ZMĚNY V ZEMĚDĚLSKÉ PRODUKCI AUSTRÁLIE: SOCIOLOGICKÁ ANALÝZA NĚKTERÝCH BUDOUCÍCH TRENDŮ

CHANGES IN AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION:

A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SOME FUTURE TRENDS

změny v zemědělské produkci austrálie: sociologická analýza některých budoucích trendů

Dr. Daniela Stehlik

Adresa autora:

Director, Centre for Social Science Research, Central Queensland University,

Bruce Highway, Rockhampton. 4702

tel/fax: 61 7 49 309405/309602 E-mail:d.stehlik@cqu.edu.au

Summary:

Over the past decade, Australian agricultural production has undergone major change as a result of among other factors - globalisation, restructuring and climatic crises - such as drought. This is has had profound social and environmental effects on farm families - particularly the women - and the rural communities in which they live. This paper provides an overview to these issues and identifies where future trends in farming practice may lead the country. The focus will be particularly on farm production in Queensland and recent research conducted by the author and her colleagues will be used as empirical data to support the presentation.

Anotace:

Za posledních deset let prodělala australská zemědělská produkce zásadní změnu, která byla podmíněna některými faktory. Byla to zejména globalizace, restrukturalizace a klimatické problémy, jako jsou např. sucha. Tyto skutečnosti měly sociální a environmentální dopad na farmářské rodiny, především na ženy a na rurální komunity, ve kterých žijí. Tento příspěvek přináší přehled řešení a stanoví, kde budoucí trendy ve farmářství mohou venkovu pomoci. Hlavním předmětem zájmu bude především farmářská produkce v Queenslandu a poslední výzkumy pod vedením autora a jeho kolegů budou použity jako empirická data pro podporu prezentace.

Key words:

Rural communities; farm production; environmental change; gender

Klíčová slova:

venkovská sídla, farmářská produkce, environmentální změna, gender

Introduction:

This paper provides a brief overview to current issues in Australian agricultural production from a sociological perspective. It takes up issues of globalisation, restructuring of farms and effects of climatic crises. The paper argues that these have impacted, socially and environmentally, on farm families. Finally the paper suggests some trends which may be observed from the current situation. As most of the research conducted by the author has been undertaken by focussing on farm families in Queensland, this data will be used to support the argument. A full literature review is not possible in the brief space allowed, but the author would be pleased to make contact with anyone requiring more detailed access to literature sources used.

I begin by briefly analysing the place of 'myth' within Australian cultural identity - specifically, the myth of the 'Bush'.. While much of the symbolism of the Bush has been appropriated by urban coastal dwellers, nevertheless farmers, graziers, landholders, canegrowers are all conducting their farm production within this strong sense of an egalitarian ethos, masculinity, mateship and pioneering spirit.

The place of the 'Outback'

At the end of the 20th century, at a time when Australians are re-considering their nationality and the possibility of a republican future, and their place in a world framed by our position within an Asia/Pacific region, it could be argued that we are still essentially ambivalent about our cultural consciousness. We still respond to the notion that we are essentially rural creatures transplanted against our will in urban metropolises around the eastern seaboard of the continent. To many of us the bush evokes a natural, pristine essentially good place which may be less than the city we live in, but somehow it is still morally our national conscience. We respond emotionally to the ideology of the pioneering spirit, the challenge against the unknown, the concept of the rural - all essentially framed within a masculinist discourse. When asked, for example, to describe a typical Australian most of us still respond with stereotypes that revert to such mythology. Yet most of us continue to live on the eastern seaboard and most of us know little or nothing about the lives of those people whom we mythologise. The reality of family life in rural Australia, the notion of the lives of women and children (as well as men) in that environment, is less understood. The mythic persona of the Australian as the tamer of wide open spaces and of bronzed Aussies colonising the inland with a pioneering spirit and a determined individualism tied up with mateship and giving everyone a fair go, was well established by the 1920s. With the expansion of rural Australia by returned service men - the so-called soldier settlers - the bush myth also became tied up with that of the Anzac legend as it emerged by the end of World War I.

