The social dimension of sustainable agriculture: Swedish farmers’ social conditions today and tomorrow

Summary

The preconditions for farming is constantly changing together with society at large. Many Swedish farmers give up farming or divert their production. Today’s consumers demand food at low cost as well as they demand the traditional mosaic agricultural landscape. What features characterize farmers’ social conditions today? How does the farmer relate to society at large and how does the society relate to the farmer? Are there institutions in society that take the farmers’ social conditions into account? How do we accomplish a sustainable development of agriculture in a social perspective?
The aim of the project is to build knowledge about how one can achieve a social situation that the farmer percieve as sustainable. The study contains a discriptive part that evaluates today’s situation and an experimental part that seeks to survey methods and means to strengthen/improve the social conditions of farmers. Perhaps systems for consumption of locally produced food or increased diversity in production could contribute to improved social conditions for farmers.
The study will be carried through by using qualitative methods such as in depth interviews and action research.