ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL - RECOGNIZING HETEROGENEITY IN AUSTRALIAN FARMERS

摘要

Farmers are heterogeneous, but policy makers are often criticized for treating them as a uniformrngroup. A range of unique factors determine their decision making and their responses to newrnpolicy initiatives.rnWater scarcity has led to a necessary re-allocation of water among competing users. Provision ofrnwater for urban, recreational, and environmental purposes is being done at the expense of thernirrigation sector; making it increasingly necessary to encourage effective communicationrnbetween policymakers and irrigators. The shortcoming of the current one-size-fits-all approach tornwater management and planning is that it doesn't work for everybody, creating avoidablernconflicts between users, compromised outcomes and significant social and community impacts.rnIrrigators in Australia's Namoi Valley are facing significant reductions in water entitlementsrnfrom recent water reforms. An assumption behind the policy is that irrigators are a uniform grouprnwho will respond to these reductions in an economically rational fashion. Irrigators havernhowever indicated that they do not intend to behave in this way.rnThis research explores the influence of farmers' values, attitudes and goals, toward land, water,rnprofit, family, and community on their behavior. Our findings suggest that farmers can berncategorized into a typology according to how they associate with three value constructs; FamilyrnLifestyle and Conservation.rnThis research will allow policy makers and service providers to communicate better with farmersrnby using more complementary and more meaningful approaches. The management responses ofrnirrigators are then likely to be more in line with policy expectations reducing the economic,rnsocial, environmental, and political impacts of new policy initiatives.