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| Rural Industries |
Objectives
Background
Land degradation is a major problem in Central Queensland and poor tree management has been viewed as one of the most important causes of that degradation. Yet trees are viewed by many farmers as limiting the growth of pastures and thus reducing the productivity of the land. Tree management has not been a high priority among Central Queensland beef producers. It is necessary to establish the basis for poor tree management and to identify the gaps in producer (and expert) knowledge as well as the possible ways to address land degradation.
Research
The study was based upon action research involving fourteen families on beef properties south of Rockhampton. The families were taken through participative problem solving cycles, and helped collect and evaluate information and identify problems which they, as producers, believed they faced in relation to beef production and tree management. Action research included the use of semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and focus group meetings.
Outcome
The participative action method used to involve farmers
in discussions about environmental degradation was seen to have
been successful in alerting farmers to the problems they faced
in current tree management. It allowed local producers to share
knowledge in a non-threatening manner.
The industry saw a need to develop a more integrated approach to tree management on Central Queensland beef properties. Farmers had an historically derived preference for a 'scattered' tree landscape. This was an aesthetic preference which was out of keeping with best practice for tree management. The latter stressed the need for 'tree corridors' along creeks and waterways. Yet these were seen by farmers as harbouring 'vermin'. Collaboration between producers, government agencies and grower organisations was viewed as crucial to the evolution of more environmentally sound, tree management strategies.
Implications
It is necessary for agents of the state to appreciate
that farmers' views and preferences have been formed over a long
period. Increased sustainability will inevitably rely upon new
ways to improve productivity while preserving the soil and vegetative
cover. The challenge is to introduce new ideas into the system
of farming which values an older (and environmentally less appropriate)
way of managing natural resources.
One way of achieving this is by employing participative
problem solving cycles where the farmers themselves, identify
problems and seek appropriate solutions. More research needs to
be undertaken to identify the potential for group processes to
improve simultaneously productivity and sustainability.
RIRDC Project No: UCQ-1A
RESEARCHERS: Jane Gray, Marie Brennan, Geoffrey Lawrence
ORGANISATION: Rural Social and Economic Research Centre
Central Queensland University ROCKHAMPTON QLD 4702PHONE: 079 30 9053
FAX: 079 30 9501
Last updated: 10 October 1996
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