Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
A grower's risk position is defined by his or her farm-management
style, economic resources, land tenure, and basic tolerance for uncer-
tainty. Partnerships are not likely to change growers' fundamental stance
toward risk, but may help them perceive more kinds of risk to their farm-
ing vocation. In addition to the commonly held perceptions of the risk
that reduced agrochemical use poses to crops, growers may learn to
perceive in a new way industrial agriculture's health, regulatory, and
environmental risks. The multi-year transition process promoted by
most partnerships is designed to help growers become comfortable with
new risks. When decisions are made the economic incentives are rarely
present for trying a new approach with the additional risk posed, and
the potential for greater losses is always present. Growers and PCAs
routinely make decisions throughout the season that bear million or
multi-million-dollar risks.
All agroecological partnerships purposefully promote research, knowl-
edge, learning, and knowledge exchange to manage risk. Growers
without the knowledge and experience to take advantage of ecological
relationships are in fact exposed to more economic risk through trying
these practices without appropriate guidance. Many growers report that
partnerships socialized risk by drawing on the expertise of others.
Agroecological partnerships generally have not adequately addressed the
risks involved in transitioning a farming system to utilize more agroeco-
logical strategies. Partnership leaders are aware of this as an issue, but
have not articulated a framework for helping a grower analyze the way
integrated farming systems reconfigure risk.
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One of the reasons almond
BIOS was so successful was that, in selecting from a menu of options,
growers developed greater awareness of the risks they were taking, or
could take, and where they could access the knowledge to manage those
risks.
Technology-intensive monoculture heightens risk for extensionists,
both public and private. Pest-control advisors prescribe pesticides when
in doubt, and this is for them a practical risk-management strategy. Farm
Advisors too are quite conscious of the risks growers take on their
advice. When advising growers about alternatives to pesticides, they gen-
erally communicate the risks of pesticide reduction much more forcefully
than any potential benefits of alternative strategies.
