Chapter 1: A Living Land for Rural Europe
“What are those blue
remember’d hills
What
spires, what farms are those?
That is
the land of lost content,
I see it
shining plain,
The happy
highways where I went
And
cannot come again”
A E
Housman (1859-1936), from England
Recreating A Living Land
This book is about getting back something we have lost.
It is also about creating something new we never had. We value our
countryside, our rural landscapes, our wildlife. We value our rural
communities and their many idyllic settings. Yet we are still losing
many valued features of our natural environments, such as meadows,
wetlands, woodlands, birds and other wildlife. Our rural communities are
suffering too. There are fewer rural livelihood opportunities and fewer
basic services. Hardship and poverty are common.
This book’s message is about getting back some of these
natural and social aspects of our countryside and rural economies that
we value. It is also about getting more from less by using fewer
resources. We can live better in more connected communities, we can
protect our natural environment, we can eat well and safely. These are
simple ideas, but difficult to put into practice.
According to some measures, rural communities and farmers
throughout Europe are very successful. Farms are more efficient, and
food cheaper and more abundant. But this `success’ has come at some
cost. The state of both natural resources and rural societies is vital
for our welfare and economic growth. But as soils become depleted or
erode, water is polluted, trees, hedges and other habitats lost, and
wildlife threatened; and as trust falls, social institutions are
rendered ineffective, and reciprocity and exchange mechanisms lost, so
it is increasingly difficult to sustain vibrant farming and rural
communities. As these stocks of natural and social capital diminish, it
becomes more difficult to make a living from what remains.
Fortunately, it is not all doom and gloom. Throughout
Europe and North America, there are initiatives and experiments underway
that are not only repairing the damage, but also showing that
alternatives are economically viable. Sustainable agriculture works for
farmers and consumers. It is also good for wildlife and other natural
resources. Food can be produced in adequate amounts for all and at a
quality that is both nutritious and safe. Rural communities can take a
major role in their own social and economic development.
These initiatives are showing that there is potential for
a large sustainability dividend. Using less resources and less fossil
fuel, it is possible to create more wealth. Instead of depleting natural
and social capital, these can be regenerated to provide everyone with
enriched and varied livelihood opportunities. At the same time as birds
are protected, jobs can be created. At the same time as soils are
regenerated, so can rural communities become more cohesive and pleasant
places to live. At the same time as less pesticide is used, so food
quality improves. At the same time as farming becomes increasingly
sustainable, so can a greater involvement of different groups in
development processes lead to a regeneration of local democracy.
This alternative vision is also about spreading the
benefits from our countryside and its economies more evenly. There are
many different groups who have a stake in our rural, countryside and
food systems, but returns to these `stakeholders’ differ. Some do very
well, others poorly. Large farmers do proportionally much better than
small family farmers, even though smaller ones may protect the
environment better. Agrochemical companies, food manufacturers,
processors and retailers capture much more of the value in the food
system than they used to do. As a result, much less of the food pound,
franc, mark, or dollar gets back to farmers and rural communities. This
unevenness undermines the whole system.
The interesting fact about technologies, processes and
policies that produce a more even spread of benefits is that the whole
system benefits. A multiple stakeholder approach produces a bigger and
better pie. A community-based approach to development building on
existing social and natural resources actually produces more jobs and
services in rural areas than an externally-driven, `exogenous’ approach
relying in the main on distant technologies and mobile capital.
What is now clear is that sustainable agriculture can
yield as much or more food than conventional systems, but does so
without damaging the natural environment. It also produces more jobs and
business opportunities. Community food systems capture more value for
local people. Rural partnerships bring together different actors in new
networks that develop mutual trust and new opportunities for exchange
and reciprocity.
But none of this will happen without a helping hand. Most
national and international policies do not, as yet, support a
sustainability-led approach to rural development. Many say they do, as
sustainability is now in fashion. But in reality, governments are yet to
create the necessary enabling conditions.
