8.7 Adaptation to change
Debate in local and national venues about social, economic, spiritual and political factors, and values, in relation to farming and sustainability is urgently needed, in order to make sense of the recent changes. There needs to be further examination of the multi-layered, multi-facetted aspects of areas such as the mid Rangitikei. Health and education and transport matters need to be considered in relation to each other; and resource issues and environmental matters need to be seen interdependently, and not in isolation. All these factors impact, and are impacting on, farms and farm families, and need to be viewed and studied as parts of a whole; thus giving everyone involved – from farm families to policy-makers – a useful perspective for coping.
8.8 Questions
The research generated some questions, which hopefully will provoke other questions and a search for answers that will lead to action.
Is farming really in transition or is the current situation merely a glitch?
If it is a transition are people suffering?
If they do not know where they are going, are they going to survive?
Is a mental leap to change mind sets required?
If so, who or what is the catalyst?
Whose responsibility is it to be provocateur, carrot, safety net?
What support is needed to enable such responsibility to be met?
What will the farming picture be in 2005:
a) if no action is taken, or
b) if action is initiated?
Is it worth the effort? For whom?
Is it realistic to ask people to think of the future when their concentration is on survival?
What are the implications of these questions for sustainability?
Contact for Enquiries
Rural Affairs Coordinator
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0675
Fax: +64 4 4 894 0745
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