Writer: Eirik Magnus Fuglestad
GHG mitigation policies for Norwegian agriculture are often about what farmers can do on their farms, and stand in the tradition of ecological modernization in which technological innovations play a key role. The current system of production is not challenged. Based on my experience as a farmer, I argue that a meaningful GHG mitigation policy should rather be based on practices founded in the de-growth perspective.Writer: Eirik M. Fuglestad
Denne artikkelen er ein refleksjon over den økonomiske situasjonen i norsk jordbruk slik den har utvikla seg sidan 1970-talet. Med dei klassiske teoriane om grunnrente som analytisk utgangspunkt går artikkelen gjennom den strukturelle utviklinga av jordbruket i denne perioden. Det peikast på to viktige utviklingstrekk som kan ha medverka til at dei verdiane som skriv seg frå den norske jordbruksjorda (det som tradisjonelt har vorte omtala som grunnrente), ikkje blir att hjå den aktive bonden: 1) at kapital erstattar eller supplerer noko av verdien naturen skapar, gjennom teknologiske investeringar og tilføring av energi, og 2) at marknaden «billiggjer» eller underbetaler maten til ein pris som ikkje reflekterer bruken av naturen (jorda), via oligobsoni i daglegvarebransjen og via verdisynet i den nyklassiske økonomien. Artikkelen ser dette som eit normativt samfunnsproblem som kan føra til fallande berekraft og til at samfunnet mistar viktige funksjonar. Som ei mogleg løysing på desse problema føreslår artikkelen at me må ta grunnleggjande diskusjonar om korleis me som samfunn verdset jorda og naturen, og at det er viktig at den økonomiske verdsetjinga baserer seg på at jordbruket er ei næring med stadeigne eigenskapar som både produserer frå unike førehald og produserer unike kvalitetar. Dette kan oppsumerast slik: 1) ei tilbakekopling mellom økologi og økonomi og 2) ei revaluering av verdi i det økonomiske systemet. Dette kan bidra til å synleggjera dei verdiane som skriv seg frå bruken av jorda, det som tradisjonelt sett har vorte sett på som grunnrente. Norsk sosiologisk tidsskrift, Vol.7, Iss.2. https://doi.org/10.18261/nost.7.2.3Writer: Eirik M. Fuglestad
Den norske utmarkshistoria har døme på korleis grunnrente har vore fordelte både som rettar til bruk, og som pengeverdiar. Det mest kjende døme er forvaltninga av fossekrafta slik den kom i stand fram mot 1917. Men også bureisinga som toppa seg på 1930-talet, Fjellova av 1920 og Jordlova av 1928 kan sjåast i denne samanhengen. Dette var grunnrente delt som rettigheitar til bruk av ressursane. Meir vanleg i dag er å sjå grunnrente som ein pengeverdi som kan skattleggjast, slik som det etter no er ved vasskraft, og som regjeringa har føreslått det skal bli på vindkraft og oppdrett. Ei framtidig forvaltning av utmarka må ha deling av grunnrenteverdien frå utmarksressursane som prinsipp dersom me skal gjennomføra eit sosialt berekraftig grønt skifte, der ulikskap mellom sentrum og periferi blir bøta på. Dette bør vera grunnrente forstått både som bruksrettar til naturressursar og som pengeverdi, slik at grunnrente kan bli eit breitt verktøy som kan sørgja for at verdiane frå naturressursane i større grad kan bli att i kommunane der dei ligg. Dette kan bidra til større kjensle av rettferd i utmarkskommunar i periferien ovanfor sentrum, til betre kommuneøkonomi i utmarkskommunar, og til at me verdsett naturressursane i større grad. Tidsskriftet UTMARK, nr.1 2023Writers: Egil Petter Stræte, Jostein Vik, Eirik Magnus Fuglestad, Mads Dahl Gjefsen, Anders M.Melås, Roger A.Søraa
The agricultural sector is undergoing several transitions through “smart-farming” technologies. To make this innovation responsible, it is critical to support technological innovation at different stages of innovation with customized strategies for the individual technology.Agricultural Systems, Volume 203, December 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2022.103526
Writers: Jostein Vik, Eirik Magnus Fuglestad and Emil Øversveen
Since the early 2010s, increased centre-periphery tensions have arisen across the Western Hemisphere and have had a significant influence on domestic policies. Analysts have explained this as an effect of economic inequalities and rural marginalisation. In this article it is argued that rural upheavals and centre-periphery conflicts can be caused by processes of alienation. The authors’ analysis is based on existing literature and statistics, as well as their own previously published research. From the case of Norway, they suggest that rural and peripheral upheavals can be explained as alienation caused by a combination of two different phenomena: ongoing transitions within the rural political economy of nature-based industries and sectors, and changes in the role of the modern welfare state, towards a state that in several key policy areas withdraws from the peripheries. Combined, these economic and political developments have produced a state of rural alienation and sharpening centre-periphery tensions, even in the absence of marginalisation and increases in economic inequality. In conclusion, the main argument of the article is that combined, such economic and political developments have produced a state of rural alienation and sharpening centre-periphery tensions, even in the absence of marginalisation and increases in economic inequality. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift, https://doi.org/10.1080/00291951.2022.2111270This report summarizes the results and recommendations from the three-year project Smart technology for sustainable agriculture (SmaT, 2018-2021). SmaT was a collaboration between the Norwegian agricultural cooperative Felleskjøpet Agri, the Norwegian agricultural extension service Norsk landbrukssamvirke, the agricultural secondary school Mære landbruksskole, and researchers from Ruralis and NTNU. Technology-oriented farmers and other professionals have also taken part in the collaboration. The work was funded by the Agriculture and Food Industry Research Funds, and through in-kind contributions from the project’s user partners.
