Farmers On The Edge?

Farm households and well-being

Matt Lobley

Background

Farming recession Disease e.g. BSE &

FMD Policy change

Evidence from USA ‘farm crisis’ in 1980s

Change in the recent past

Cohesion eroded Loss of reciprocal helping Collapse of Union

membership Division surrounding

contemporary debate

Change in wider social role Decline in civic participation Unknown neighbours

Adaptive Strategies

Business specialisation

Diversification

Risk aversion & belt

tightening

Implications for well-being

Increased social isolation Farmers on margins of

information flows & ideas No ‘extreme poverty’,

lots of ‘going without’ Economic & family

vulnerability

Research Implications

Need for more sophisticated analysis – well-being indicators

Differential impacts on well-being

Well-being & business strategy

Role of social networks

The internet and rural communities

Implications for health care?

Martyn Warren

Ongoing research

Relevant, though not health-focused: Farmers and the

internet ‘Virtual Villages’* Buckfastleigh

Broadband*

* with Sarah Skerratt, University of Newcastle

Internet’s potential (1)

Overcoming spatial isolation - access General health care info Specific consults, advice Learning/counselling

from fellow sufferers Impersonal, male-friendly Practitioner support

Internet’s potential (2)

Overcoming social isolation; facilitating contact Existing social

networks New social networks Wider horizons New neighbours Interactivity

Limits to potential

Incomplete coverage Generally ‘Digital divides’: rural,

old, poor, ill-educated Inhibitors

Financial Technological Human Relevance

Overcoming inhibitors

Focus mostly on technological fixes, e.g. Broadband Wearable interfaces

But other factors – especially ability and confidence of individuals – are crucial

Village websites

Over 1000 in UK Using global medium

with local relevance – and glimpses of a wider world

Potential for delivery of information, services

Potential for social interaction in spite of spatial isolation

A neglected resource?

Mostly one-man-bands Virtually no financial

support Rarely any link with

health or other ‘formal’ services

An opportunity for development (but partnership rather than patronising)

Conclusions (1)

Internet has potential both for access to health information, and in contributing to ‘well-being’

Developing use of internet requires attention to human factors as well as technological factors

Conclusions (2)

Local, ‘bottom-up’ phenomena (e.g. village websites) offer untapped opportunities for service provision, including health care