has a technological component; recent advances
in IT and infrastructure have made it easier to pursue lifestyle farming, while retaining