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Agriculture in the city's countryside
Book
Reviews
223
trade, subsidies and protectionism, etc. In the concluding chapter, the authors present a list of actions which need to be taken in order to fill the policy gaps that they identify.
Johnston in this case. Their combined experience of agriculture at the urban periphery is clearly evident in the depth and breadth of the discussion in this book.
This is a well-intentioned study, drawing on a liberal perspective which attempts to ‘take the part of the peasant’. However, in doing this, it misses a good deal of what is important in determining who gets access to food, and on what terms. For example, there are a few passing references to the question of income distribution, which suggest that the authors are clearly aware of the link between poverty and access to food. Indeed, in the concluding chapter, the authors state quite clearly that . hunger is rooted in a structural factor-poverty. The poor too often have neither the means to produce food nor to buy it’ (p. 211). But nowhere in this book is this fundamental proposition analysed, or the political context of land and income distribution delineated. What emerges instead is a technocratic and managerial focus in which previous policy gaps, such as those which favoured the city over the country, can be corrected by well-meaning governments/bureaucrats who can learn from past mistakes. And despite the suggestion that the authors favour a participatory approach, their outlook still works from the ‘top-down’. Thus, in discussing the problem of landlessness. the authors suggest that ‘The apparent enthusiasm for land-reform of the nineteen-fifties and nineteen-sixties seems to have withered away’ (p. 100). But on whose part has this withering away occurred? Not on the part of the landless peasant. I suggest, but only on the part of wellmeaning bureaucrats who cannot comprehend land reform as a political process involving the peasants themselves. In a more general sense, as well, this book makes little reference to peasants as autonomous actors, and devotes less than two pages to the role of non-governmental organisations in mobilising rural communities.
The book refers exclusively to western industrialised countries, drawing most of the examples from Canada, New Zealand, France and Australia. The authors assert at the beginning that two themes establish their conceptual framework: a systems perspective and an ‘interests-inland’ perspective. They intend that the first perspective will be conveyed to readers by the main chapters of the book which deal, respectively, with the resource base, the ‘market’, the farmer, and government. The interests-inland perspective emphasises the increasing array of values and services that land in agriculture at the periphery supports. These include the value of land as a support for the family farm system, land for production, and the amenity value of land. Two other recurring themes are reported to underlie the discussion throughout the book: individual versus collective interests in land and technological change.
Nor is there any discussion of the role of the transnational agribusiness organisations which are currently in the process of restructuring the global agricultural system. The only mention of TNCs that occurs is when the authors discuss the oligopolistic nature of the world grain trade, and point to the role played by the six large U.S. trading companies (pp. 161-162). But there is no analysis of the increasing organisation of agricultural production in the Third World by global agribusiness, nor of the impact that this has in terms of producing ‘luxury’ foodstuffs for developed country consumption. There are other points that could be made concerning the limited perspective that this book adopts, but there is little value in cataloguing all of these. In the book’s favour is a wealth of statistical material and an extensive (but still apolitical) discussion of the role of women in establishing food security. But overall, this is a disappointing study. DAVID Griffith
University,
BURCH Brisbane
Agriculture in the City’s Countryside, Christopher R. Bryant and Thomas R.R. Johnston, 1991, Belhaven Press, London
In the City’s Countryside Christopher Bryant continues his long-standing tradition of research on rural studies and the rural-urban fringe, having teamed up with Thomas
