TY - JOUR
T1 - Social and cultural bonds left to “the mercy of the winds:” an agricultural transition
AU - Shelton, Rebecca E.
AU - Eakin, Hallie
N1 - Funding Information:
We are thankful for the support of the Neely Foundation which funded the fieldwork for this project. We also want thank Dr. Sechindra Vallury for his support in the creation of figures for this publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer Nature B.V.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - In 2004, the agricultural economies of many rural communities in the United States were impacted by the cessation of a price-support and supply-control program for tobacco production. Tobacco was not only an important livelihood, but also was central to social and cultural life. Using a social–ecological systems lens and the adaptive cycle metaphor, we examine the reorganization of agriculture in communities that previously produced tobacco under the program. Specifically, we seek to understand how transitional policy that provided financial support to tobacco farmers interacted with other social, cultural, physical and human capitals to condition system reorganization. We conducted semi-structured interviews with farmers, extension agents, and policy makers in Kentucky as well as examined trends in income and number of farmers before and after the transition as indicators of reorganization. We determined that the financial support was perceived as helpful in supporting the transition and that tobacco farmers reorganized their livelihoods primarily around existing, remnant assets and endogenous capacities. In addition, we determined that though the agricultural system may be reorganizing economically, it is not necessarily supportive of the same social bonds and values that co-existed with tobacco economy. Understanding agricultural economies as part of complex social–ecological systems that consist of interconnected values, identities, ecology and social ties is important for developing policies to support systems and communities through economic transitions.
AB - In 2004, the agricultural economies of many rural communities in the United States were impacted by the cessation of a price-support and supply-control program for tobacco production. Tobacco was not only an important livelihood, but also was central to social and cultural life. Using a social–ecological systems lens and the adaptive cycle metaphor, we examine the reorganization of agriculture in communities that previously produced tobacco under the program. Specifically, we seek to understand how transitional policy that provided financial support to tobacco farmers interacted with other social, cultural, physical and human capitals to condition system reorganization. We conducted semi-structured interviews with farmers, extension agents, and policy makers in Kentucky as well as examined trends in income and number of farmers before and after the transition as indicators of reorganization. We determined that the financial support was perceived as helpful in supporting the transition and that tobacco farmers reorganized their livelihoods primarily around existing, remnant assets and endogenous capacities. In addition, we determined that though the agricultural system may be reorganizing economically, it is not necessarily supportive of the same social bonds and values that co-existed with tobacco economy. Understanding agricultural economies as part of complex social–ecological systems that consist of interconnected values, identities, ecology and social ties is important for developing policies to support systems and communities through economic transitions.
KW - Adaptive cycle
KW - Economic transition
KW - Social–ecological systems
KW - Tobacco
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U2 - 10.1007/s10460-020-10178-7
DO - 10.1007/s10460-020-10178-7
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85094948875
SN - 0889-048X
VL - 38
SP - 693
EP - 708
JO - Agriculture and Human Values
JF - Agriculture and Human Values
IS - 3
ER -