The Sustainability of Agriculture in a Northern Industrialized Country—From Controlling Nature to Rural Development
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Alternative and Conventional Agriculture
Elements of the paradigm | Alternative agriculture | Conventional agriculture |
---|---|---|
Relationship to nature | Harmony with nature | Control over nature |
Environmental quality | A holistic perception of the environment: agricultural land as part of a larger ecosystem | A narrow perception of the environment: agricultural land managed separately from the surrounding ecosystem |
Resource base | An emphasis on the existing local resource base; nutrient cycles and organic material form the basis for the maintenance of the resource base | The resource base can and should be supplemented whenever necessary and economically rational by external inputs |
Provision of food and fiber | Major concern for basic human needs | Economic profitability as reflected by (possibly subsidized) market prices should determine what and how much is produced |
Economy of the farm | A steady state or moderate “natural” growth | Profit-driven growth at the same or higher rate than in society at large |
Living conditions of farmers | Farming as social and spiritual experience; the spiritual experience as important as the economic rewards for production | Farmers as entrepreneurs able to ensure their standard of living by making sufficient profit from production |
Relationship between farmers | A community with shared values and a strong sense of community and mutual assistance | A community with shared values, which nevertheless competes within markets |
Role of farming in society | Farming as part and parcel of the society based on well-being, producing both food and a wide array of public goods, including landscape, maintenance of biodiversity, recreational opportunities, etc. | Farming as a necessary part of the well functioning society ensuring the food supply, offering employment and the basis for a prosperous industry that contributes to economic well-being |
3. The Sustainability Agenda in Finnish Agricultural Policy
Year | Percent of total GDP | Percent of total employment | Number of farms | Arable land (1000 ha) | Average arable land by farm (ha) | Organic farms, % of all farms |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | 10.7 | 28.7 | 331,263 | 2,654 | 8 | .. |
1970 | 6.9 | 20.3 | 297,527 | 2,667 | 9 | .. |
1980 | 4.3 | 10.8 | 224,721 | 2,563 | 11 | .. |
1990 | 3.2 | 6.9 | 129,114 | 2,545 | 20 | 0.5 |
2000 | 1.4 | 4.0 | 77,896 | 2,187 | 28 | 6.5 |
2010 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 62,450 | 2,292 | 37 | 6.3 |
3.1. The Evolution of Sustainable Agriculture as a Macro-Policy Objective
1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Internal discourse | Economy of the farm, production of food and fiber | Economy of the farm, production of food and fiber, weak recognition of external discourse | Budding interest in organic farming, recognition of the environmental agenda and the importance of the external discourse. [32,33] | Diversity in the discourse, agribusiness vs. family farming. Recognition and use of the rural argument and the living country-side. Dialogue with the external discourse and the emergence of Agenda 2000 [34]. |
External discourse | Internal discourse generally accepted, early recognition of impacts of biocides | Recognition of water pollution by nutrients, budding debate | Widening environmental agenda: concern for biodiversity and rural issues, rise of the sustainability agenda in food production [35]. | Life cycle analysis, global issues, including climate change, search for novel solutions: bioenergy; biogas |
3.2. Monitoring and Implementing Sustainable Agriculture
Source | Phosphorus Tones/a | Phosphorus Share (%) | Nitrogen Tones/a | Nitrogen Share (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Point sources (industry, communities) | 329 | 8.2 | 13,989 | 20.1 |
Scattered settlements | 355 | 8.9 | 2,500 | 3.6 |
Forestry | 231 | 5.8 | 3,253 | 4.7 |
Agriculture | 2,750 | 68.7 | 39,500 | 56.8 |
Other | 139 | 3.4 | 1,553 | 2.3 |
Airborne pollution | 200 | 5.0 | 8,800 | 12.6 |
Total | 4,004 | 100 | 69,595 | 100 |
Elements of the definition of sustainable agriculture | Indicators proposed by [44] | Comments on development |
---|---|---|
Relationship to nature | - Use of natural resources - Genetic diversity - Diversity of wild species and landscapes | - Loss of agricultural biodiversity has been one of the key characteristics of Finnish biodiversity. - Between 1980 and 2010 farmland bird populations declined by 40% [49]. - About 18% of Finland’s threatened species are dependent on agricultural biotopes [49]. |
Environmental quality | - Pesticide use and risk - Nutrient emissions into water - Emissions of greenhouse gases and ammonia - Groundwater quality | - Agriculture is the single most significant polluter of water courses in Finland. - In 2010 about 68% of the total phosphorus load and 53% of the nitrogen load was caused by agricultural production. The former goal to reduce the total loads from 1995 to 2005 by 50% was not achieved. - The use of pesticides increased from the 1950s to 1980 fivefold; the use in 2010 was about 70% of the peak level [49]. - Agriculture produces 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Finland, but between 1990 and 2010 the emissions have declined 11% [50]. |
The resource base | Soil quality | - Soil quality has remained fairly stable since the 1980s, but positive developments have been noted e.g., declining heavy metal contents [51]. |
Provision of food and fiber | - Regional structure of agricultural production - Use of rural products and services | - Finnish agriculture has generally aimed to produce food and fiber for basic needs. - Production of energy -crops has increased, but only a small share of the bioenergy potential of field crop production is utilized [52]. |
The economy of the farm | - Income changes in agriculture - Rural entrepreneurship | - Elaborate systems of subsidies have developed since the 1950s, leading to ever increasing public spending and temporary overproduction of goods (e.g., butter, eggs, milk, and grain). - Farms are now diversified through entrepreneurship; also new entrepreneurships (e.g., heat entrepreneurship) gradually evolving [11]. |
The living conditions of the farmer | - Continuation of farming - Rural infrastructure and services | - Views of the future by farmers are produced occasionally; according to a survey, only 56% of farmers aged 50 and over know who will take care of the farm in the future [53]. |
The relationship between farmers | - Human resources in rural communities | -The number of farms has been declining steadily from more than 330,000 in 1960 to about 62,500 in 2010. |
The role of farming in society | - Regional development and the welfare of rural areas - Consumer awareness - Quality management and assurance | - The number of people earning their livelihood in agriculture is declining and the age structure is unfavorable. - The share of part-time farms is increasing. - Consumers have a favorable view of Finnish agricultural produce. |
4. Discussion: Future Challenges for Agricultural Sustainability
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
Conflict of Interest
References and Notes
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Hildén, M.; Jokinen, P.; Aakkula, J. The Sustainability of Agriculture in a Northern Industrialized Country—From Controlling Nature to Rural Development. Sustainability 2012, 4, 3387-3403. https://doi.org/10.3390/su4123387
Hildén M, Jokinen P, Aakkula J. The Sustainability of Agriculture in a Northern Industrialized Country—From Controlling Nature to Rural Development. Sustainability. 2012; 4(12):3387-3403. https://doi.org/10.3390/su4123387
Chicago/Turabian StyleHildén, Mikael, Pekka Jokinen, and Jyrki Aakkula. 2012. "The Sustainability of Agriculture in a Northern Industrialized Country—From Controlling Nature to Rural Development" Sustainability 4, no. 12: 3387-3403. https://doi.org/10.3390/su4123387