The first chapter is a discussion of the social, economic, political, and technological context in which agriculture at the urban periphery operates, therein establishing the systems view. The chapter presents a cogent overview of the place of agriculture in post-industrial and urban society. Little attention is given to the nature of the resource base, however, and this tends to undermine the integrity of the systems view somewhat. The interests in land are summarised in this first chapter as production, protection (e.g. of natural habitat), place, and play, out of which emerges some sense of the complementarities and the conflicts that are associated with land at the urban periphery. Chapter 2, by way of its title, purports to be an account of the resource base. What it does present is a sensible and well-balanced review of the issues surrounding urban expansion onto agricultural land. The title of the chapter promises much more than is actually delivered, however. The nature of the resource base and the pressures upon it other than urban development are given scant attention. Opportunities for linking structural change in agriculture to the implications for the resource base are not developed. In these respects, the systems view is not maintained. The third chapter goes under the heading of ‘The Market’. Produce markets and markets for inputs (land, labour and capital) are analysed in turn. The discussion is focused at the meso-scale (i.e. the urban periphery), and there is little reference to the influences of the macro economy. A number of important themes relating to the attitudes, aspirations and behaviour of farmers are confronted in the fourth chapter. Like the other chapters of the book, this one is notable for the integration it achieves on the respective theme. An important contribution of this discussion lies in the impression it creates of the considerable diversity in the characteristics of farm entrepreneurs operating in near urban settings. The influence of government is dealt with in Chapter 6. The chapter explores some of the justifications for government intervention, including equity considerations and externalities. Specific forms of intervention in agricultural land markets represents a substantive component of the chapter. Much less attention is given to non-land
224
Book Reviews
based forms of intervention, which is unfortunate. chapter is long and some of the discussion could have been abbreviated.
The easily
Two short chapters at the end attempt to draw the themes of the book together. The discussion is useful in confirming that the book has challenged many misconceptions about agriculture in the urban periphery. I found it less successful in what it contributes towards confirming the systems view. This volume is a valuable contribution to the literature in several respects. Most importantly, it effectively draws together many of the long-standing debates and contemporary views on agriculture at the urban periphery. The book is notable also for the balanced approach it offers to some of the more contentious issues, including urban expansion, for example. The authors convey a good sense of the complexity of agricultural systems in near urban settings. Educators will find many of the diagrams in the book useful in attempting to convey this complexity to students, although they may also find some of them a little contrived. Of special note is the fact that the authors seek to dispel many of the negative conceptions about agriculture in this setting. Three views that are commonly held and which the book directly challenges are that agriculture in the urban fringe is in decline, that it is homogenous in its characteristics, and that the problems agriculture confronts are linked mostly to its urban setting. As to the downfalls. there is some question as to the success of the authors in conveying the systems view. I am not convinced that this is carried through the substantive part of the book, either in its component parts or looking at the content as a whole. The discussion in the individual chapters is often too narrowly focused and the linkages that characterise a systems view are not sufficiently well articulated. Moreover, the systems view it does present is too introspective in that it deals almost exclusively with factors and processes internal to agriculture in a near urban setting. The book does not give adequate perspective on the exogenous forces. While the authors cannot be faulted on their statement of intent in this respect, I submit that greater latitude would have been appropriate. Greater care might have been taken by the authors in their references to specific studies. The degree to which we can generalise from many of the studies reviewed is not always made sufficiently clear and the reader is left wondering at times whether it is the nature of the results in particular. or their broader relevance, that is at issue. Reflecting my own predilections, I was disappointed also in the rather superficial and uncritical reference to sustainability and sustainable development. It is a theme that recurs throughout the book. but the authors offer little in the way of critical interpretation. Often the tone, language and content of the book identify this as a product more for students than for established professionals. None the less, even those who are well established in the field will enjoy the balanced review of knowledge and views on a range of important topics. While fault can obviously be found. I enjoyed this book for what it contributes in the Form of a ~vide-ranging and contemporary analysis of selected issues confronting agriculture at the urban periphery. The analysis is more optimistic than much of the literature in this field and this
