Communicating a paradigm shift towards alternative farming strategies in New Zealand

Abstract

There is widespread environmental concern over the unsustainability of many conventional farming practices. Recent studies have illustrated that under current systems of production, agriculture is one of the worst industries for pollution and non-renewable resource consumption in the world. To ensure that adequate food production can be maintained into the future, the environment and resources (land, water and fossil fuels) must be conserved and this requires a shift towards more sustainable farming strategies. In New Zealand, as with all developed countries, alternative farming practices make up only a tiny fraction of the agricultural systems. To determine how to increase the adoption of these strategies a review of the literature was carried out, researching what factors have previously influenced such a shift. This was followed by interviews of organic New Zealand dairy farmers who highlighted what their influences, constraints and suggestions were when it comes to influencing adoption of organic practices on a wider scale. A significant finding from both the literature and interviews was the role of communication that illustrates flaws in the conventional farming paradigm. The creative component of this thesis, the documentary ‘A Beetle Abroad’, attempts to communicate some of these issues to farmers.