Indigenous Australians

One of the many ways in which this historical, mythological ideology is being challenged is through the increasing demands for land rights by Indigenous Australians. Indigenous people constitute a higher proportion of rural, and especially remote, populations of Australia. Most recently, the relationship between Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) and the land has become the subject of both academic and popular discourse. There is a growing literature on these issues, and their relationships to health, environment, community, production and future needs. The impact of both Mabo and Wik decisions (High Court decisions about that land/people relationship) in the early 1990s is continuing to have a major impact on farming and pastroal areas. Commentators have pointed to the way in which the rural downturn of the 1990s 'has been associated with politically conservative attempts to scapegoat indigenous people in rural areas and the 'undeserving poor' ' (Black et al, 1999: 80). While much of the early anxiety about 'taking over' of family farms through land rights claims has eased, nevertheless there are still major legal processes which each state - particularly Western Australia and Queensland for historical reasons - are still grappling with. Preliminary research appears to suggest that some pastoralists have deep concerns about living along side land which has native title - in addition, there is concern that some claims have been ambit ones. These issues will not be resolved without recourse to the legal system, and therefore will have a long term impact on Australian agriculture.

Women and Children

In her groundbreaking text Damned Whores and Gods Police, Anne Summers points out the enduring and often ... determining effect [literature has] on the image a country has of itself (1975: 36), and in the case of Australia, this image was dominated by that of the Australian Man of the Bush, ... [a] brash, rugged, sardonic individual (p. 36) - and this was a Bush where there was no central place for women or families.

Of course there were women (and children) in the Australian rural hinterland at this time and as Summers and later, other feminist historians point out, there were also women writing about womens lives - however in literature as in life they were not allowed to rival their husbands monopolization of the national characteristics ... Nor was it easy for a woman writer who wanted to try and depict with some honesty and understanding what life in the bush looked like from the furnace-like kitchen or the unattended child-bed (1975:37-38). Contemporary feminist historian Marilyn Lake argues that the mythology of the Bushman on the late 19th and early 20th centuries has left its legacy on modern day Australia. She writes that mens cultural practices ... have profound implications for women and children and there were particularly injurious consequences of the style of masculinity propagated by the champions of the Bushman (1992: 161). In this sense, the feminist challenges to histories of the nation as Gail Reekie suggests lies in its fracturing of a false unity and in its revelation of the hidden masculine assumptions around which the nation is invented (192:155).

As in other areas of public life, women in Australian agriculture have, until recently, been invisible. Their unpaid labour has largely gone unrecognised and their contribution to the success of production not acknowledged. This is changing - albeit slowly. Academic literature on women's place in agriculture is growing - there have been a number of major studies now about women's attitudes to the land, to production, to the family farm and to the ongoing future sustainability of such production. In addition, the growth of Landcare (an Australian initiative bringing individuals together to support the eco-systems and environment around their own districts) has brought many women into the public domain. There is much evidence in the past decade of government's attempt to incorporate women's voices into policy development and policy initiatives. There is now a Rural Women's Unit in the Department of Regional Development and Transport and there are similar positions within some state government departments. Several large national reports have 'filled the gaps' of knowledge about women and agriculture.

However, there are some challenges to women expanding their role - first, the organisational culture of agriculture (as I tried to explain briefly above) remains a masculine one, with attitudes and communication channels problematic. Second, in the workplaces women labour, the attitudes to family friendly models remain conservative and lack flexibility. Third, women are still lacking the self-awareness and courage to tackle issues, or push themselves forward, and often this is because of a lack of role models or a lack of mentoring. Finally, many women lack access to education and training and their own skills (develop in the home, or on the property) are often not valued.

With this brief overview - I want to comment now about some major external influences which have changed the way in which agricultural practices occur in Australia, altered the actual products grown or raised, and changed the technologies with which that production is undertaken.

Globalisation

Without researching the arguments about the nature of this phenomenon, or its academic characteristics, I want to briefly outline the perceived impacts on Australian agriculture. In line with most western industrialised nations, Australia is experiencing drastic restructuring of its rural industries. In the past, Australia focussed on producing high quality raw materials - sugar, wool, wheat - unprocessed and not valued added. This primary production was managed alongside a subsidisation of the industry, with state support not only for the farming industry, but the communities and townships that were centred in that industry. With the recent changes in the sugar industry to diminish state protection, this subsidisation has now been replaced by what we are familiar with as 'self help' 'user pays' or more sociologically, neo liberal ideologies. Broadly these have influenced agriculture in Australia in two major ways - the first, that Australia no longer appears to wish to support an industry which is not efficient and not viable. Producers who are not economically viable are being strongly encouraged (through incentives and through taxation) to leave their properties. Second, the communities in which these producers live are also seen as less important in terms of support. Where once small townships were supported through services (both government and profit based) now such communities are experiencing a decline in government services, a withdrawal of private services (such as banks for example) and a decrease in population and therefore viability. In addition, Australia is seeking more opportunities to value add to its primary production - although again, globalisation has affected our manufacturing industries, and these have in turn, also not become viable, or have been bought by multinationals.

