Abstract
Rural places are extremely diverse and represent far more than the agricultural activity often associated with them. They provide lifestyles to people and communities and are celebrated as places of symbolic importance (Cloke, 2006; Woods, 2011). However, the recent development of rural areas have largely been dictated by the trajectory of the agricultural industry. This is exacerbated by external forces and non-agricultural demands. This is due to complex links between national-level policy and the reflection of this on-farm (Cloke & Goodwin, 1992; Wilson, 2007).
Recent rural geography identifies how ‘rurality’ is a social construct, constantly being (re)shaped by forces within rural places (Halfacree, 2006). A range of national and local stakeholders interact across scales to produce the ‘reality’ of life for rural communities. Within rural research, this ‘reality’ has been framed within concepts such as productivism and post- productivism (Ilbery & Bowler, 1998; Walford, 1999; McCarthy, 2005). Literature on the post- productive transition and multifunctionality have been used to explain how rural places have changed over time. However, these are often taken from the perspective of Britain and the European Union. Adding to this literature, this research investigation aims to explore rural and agricultural change in the context of New Zealand.
Rural changes within New Zealand have been inherently linked with the British productivist regime. The drive to become the ‘farm of Britain’ within New Zealand saw investments and interventions into the industry to enhance the intensification and commercialisation of agriculture. Subsequently, the withdrawal of state assistance in the 1980s led to a period of decline. In response, rural areas are now diversifying their on-farm and off-farm economies to improve local economic sustainability and rural social and cultural capital. Within the literature, these changes have been theorised as the ‘post-productive transition’ (Cloke & Goodwin, 1992; Halfacree, 1993; 2006; Woods, 2011). However, most important to this thesis is the application of these ideas in a local context. The chosen case study of Maniototo largely mirrored the development trajectories of other rural New Zealand areas and provided a means to understand local place-specific dynamics.
Using a combination of key informant interviews and historical information, this thesis identifies to identify how rural actions and agendas at a national level (New Zealand) were reflected through a wide-range of local impacts in Maniototo. The findings of this research demonstrate that, while ideas of productivism are applicable in the national and local context, there was insufficient evidence in Maniototo to suggest a shift to post-productivism that the concept of a ‘transition’ implies. As a result, the concept of multifunctionality serves as a better lens to understand the reality of diverse rural change in New Zealand and Maniototo. Further, if research is to continue to frame change within the transition, it must give substantially more focus to the era of ‘pre-productivism’.