Centre for Rural Policy Research

The CRPR is an inter-disciplinary team of social scientists interested in the rural economy and society with a special focus on agricultural, environmental and bioenergy policy; sustainable land management; agro-food regulation; sustainable communities; the social and economic development of agriculture; and the impacts of climate change on farming and land use. While most CRPR research is conducted in the UK it also has an interest in Eastern Europe, especially Poland. In addition to conducting research, CRPR staff play an active role in rural policy development.

LATEST NEWS & EVENTS

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE LAND: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE.
THE CRPR EMBARKS ON TWO MAJOR NEW PROGRAMMES OF RESEARCH

The end of 2009 saw work commence in earnest on the Centre's latest two research grants.

1. Processes of Technical Change in British Agriculture: Innovation in the Farming of South West England, 1935-1985
This three year project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Michael Winter, Matt Lobley and David Harvey from the Geography Department are joined in the research by new CRPR Senior Research Fellow Paul Brassley, a leading historian of twentieth century British agriculture. The UK during the period from the 1940s to the 1970s underwent a profound and far reaching transformation of its farming industry. Conventional knowledge attributes this 'second (or third) agricultural revolution' to market opportunity, state support, and the availability of new technical innovations. Yet this account ignores the underlying reality that much of the technology and innovation adopted in the post-war period was already available in pre-war years. Moreover, some of the cost-price pressures on agriculture that limited productivity in the 1930s were equally present in the '50s, '60s and '70s. We are undertaking a detailed case study of South West England, deploying an historical analysis of the annual Farm Management Survey (FMS), undertaken since the mid-1930s. We will combine evidence from the FMS field books with oral history involving famers, or their successors, who participated in the FMS in the 1950s and 1960s to produce a fine-grained and locally-informed survey of agricultural change in general and technical change in particular, through identifying how and when outputs changed on a sample of farms over the period 1935 - 1985.

2. Sustainable Rural Futures
We have started a five year programme of work funded by Devon County Council and the University's Strategic Development Fund to conduct research that will produce policy-relevant outputs to facilitate the development of successful technical and business innovation in agri-food businesses and a pattern of land use that meets the region's needs for food and energy security and the delivery of other ecosystem services. The first year of the programme is being conducted by Michael Winter, Rob Fish, Matt Lobley, Naiomh McMahon and Allan Butler. The work is overseen by a Steering Group chaired by Devon County Council Chief Executive, Phil Norrey. Other Steering Group members include the national park officers for Dartmoor and Exmoor. "Our long standing close relationship with Devon County Council is a central plank in our commitment to conduct research that is both rigorous and policy relevant. This programme enables us to develop in-depth work in the county over a long time period, focussing initially on issues of food security and agricultural change" explains Michael Winter.

Earlier news items

Stapledon Trust Seminar on High Natural Value Farming Systems, 19-20 January 2010

This seminar will explore the role and future of High Natural Value Farming Systems in Western Europe, with particular emphasis on grasslands in such systems. The context for the seminar is the growing policy emphasis on food security and climate change adaptation.

December 2009

Matt Lobley speaking at South West Observatory Devon Local Network Seminar

Matt Lobley will be speaking at this seminar on 8 December which is part of the South West Observatory's Land and Food Programme. Matt's talk is entitled 'Farming Futures: The agriculture sector in the South West to 2020 and beyond'.

More details

November 2009

Opportunities and potential for small scale anaerobic digestion plants in the UK

Allan Butler will be giving a presentation at the Rural Enterprise Gateway Knowledge Network events on 8th December at Kemble in Gloucestershire, and on 10th December at North Wyke Research near Okehampton. Allan's presentation is entitled: Overview of AD calculators available to the industry.

November 2009

UK National Ecosystem Assessment - Scenarios Working Group

CRPR’s close involvement in National Ecosystem Assessment has been extended. Rob Fish has been appointed to the Scenarios Working Group for the Assessment which will meet on 23rd November. Rob’s involvement in the Group builds on his scenario building work for Defra as part of a programme of research for embedding an Ecosystems Approach into policy delivery.

Click her for more information

November 2009

Ecosystem Assessment and Services: A New Approach to Thinking about Land Use

Exeter's Centre for Rural Policy Research is fully engaged in the Ecosystem Approach to understanding the wide range of demands made by humans on the natural environment and our dependency on natural processes for food, energy, water and wellbeing. Michael Winter is a member of the national Expert Panel on Ecosystem Assessment which is co-chaired by Professor Bob Watson of University of East Anglia and Defra’s Chief Scientific Advisor, and Professor Steve Albon of the Macaulay Institute. The Panel is supported by United Nations Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Rob Fish, working with Michael Winter, Matt Lobley and Duncan Russel in the CRPR along with colleagues at the universities of East Anglia and Nottingham, has recently won a one year research project with Defra to examine ‘Participatory and deliberative techniques for embedding an ecosystems approach in decision-making’.