Climatic Changes and Environmental Pressures

The influences of the El Nino/La Nina pattern are now well understood and can be directly related to changes in agricultural production in Australia. In addition, we are also more aware of the impact of European style of farming practice on soils and eco systems which are not similar to Europe. In the 19th century, Australian farmers tilled the land as if it were the soils they were used to - while we have changed those practices, nevertheless there is still anxiety about environmentally unsafe practices regarding tree clearing, diminution of riparian sites, and the impact of animals such as sheep and goats on land which better supports animals such as kangaroos and other marsupials. It is generally agreed that we do not have the balance right - and it is also agreed that while some action needs to be taken nationally to ensure that salinity, acid sulphate soil expansion, over use of water from underground acquifers etc. needs to be better managed - it strikes at the heart of what I was describing earlier - that sense of individualism, the pioneering spirit etc.etc. It is also politically a mine field as recent history shows.

Future Trends

With such a brief overview, I now undertake to develop what I consider to be six possible future trends, and in doing so, am mindful of comments and analyses made by colleagues at the Prospects conference.

Information/Communication

There is an increasing tendency for some to view the installation of information technology as the 'answer' for rural populations. In Australia, with our vast distances, this is particularly so. Recently, our major telecommunications enterprise has changed from being wholly government owned, to partly privatised. As a result, there has been increasing demands from rural communities as to the level of service on offer. The assumption that 'everyone has a computer' is also flawed, as the take up rate in my region is less than the average (calculated most likely in cities). Finally another issue is the availability of technology. Thirty kilometres from Rockhampton it is difficult to get a good telephone signal, so we still have a long way to go here.

Changing Gender Roles

There is evidence in Australia, and overseas, of an increasing importance to the farm enterprise of the labour of women - both on and off the farm. We have research being undertaken here which shows how the drought and the restructuring has 'liberated'(?) some women who are now working off farm and helping maintain the farm as a result. In addition, a number of women are undertaking on farm enterprises - such as tourism, as a strategy to maintain the property. We are monitoring these changes, and believe it is still too early to say if they are sustainable in the long term.

Migration - In/Out

Some rural communities in Australia (depending on their location) are experiencing a 'boom' in in-migration. They are the kind of spaces that people want to live in. Usually they are near cities and make commuting manageable. Often, they are also near the coast, a river or the mountains, as people seek quality of life. However in the larger spaces away from the coast, the out-migration is still a major issue - particularly young people seeking work. The demographics are showing a decided 'gap' in the 18 - 35 year old population in rural communities. This has the potential for unsustainability.

Ageing:

The age of the average Australian farmer is calculated at around 57 - 58 years. This means that a whole generation will soon be looking to retire, as I mentioned above, the next generation simply isn't there to 'step in'. In addition, the availability of alternate accommodation for ageing parents is largely in the hands of the private sector, and such places are in big cities, regional cities or near the coast. Thus to retire may mean to leave the area and evidence is gathering that this is not what people prefer to do.

Infrastructure:

A diminution of population outside of metropolitan cities means that there is less money available to maintain the infrastructure in small communities and smaller towns. Recently there has been some debate about whether Australia actually 'needs' such small communities. This is a challenge to diversity and an attempt to homogenise and universalise our quality of life. Many people prefer to live in such communities, and many have paid their taxes for many years in order to do so. The need to upgrade infrastructure will begin to challenge the argument that only cities and the urban fringe require such major capital works.

Environment:

There are many examples in recent times of issues of environmental degration and rural farming practice - both in Europe and in Australia. Consumers are now much more educated about where the products come from, and there is an increasing tension as to the sites of production of agricultural produce being located alongside potential dangerous industrial complexes. In addition, there is also concern about the continued use of chemicals to assist agriculture, when evidence shows its detriment to the environment and to population health. There are a number of examples of such potential tensions in our region - as I am certain there are in regional areas of Europe. I believe that sociologists have a political role to play here - in information gathering, in ensuring that communities and individuals have access to good, reliable data, and in ensuring that the education of future citizens includes an awareness of the fragility of our eco-systems.

There are many other trends emerging - I have highlighted these as I believe they 'connect' with issues in Europe. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss these matters today.

References can be obtained by contacting the author on d.stehlik@cqu.edu.au.