PRIVATE SECTOR AGRICULTURAL TENANCY ARRANGEMENTS IN EUROPE: THEMES AND DIMENSIONS; A CRITICAL REVIEW OF CURRENT LITERATURE

Although there is widespread support for the "ideal model" of agricultural production being based around the owner-occupier farmer, it is recognized that, for a variety of reasons, this ideal is neither always attainable nor desirable. There is also a need to ensure that farming becomes competitive when exposed fully to world markets. This means that farmers are likely to require the flexibility to expand their businesses in circumstances where they may not have the capital to purchase the additional assets. The need to find suitable systems for agricultural tenancy reform remains paramount as a means both for sustaining rural communities generally and for establishing mechanisms suitable for matching the demand for and supply of private land for rent. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently commissioned a study of agricultural land tenure systems in order to identify elements of good practice in existing arrangements for the leasing of private sector agricultural land. This report is confined to a consideration of and commentary on the existing literature on tenure and tenancy arrangements as a basis for identifying examples of good practice. For the purposes of establishing good practice, this report concentrates on the market economies of northern and western Europe, predominantly the fifteen current member states of the European Union, while being aware of the principal dimensions of land reform in central and eastern European and former Soviet Union countries.Farm tenancy--Europe, Farm tenancy--Europe--Bibliography, Farm tenancy--Government policy--Europe, Land tenure--Europe, Land Economics/Use,

Regional food self sufficiency: new visions for productive landscapes

Food is an important resource for the survival and development of civilization. Its potential is so huge that it affects physical and mental health in an individual sense, and it affects landscapes and even public relations in a social sense. For most people, having food is never a problem that the importance of food is overlooked. However, the right to food is not equal. There are still a considerable number of people have low food access, which means…, and they may also be forced to be in an unbalanced diet leading to health problems such as obesity. A large amount of food and the resources used to produce food are wasted, and unsustainable production methods cause the deterioration of the production environment are problems that need to be solved urgently. I believe it’s time to reimagine the role of food in our daily lives in terms of new ways of people participating in productive landscapes. Those landscapes can have a primary function as food production as well as secondary and even tertiary functions for example being places for public activities and education. Productive landscapes have have way more possibilities as long as we can give full play to our creativity. In the thesis I’m going to explore the possibility of food self-sufficiency in order to shift people’s visions and engagements with productive landscapes using New Bedford region as the test ground. During the design process, there will be new transformations of land based on calculated data. Those types of land will be multi-functional combining food production, environmental justice and human engagement together

Selecting suppliers for socially sustainable supply chain management: Post-exchange supplier development activities as pre-selection requirements

The aim of this paper is to provide an understanding of how the supplier selection process used by buying organisations to establish socially sustainable supply chains has evolved from the traditional purchasing function. Through the application of a socially responsible purchasing (SRP) approach, organisations are attempting to address the challenges of selecting appropriate suppliers to engage with. To achieve SRP, behavioural agency attributes were found to complement traditional agency forms of governance from the start of the process. Through the use of an exploratory case study approach, three focal (purchasing) firms pursuing a strong sustainability agenda, and two supply chain intermediary organisations were investigated. The results show that supplier development activities previously positioned post-selection, are now performed at the pre-selection stage, moving them to the beginning of the process. Suppliers must now demonstrate commitment to sustainability through implementing improvements highlighted in corrective action reports at the pre-selection point before any financial transactions occur. The movement of post-selection supplier development activities to the pre- selection stage, to align sustainability goals and reduce risk, is a significant finding of this paper that purchasing personnel and suppliers should consider in the establishment of a socially sustainable supply chain