I Pospěch P., E.M. Fuglestad, E. Figueiredo and (red.) Politics and Policies of Rural Authenticisty. Forlag: Routledge
I Pospěch P., E.M. Fuglestad, E. Figueiredo and (red.) Politics and Policies of Rural Authenticisty. Forlag: Routledge
This book explores the notion of rurality and how it is used and produced in various contexts, including within populist politics which derives their legitimacy from the rural-urban divide. The gap between the ‘common people’ and the ‘elites’ is widening again as images of rurality are promoted as morally pure, unalienated and opposed to the cultural and economic globalization. This book examines how using certain images and projections of rurality produces ‘rural authenticity’, a concept propagated by various groups of people such as regional food producers, filmmakers, policymakers, and lobbyists. It seeks to answer questions such as: What is the rurality that these groups of people refer to? How is it produced? What are the purposes that it serves? Research in this book addresses these questions from the areas of both politics and policies of the ‘authentic rural’. The ‘politics’ refers to polarizations including politicians, social movements, and political events which accentuate the rural-urban divide and brings it back to the core of the societal conflict, while the ’policies’ focus on rural tourism, heritage industry, popular art and other areas where rurality is constantly produced and consumed. With international case studies from leading scholars in the field of rural studies, the book will appeal to geographers, sociologists, politicians, as well as those interested in the re-emergence of the rural-urban divide in politics and media. Forlag: Routledge
This article offers a history of ideas of the principle on ground-rent taxation with a focus on the ideas of Ricardo, Marx and George, and how these have been and might be applied in the Norwegian historical context. Ground-rent tax was applied to hydropower and oil extraction in Norway as a means to bridle the growing inequalities produced by industrial capitalism in the 20th century. The same principles may be applied when Norway is now about to enter its bioeconomic phase, where great value may also be produced from natural recourses.
This article reviews research on the relationship between property rights and nationalism. A property rights perspective to the study of nationalism is relevant to understanding the origins and development of nationalism and nation states. Yet, key theorists of nationalism have mostly ignored the relationship between property rights and nationalism, or looked at it only indirectly. There are a variety of ways in which ownership or possession more generally can be related to nationalism, for instance through colonialism, racism, and dispossession (Bannerji et al. 2001; Bhandar 2016; Bhandar & Toscano 2015). This review, however, in order to build a consistent perspective on the historical emergence of nation states and nationalism, will have its main focus on property rights, property regimes and state-building. The literature on state-building and democratization bears important insights about this relationship which can be applied to the study of nationalism. This review will therefore draw on such literature, in addition to works on nationalism where the topic of property has been mentioned, to show how an integrated property rights perspective to the study of nationalism may yield important insights to our understanding of nations and nationalism. Nationalism and Private Property – The State of Nationalism
Silage bailer technology preserving harvested grass and turning it into silage by a baling machine attached to a tractor is common in most rural regions in Norway. In this paper, we argue that not only have silage bales become a common sight in rural areas, in certain cases, silage bales have also had profound significance for agricultural development without much attention paid to their profound role and implications. Norway represents such a case, and a deeper understanding of how such a now common agriculture technology became established could shed light on how the introduction of new technologies affects agricultural change on societal and structural levels. This includes how technologies interact with societal and organizational aspects of agriculture – the co-production of technology and societal practices on different levels. How does new technologies connect – influence and become influenced by – socio-cultural farm practices and societal, organizational and structural features of Norwegian agriculture? We use the introduction of the silag round bale press in Norway as a case study to shed light on this implementation process and its significance for the Norwegian agricultural sector. Journal of rural studies, Volume 84, May 2021, Pages 174-179
Within Norwegian agriculture, combined dairy and beef production has been identified as a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and thus targeted for significant reductions. The article examines the path dependency of the dairy and beef production system in Norway and focuses on identifying lock-ins. The authors used qualitative methods to gather information from stakeholder meetings in Trøndelag and Rogaland counties. They explored the stakeholders’ responses to two different visions of agriculture in the future: the improved utilisation of outfields using Norwegian Red cattle and increasing production per animal by using feed concentrates. Six key areas of lock-in were identified: technology investment, culture, feeding strategy, policy, access to new farmland through moorland conversion, and ownership of the climate issue. The findings suggest that the current pathway in agriculture is strongly locked into production orientation through these lock-ins, making a production reduction option difficult to implement. There was also widespread belief among the stakeholders that the system of combined dairy and beef production was a climate-friendly option, suggesting that farmers are not convinced that a change in this direction is required. The authors conclude that the option of reducing production would be difficult to implement without addressing the multiple lock-in effects. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift 75(1):1-14, February 2021
I Almås, Reidar og Eirik M. Fuglestad (red.) Distriktsopprør – periferien på nytt i sentrum. Dreyers Forlag Oslo
I Frydenlund, Bård, Torleif Rosager Hamre og Andre Larsen Avelin (red.) Grunnlovsfedre på tvers av Atlanteren. Norsk og amerikansk konstitusjonshistorie. Scandinavian Academic Press
I Burton, Rob J.F., Magnar Forbord, Eirik M. Fuglestad og May-Britt Ellingsen (red.) Etter oljen: vår bioøkonomiske fremtid. Oslo: Cappelen Damm
I: Burton, Rob J.F., Magnar Forbord, Eirik M. Fuglestad og May-Britt Ellingsen (red.). Etter oljen: vår bioøkonomiske fremtid. Oslo: Cappelen Damm
I: Burton, Rob J.F., Magnar Forbord, Eirik M. Fuglestad og May-Britt Ellingsen (red.). Etter oljen: vår bioøkonomiske fremtid. Oslo: Cappelen Damm
