Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
3
They are often spatially targeted, with little
control on production and environmental
management outside the designated areas, and
this reduces their overall effectiveness.
There can be little doubt that the incidence of
OGAs in Europe has been increasing during the
PPT. Indeed, a major research project conducted
by the Arkleton Trust in twenty-four regions of
Western Europe in the late 1980s indicated that
nearly 60 per cent of farm households were
pluriactive (Fuller 1990). A large number of OGAs
are off-farm (over 50 per cent of all households
compared with less than 10 per cent with on-farm
OGAs), but this varies considerably between the
twenty-four regions. So, while 81 and 72 per cent
of farm households in Freyung-Grafenau
(Germany) and West Bothnia (Sweden),
respectively, have off-farm OGAs, this falls to 33
and 27 per cent in the west of Ireland and Picardie
(France), respectively (Box 19.2). This pattern is
further complicated by differences in which family
member(s) participate in off-farm work. However,
in all regions farm operators are more prevalent
than spouses in off-farm work; in only five regions
(in Spain, Italy, Austria and Ireland) do other
family members (including spouses) outnumber
farm operators.
Not surprisingly, therefore, the Arkleton project
found that one-third of farm households obtain
over 50 per cent of their income from off-farm
sources (Plate 19.1). This again varies between the
regions (Figure 19.1), from a high of 71 per cent
in Freyung-Grafenau to a low of just 10 per cent
in Picardie. The research found that just 17 per
cent of farm households derive 100 per cent of
their income from farming, whereas 43 per cent
obtain less than 30 per cent in this way. Fuller
(1990) concluded that patterns of pluriactivity
(OGAs) in Western Europe are quite complex,
reflecting 'the interplay of farming, household and
labour market characteristics, as well as cultural
factors' (p. 368).
It is the interaction of many 'external' and
'internal' factors that shapes geographical patterns
of pluriactivity in Europe. For example,
Efstratoglou-Todoulou (1990) identified a
relationship between regional socio-economic
conditions (e.g. local labour markets,
unemployment, tourist activities) and rates of
pluriactivity in Greece. In contrast, Edmond and
Crabtree (1994) found that OGAs were more
4
It is questionable whether voluntary schemes
can initiate land-use change on farms,
especially if farmers do not have to enter the
whole farm into an AEP.
5
AEPs are not really sustainable, in the sense
that they lead to a significant reduction in
both the energy and agrochemical
dependencies of modern farming and the
dependency of farmers on state financial
support (Evans and Morris 1997).
6
There is a general lack of finance for AEPs,
accounting for less than 5 per cent of the total
agricultural budget of the EU.
AEPs will continue to have little impact as long as
farmers continue to receive subsidies for
producing food in designated and non-designated
areas. Potter (1998) raises the question of whether
policy makers should continue to 'green' existing
agricultural policy or remove all support for
agricultural production and provide farmers with
income aid for environmental conservation.
Diversification: other gainful activities
Reforms of the CAP and especially cuts in
guaranteed prices paid to farmers have seen the
'once peripheral option of supporting farm
income diversification become more central'
(Fuller 1990: p. 67). Defined as the generation, by
farm household members, of income from either
on- and/or off-farm sources in addition to that
obtained from primary agriculture, other gainful
activities (OGAs) represent a major pathway of
farm business development. In a recent study of
different pathways in the northern Pennines in
England, Bowler
et al
. (1996) found that 33 per
cent of farm households had off-farm OGAs and
29 per cent had on-farm OGAs. Nevertheless, the
study identified a 'resistance' to diversification,
which was often considered only when traditional
farming was unable to address the income needs
of farm households.
