Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 19.1 Secondary consequences of productivist agriculture.
Source: Bowler 1985a.
Since the mid-1980s, the established model of
agricultural productivism has been under
challenge, and the European Union (EU) has
placed considerable emphasis on the de-
intensification of farm production. Alternative
discourses associated with reduced price support,
environmental protection, sustainability, food
quality and integrated rural development have
arisen both from within and from outside the
agricultural community. The aim of this chapter,
therefore, is to examine some of the challenges
associated with the transition towards post-
productivist farming systems in Western Europe.
More specifically, the chapter first conceptualises
post-productivism and outlines how government
policy is now responding to, rather than
stimulating, agricultural change. It then discusses
some of the key applied aspects of agricultural de-
intensification, drawing on case study evidence to
highlight the spatially uneven impact of post-
productivism in Europe. The chapter concludes by
questioning whether the trend towards more
extensive farming systems is sustainable.
CONCEPTUALISING POST-
PRODUCTIVIST AGRICULTURE
The movement away from a predominantly
productivist ethos in agriculture has been
conceptualised as the post-productivist transition
(PPT) (Shucksmith 1993; Lowe et al . 1993; Ilbery
and Bowler 1998). While the exact nature of the
PPT has still to be defined in developed market
economies, it is associated with a number of
known characteristics (Table 19.2). More
specifically, Bowler and Ilbery (1997)
conceptualised the PPT in terms of three bi-polar
dimensions of change:
intensification to extensification
specialisation to diversification
concentration to dispersion
The first two have been actively encouraged
through reforms of the CAP, but greater difficulty
has been experienced in dispersing agriculture
away from its concentrated pattern in 'core' areas.
Indeed, the productivist ethos is well entrenched
Search WWH ::




Custom Search