will distinguish the book from many other contributions. For those with an interest in agriculture in the urban fringe, they will find this to be a timely and valuable addition to their collections. CHRIS COCKLIN Department of Geography, University qf Auckland
The Land Use, Ecology and Conservation of Broadland, Martin George, xvii + 558 pp., 1992, Packard Publishing Limited, Chichester. f50.00
Wetland ecosystems around the world are facing mounting pressures from land drainage, changing farming practices, pollution, loss of habitat and species, and land-use change. Broadland, perhaps more widely known as the Norfolk Broads, in East Anglia, is one of the most important wetland systems in Britain. These 50 or so flooded medieval peat pits have provided rich and varied habitats for wildlife, but their very survival is now threatened. Ecological and land-use changes in the Broads and the fens and drained marshland which adjoin them, coupled with strong and rising recreatiional and tourist pressures. have increased the need for integrated management and conservation of Broadland, which is now effectively a National Park in all but title. Martin George’s monumental book charts these changing fortunes of Broadland in graphic detail. At 5% text pages, each 20 by 29 cm, the sheer volume of this book impresses. Moreover. the coffee-table style (with an attractive coiour cover, 43 black and white and coiour plates, a vast number of maps and figures, and a well-designed page format) makes you want to keep picking it up and dipping into it. But. unlike most coffee-table books, this one is veritably choking with fact and argument. This is ‘the mother of all research monographs’. which is a fine achievement by the author and a fitting testimony to the significance of his subject. It is clearly written , groans under the weight of evidence included. and well structured. Early chapters deal with Broadland’s scenery, and its geology, physiography. soils and climate. The water regime and origin of the wetlands are discussed next. along with their iimnology, marginal reedswamp communities and natural history. A block of chapters follows which deals with land management, covering topics such as the drained marshland area, drainage improvement schemes, the flooding problem, and recreational use of the waterways. The two final chapters cover planning and administration of the region, and nature conservation. Despite its almost overpowering size, this book is easy to read. The style is clear. and the text is abundantly referenced. The 26 page bibliography contains an estimated 750 items; it is a valuable contribution to the literature in itself! Martin George served for 24 years as Nature Conservancy Regional Officer for East Angiia, and retired in 1990. He has clearly put his retirement to good use in writing this landmark book. I must buy a coffee table to display it on! CHRIS PARK Lancaster Urtiversity, U. K.
Reviews
223
trade, subsidies and protectionism, etc. In the concluding chapter, the authors present a list of actions which need to be taken in order to fill the policy gaps that they identify.
Johnston in this case. Their combined experience of agriculture at the urban periphery is clearly evident in the depth and breadth of the discussion in this book.
This is a well-intentioned study, drawing on a liberal perspective which attempts to ‘take the part of the peasant’. However, in doing this, it misses a good deal of what is important in determining who gets access to food, and on what terms. For example, there are a few passing references to the question of income distribution, which suggest that the authors are clearly aware of the link between poverty and access to food. Indeed, in the concluding chapter, the authors state quite clearly that . hunger is rooted in a structural factor-poverty. The poor too often have neither the means to produce food nor to buy it’ (p. 211). But nowhere in this book is this fundamental proposition analysed, or the political context of land and income distribution delineated. What emerges instead is a technocratic and managerial focus in which previous policy gaps, such as those which favoured the city over the country, can be corrected by well-meaning governments/bureaucrats who can learn from past mistakes. And despite the suggestion that the authors favour a participatory approach, their outlook still works from the ‘top-down’. Thus, in discussing the problem of landlessness. the authors suggest that ‘The apparent enthusiasm for land-reform of the nineteen-fifties and nineteen-sixties seems to have withered away’ (p. 100). But on whose part has this withering away occurred? Not on the part of the landless peasant. I suggest, but only on the part of wellmeaning bureaucrats who cannot comprehend land reform as a political process involving the peasants themselves. In a more general sense, as well, this book makes little reference to peasants as autonomous actors, and devotes less than two pages to the role of non-governmental organisations in mobilising rural communities.
