What is productivist agriculture; what are its related problems and Essay

What is productivist agriculture; what are its related problems and how and why is agriculture changing in the UK - Essay Example which facilitated the continued expansion of agricultural production. Other conceptualizations have stressed on the frequently environmentally destructive nature of productivist agriculture, based on the maximisation of food production through the application of ever-more intensive farming techniques and biochemical inputs (Wilson, 2007: 80). Thesis Statement: This paper proposes to identify the implications of productivist agriculture, determine the problems related to productivist agriculture, and investigate the ways in which, and the reasons why agriculture is changing in the United Kingdom. Productivist agriculture is conceptualized mainly as industrially driven agriculture for production of high quantities of food, which is strongly supported by the state through subsidies and a productivist policy regime. Productivism should be seen as the practice of using farmland to its full potential, creating a mechanistic landscape appearance that reflects the production process. Productivism is also referred to as an era that is a significant part of 20th century historical development in agricultural change, mostly as a reaction towards food shortages after the Second World War† (Egoz et al, 2001: 177). The productivist era lasted from 1945 to mid-1970s. During the years of the second world war from 1939 to 1945, many rural areas underwent a marked increase in their economic conditions. As part of the war effort, the government initiated a â€Å"ploughing up† campaign in order to reduce reliance on imported food. In compliance with the Barlow and Scott reports the initiatives facilitated a transformation in the government’s approach to the rural economy in the post-war years. Governmental policy promoted the preservation of rural land for agricultural production. The economy entered the productivist era, while there was increasing tension between