November 2009

Socio-economic aspects of local and national organic farming markets

A report commissioned by Defra and published today by the CRPR takes a fresh look at the nature of organic production, consumption and marketing in England and Wales and reveals a highly committed set of consumers. The report also identifies a group of small scale producers who, locally embedded and linked to consumers via short supply chains, fulfil the expectations of many organic consumers and exemplify the idea of alternative food producers. However, it is the large scale producers, concerned with the production of bulk commodities and integrated into long supply chains, that inevitably account for the main rural employment and income benefits of the organic sector, if measured in aggregate terms.

Click here for the summary report or here for the main report.

October 2009

PPRE Research & Policy Symposium, November 2009

Staff at CRPR are participating in a one day symposium and networking event on Farming Food and the Rural Economy this autumn. The event is showcasing latest findings from rural research undertaken by Duchy College, North Wyke Research and the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth as part of the Peninsula Partnership for the Rural Environment. More details can be obtained from Rob Fish, the event co-ordinator or by visiting the PPRE website.

September 2009

Rob Fish to chair one-day symposium at the Royal Geographical Society, September 2009

As a co-organisor of an ESRC/NERC Transdisciplinary Seminar Series on the Ecosystems Approach Rob Fish assisted in chairing a major one-day event at the RGS in early September. Entitled Creating a new prosperity: Fresh approaches to ecosystem services and human well-being the event was attended by over 200 people including policy makers, scientists and research councils

More details

September 2009

Matt Lobley presents in Denver, Colorado

Matt Lobley gave a paper on “Succession and Retirement on English Family Farms” at the Changing Lands, Changing Hands conference on Farm and Ranch Access, Succession, Tenure and Stewardship in Denver, Colorado, June 10-11th.

PowerPoint presentation

June 2009

Naoimh McMahon at the 4th International Conference in Interpretive Policy Analysis

Naoimh McMahon will present her paper entitled ‘Policy/Making Identities: objectivity, scientific truth and political strategies’ at ‘Discourse, Power and Politics’ the 4th International Conference in Interpretive Policy Analysis being held at the University of Kassel, Germany between the 25 and 27 of June.

Abstract

June 2009

Naoimh McMahon presented a paper on the food ethics of international policy elites.

Naoimh McMahon gave a paper entitles ‘Consuming Food and Policy Culture’ at the Sociological Association of Ireland annual conference on the 9th May in Waterford, Ireland.

June 2009

Michael Winter appointed to Science Advisory Council

Michael Winter has been appointed to the Science Advisory Council (SAC) which advises DEFRA on science policy and strategy.

More details

May 2009

Matt Lobley presentation in Leicester

Matt Lobley gave a paper titled “Habitat is just another crop”: Training and advice for agri-environmental management at the British Ornithologists' Union Lowland Farmland Birds Conference in Leicester on April 2nd.

PowerPoint presentation.

April 2009

Keynote address - Michael Winter

Michael Winter gives a keynote address today at a conference on Barriers to Training and Skills Development in Rural Areas hosted by the Marchmont Observatory (www.marchmont.ac.uk) and the the South West Observatory (www.swslim.org.uk).

Keynote address on the rural context (PowerPoint presentation)

March 2009

Keith Howe in Switzerland, March 2009

In March, Keith Howe will be giving a seminar at the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office, Bern, on the topic ‘Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics – A Damaging Dichotomy?’. He will also be leading a workshop on the theme ‘Popular Fallacies in Animal Disease Control, or Why Economics Matters', sponsored by the Swiss Forum for Veterinary Epidemiology and Animal Health, to be held at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Bern.

February 2009

'Land for the Future' - ESRC Festival of Science Seminar (University of Exeter)

When: 9th March 2009, 09:30 – 16:30
Where: University of Exeter, Kay Building, Poldhu Room

A seminar to examine strategic land use in the context of current concerns over climate change, food and energy security.

The daylong seminar will be looking at the findings of some of the Research Councils' Rural Economy and Land Use Programme (RELU) research projects at a South West regional level. This is an opportunity to learn about the latest research and to contribute to discussions on policy implications and future research requirements.

Contributors include renowned researchers from North Wyke Research, University of Manchester, University of Southampton, Imperial College and from the University of Exeter.

As a contribution to the strategic land use agenda, RELU is seeking to develop an informed perspective on land use challenges and to pose key policy questions on how to manage the countryside.

For details and booking please contact Andrés Garzon Delvaux.

“Land and the Future” seminar programme.

Events will be taking place across the UK during Festival of Social Science/National Science and Engineering Week 2009.

All ESRC Festival of Science seminars

February 2009