The book refers exclusively to western industrialised countries, drawing most of the examples from Canada, New Zealand, France and Australia. The authors assert at the beginning that two themes establish their conceptual framework: a systems perspective and an ‘interests-inland’ perspective. They intend that the first perspective will be conveyed to readers by the main chapters of the book which deal, respectively, with the resource base, the ‘market’, the farmer, and government. The interests-inland perspective emphasises the increasing array of values and services that land in agriculture at the periphery supports. These include the value of land as a support for the family farm system, land for production, and the amenity value of land. Two other recurring themes are reported to underlie the discussion throughout the book: individual versus collective interests in land and technological change.
Nor is there any discussion of the role of the transnational agribusiness organisations which are currently in the process of restructuring the global agricultural system. The only mention of TNCs that occurs is when the authors discuss the oligopolistic nature of the world grain trade, and point to the role played by the six large U.S. trading companies (pp. 161-162). But there is no analysis of the increasing organisation of agricultural production in the Third World by global agribusiness, nor of the impact that this has in terms of producing ‘luxury’ foodstuffs for developed country consumption. There are other points that could be made concerning the limited perspective that this book adopts, but there is little value in cataloguing all of these. In the book’s favour is a wealth of statistical material and an extensive (but still apolitical) discussion of the role of women in establishing food security. But overall, this is a disappointing study. DAVID Griffith
University,
BURCH Brisbane
Agriculture in the City’s Countryside, Christopher R. Bryant and Thomas R.R. Johnston, 1991, Belhaven Press, London
In the City’s Countryside Christopher Bryant continues his long-standing tradition of research on rural studies and the rural-urban fringe, having teamed up with Thomas
The first chapter is a discussion of the social, economic, political, and technological context in which agriculture at the urban periphery operates, therein establishing the systems view. The chapter presents a cogent overview of the place of agriculture in post-industrial and urban society. Little attention is given to the nature of the resource base, however, and this tends to undermine the integrity of the systems view somewhat. The interests in land are summarised in this first chapter as production, protection (e.g. of natural habitat), place, and play, out of which emerges some sense of the complementarities and the conflicts that are associated with land at the urban periphery. Chapter 2, by way of its title, purports to be an account of the resource base. What it does present is a sensible and well-balanced review of the issues surrounding urban expansion onto agricultural land. The title of the chapter promises much more than is actually delivered, however. The nature of the resource base and the pressures upon it other than urban development are given scant attention. Opportunities for linking structural change in agriculture to the implications for the resource base are not developed. In these respects, the systems view is not maintained. The third chapter goes under the heading of ‘The Market’. Produce markets and markets for inputs (land, labour and capital) are analysed in turn. The discussion is focused at the meso-scale (i.e. the urban periphery), and there is little reference to the influences of the macro economy. A number of important themes relating to the attitudes, aspirations and behaviour of farmers are confronted in the fourth chapter. Like the other chapters of the book, this one is notable for the integration it achieves on the respective theme. An important contribution of this discussion lies in the impression it creates of the considerable diversity in the characteristics of farm entrepreneurs operating in near urban settings. The influence of government is dealt with in Chapter 6. The chapter explores some of the justifications for government intervention, including equity considerations and externalities. Specific forms of intervention in agricultural land markets represents a substantive component of the chapter. Much less attention is given to non-land
224
Book Reviews
based forms of intervention, which is unfortunate. chapter is long and some of the discussion could have been abbreviated.
