Structural Change in Agriculture in Ireland PDF Download

Author: Richard A. Browne
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 435

Get Book

Book Description
This thesis is aimed at explaining and understanding the changes in farm structure in a defined region in East Cork and examining the processes by which this change has taken place. As such, it engages with what has become an increasingly pertinent geographical question; the differential transformation of farm structures in developed market economies and the effects of this process on the economic well being of rural areas. The term 'structural change' generally refers to the decline in farms numbers and the consolidation of existing farm units into larger entities. Because of the diverse nature of data sources necessary to complete such a study, a range of methodologies were used. Substantial use were made of empirical data gleaned from official studies and statistical abstracts, and much of this data were also used in the creation of maps to illustrate the nature and extent of change in agriculture in the East Cork region. A questionnaire was administered to a selected sample of farmers, and the empirical data taken from this were also used. Furthermore, a series of interviews were conducted with farmers and non-farmers working in the support industries. These various data sources are used to examine the subject of agricultural change by breaking it down into various themes, such as the changes in land-use, the technology used in farming and the human elements and consequences of such broad ranging changes in the structure of agriculture. This thesis reveals that structural change has been, until recently, relatively gradual and incremental. The study area has witnessed a subtle but important restructuring of the agricultural production carried out therein, with the concentration of crops of increasing value, particularly during the 1980s. The machinery used to achieve this increase in volume and value of crops became increasingly complicated and expensive, and accordingly became concentrated in the hands of contractors. Crucially, a distinct disparity emerged between farms of different sizes as smaller farms became increasingly unprofitable, and hence unsustainable, as a consequence of the above changes.