Premium
Rurality as a Created Field: Towards an Integrated Rural Development in Latvia?
Author(s) -
Tisenkopfs Talis
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
sociologia ruralis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.005
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1467-9523
pISSN - 0038-0199
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9523.00116
Subject(s) - rurality , rural development , rural area , economic growth , subsistence agriculture , variety (cybernetics) , field (mathematics) , rural history , political science , rural economics , agriculture , economics , geography , mathematics , archaeology , artificial intelligence , computer science , pure mathematics , law
The article looks at the post‐socialist countryside as a created field constructed through the discourses and practices of different actors. Despite the fact that small‐scale holdings are the major outcome of agricultural reform, and subsistence oriented farmers constitute the bulk of the rural population, there are a variety of other actors in the new Latvian countryside. Their interests are reflected in three competing approaches to rural development: the small farmer approach, the liberal economic approach and the integrated development approach. Although it is not yet clear which strategy will take the lead, the article argues for policies in favour of varied rural actors, the strengthening of rural development support institutions, the efficient use of EU pre‐structural funds assistance, and local society participation.