The easily
Two short chapters at the end attempt to draw the themes of the book together. The discussion is useful in confirming that the book has challenged many misconceptions about agriculture in the urban periphery. I found it less successful in what it contributes towards confirming the systems view. This volume is a valuable contribution to the literature in several respects. Most importantly, it effectively draws together many of the long-standing debates and contemporary views on agriculture at the urban periphery. The book is notable also for the balanced approach it offers to some of the more contentious issues, including urban expansion, for example. The authors convey a good sense of the complexity of agricultural systems in near urban settings. Educators will find many of the diagrams in the book useful in attempting to convey this complexity to students, although they may also find some of them a little contrived. Of special note is the fact that the authors seek to dispel many of the negative conceptions about agriculture in this setting. Three views that are commonly held and which the book directly challenges are that agriculture in the urban fringe is in decline, that it is homogenous in its characteristics, and that the problems agriculture confronts are linked mostly to its urban setting. As to the downfalls. there is some question as to the success of the authors in conveying the systems view. I am not convinced that this is carried through the substantive part of the book, either in its component parts or looking at the content as a whole. The discussion in the individual chapters is often too narrowly focused and the linkages that characterise a systems view are not sufficiently well articulated. Moreover, the systems view it does present is too introspective in that it deals almost exclusively with factors and processes internal to agriculture in a near urban setting. The book does not give adequate perspective on the exogenous forces. While the authors cannot be faulted on their statement of intent in this respect, I submit that greater latitude would have been appropriate. Greater care might have been taken by the authors in their references to specific studies. The degree to which we can generalise from many of the studies reviewed is not always made sufficiently clear and the reader is left wondering at times whether it is the nature of the results in particular. or their broader relevance, that is at issue. Reflecting my own predilections, I was disappointed also in the rather superficial and uncritical reference to sustainability and sustainable development. It is a theme that recurs throughout the book. but the authors offer little in the way of critical interpretation. Often the tone, language and content of the book identify this as a product more for students than for established professionals. None the less, even those who are well established in the field will enjoy the balanced review of knowledge and views on a range of important topics. While fault can obviously be found. I enjoyed this book for what it contributes in the Form of a ~vide-ranging and contemporary analysis of selected issues confronting agriculture at the urban periphery. The analysis is more optimistic than much of the literature in this field and this
will distinguish the book from many other contributions. For those with an interest in agriculture in the urban fringe, they will find this to be a timely and valuable addition to their collections. CHRIS COCKLIN Department of Geography, University qf Auckland
The Land Use, Ecology and Conservation of Broadland, Martin George, xvii + 558 pp., 1992, Packard Publishing Limited, Chichester. f50.00
Wetland ecosystems around the world are facing mounting pressures from land drainage, changing farming practices, pollution, loss of habitat and species, and land-use change. Broadland, perhaps more widely known as the Norfolk Broads, in East Anglia, is one of the most important wetland systems in Britain. These 50 or so flooded medieval peat pits have provided rich and varied habitats for wildlife, but their very survival is now threatened. Ecological and land-use changes in the Broads and the fens and drained marshland which adjoin them, coupled with strong and rising recreatiional and tourist pressures. have increased the need for integrated management and conservation of Broadland, which is now effectively a National Park in all but title. Martin George’s monumental book charts these changing fortunes of Broadland in graphic detail. At 5% text pages, each 20 by 29 cm, the sheer volume of this book impresses. Moreover. the coffee-table style (with an attractive coiour cover, 43 black and white and coiour plates, a vast number of maps and figures, and a well-designed page format) makes you want to keep picking it up and dipping into it. But. unlike most coffee-table books, this one is veritably choking with fact and argument. This is ‘the mother of all research monographs’. which is a fine achievement by the author and a fitting testimony to the significance of his subject. It is clearly written , groans under the weight of evidence included. and well structured. Early chapters deal with Broadland’s scenery, and its geology, physiography. soils and climate. The water regime and origin of the wetlands are discussed next. along with their iimnology, marginal reedswamp communities and natural history. A block of chapters follows which deals with land management, covering topics such as the drained marshland area, drainage improvement schemes, the flooding problem, and recreational use of the waterways. The two final chapters cover planning and administration of the region, and nature conservation. Despite its almost overpowering size, this book is easy to read. The style is clear. and the text is abundantly referenced. The 26 page bibliography contains an estimated 750 items; it is a valuable contribution to the literature in itself! Martin George served for 24 years as Nature Conservancy Regional Officer for East Angiia, and retired in 1990. He has clearly put his retirement to good use in writing this landmark book. I must buy a coffee table to display it on! CHRIS PARK Lancaster Urtiversity, U. K.