Why is the grass greener on the other side?
Summer pastures are underused while winter pastures are overused in Albania. Summer pastures are usually located a few kilometres from the village, while winter pastures are found very close to it. The grass growth in the villages is very low during the hot, dry summers, why farmers have traditional...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | Otro |
| Lenguaje: | sueco Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2008
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10933/ |
| _version_ | 1855571777971814400 |
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| author | Jonzon, Ylva |
| author_browse | Jonzon, Ylva |
| author_facet | Jonzon, Ylva |
| author_sort | Jonzon, Ylva |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | Summer pastures are underused while winter pastures are overused in Albania. Summer pastures are usually located a few kilometres from the village, while winter pastures are found very close to it. The grass growth in the villages is very low during the hot, dry summers, why farmers have traditionally moved their animals during this season. They have moved them to winter pastures in the mountains, where the temperature is lower. This habit is believed to have declined since democratization in the early 1990s.
This paper presents a case study in North-Eastern Albania, where pasture use was studied. The aim of the study was to find out, in an economic framework, why pasture use is so uneven, if more intense use of summer pastures can help the overused winter pastures, which are degrading and how this would affect farmers' economy. The focus of this work is pastures, but some attention is also given to forest management and the agricultural system in general.
Pobreg is a village of slightly more than 1000 inhabitants. A "Natural Recourse Development Program" (NRDP) is currently implemented, with the objective of improving the natural resources and decreasing poverty. Sida and the World Bank are co-financing the project.
Field work was carried through in June and July 2008. A multi-perspective approach was undertaken. Information was gathered through interviews, focus group meetings, archival records, documentation and own observation.
Information was gathered about pasture and forest management as well as the agricultural system.
The main finding was that summer pasture use has declined since democratization in 1991, and that the main reason is that it is not feasible to use the rangelands far away from the village with the few heads of animals that farmers hold after the reform.
Five cows (or a corresponding herd of other animals) are needed for the investments needed to use summer pastures to be profitable. Many farmers hold fewer animals than that, so cooperation among farmers is suggested as a way to making summer pasture use possible. This would likely improve the status of both winter and summer pastures, the latter because biodiversity decreases when pastures are not properly grazed of maintained. Also important, animals' growth and yields are believed to increase as they are brought to the mountains during summer.
The main conclusion of the study is that summer pastures should be regarded an important resource and that they should be included in the on-going projects that aim to improve natural resources and decrease poverty. The interviews revealed that the NRDP was seen as very creditable, and they should hence be a trust-worthy third part in a potential cooperation. |
| format | Otro |
| id | RepoSLU10933 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Swedish Inglés |
| publishDate | 2008 |
| publishDateSort | 2008 |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU109332017-09-20T11:28:34Z https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10933/ Why is the grass greener on the other side? Jonzon, Ylva Agrarian structure Summer pastures are underused while winter pastures are overused in Albania. Summer pastures are usually located a few kilometres from the village, while winter pastures are found very close to it. The grass growth in the villages is very low during the hot, dry summers, why farmers have traditionally moved their animals during this season. They have moved them to winter pastures in the mountains, where the temperature is lower. This habit is believed to have declined since democratization in the early 1990s. This paper presents a case study in North-Eastern Albania, where pasture use was studied. The aim of the study was to find out, in an economic framework, why pasture use is so uneven, if more intense use of summer pastures can help the overused winter pastures, which are degrading and how this would affect farmers' economy. The focus of this work is pastures, but some attention is also given to forest management and the agricultural system in general. Pobreg is a village of slightly more than 1000 inhabitants. A "Natural Recourse Development Program" (NRDP) is currently implemented, with the objective of improving the natural resources and decreasing poverty. Sida and the World Bank are co-financing the project. Field work was carried through in June and July 2008. A multi-perspective approach was undertaken. Information was gathered through interviews, focus group meetings, archival records, documentation and own observation. Information was gathered about pasture and forest management as well as the agricultural system. The main finding was that summer pasture use has declined since democratization in 1991, and that the main reason is that it is not feasible to use the rangelands far away from the village with the few heads of animals that farmers hold after the reform. Five cows (or a corresponding herd of other animals) are needed for the investments needed to use summer pastures to be profitable. Many farmers hold fewer animals than that, so cooperation among farmers is suggested as a way to making summer pasture use possible. This would likely improve the status of both winter and summer pastures, the latter because biodiversity decreases when pastures are not properly grazed of maintained. Also important, animals' growth and yields are believed to increase as they are brought to the mountains during summer. The main conclusion of the study is that summer pastures should be regarded an important resource and that they should be included in the on-going projects that aim to improve natural resources and decrease poverty. The interviews revealed that the NRDP was seen as very creditable, and they should hence be a trust-worthy third part in a potential cooperation. Sommarbeten, belägna någon eller några kilometer från byarna, är underutnyttjade i Albanien medan vinterbeten överutnyttjas med ogräsdominans och erosion som följd. Vinterbeten ligger i allmänhet i direkt anslutning eller mycket nära byarna. Under den varma sommaren växer gräset på vinterbetena väldigt lite, vilket gör att man traditionellt flyttat djuren till sommarbeten i bergen där klimatet är annorlunda. Det verkar dock som om detta har förändrats sedan demokratiseringen i början av 1990- talet. Fenomenet har studerats i en fallstudie i byn Pobreg i nordöstra Albanien. Pobreg är en by med drygt 1000 invånare. Många är mycket fattiga. Sedan några år tillbaka genomförs ”Natural Resource Development Project” (NRDP) i byn. Projektet syftar till att minska fattigdomen och förbättra naturresurserna. Bland andra Sida och Världsbanken finansierar projektet. Studiens syfte var att utröna varför användandet är så ojämnt, och huruvida ett ökat användande av sommarbeten under sommaren kan minska degraderingen av vinterbeten och vilka ekonomiska konsekvenser som skulle följa på det. Fältarbete genomfördes i byn Pobreg under juni och juli 2008. En multiperspektiviell ansats användes. Information samlades in genom intervjuer, fokusgrupper, arkivdata, dokumentation och egna observationer. Information om skogens, betenas och jordbruksproduktionen organisation samlades in. Det huvudsakliga resultatet var att nyttjandegraden till viss del beror på den jordbruksreform som genomfördes 1991. Jordbruksmarken delades upp i mycket små enheter (0,2 hektar per person på landsbygden). Pobregs bönder menade att det var omöjligt för dem att utnyttja sommarbetena, som kräver övernattningsmöjligheter för herdarna, med så få djur. Litteraturen pekar på att det även finns en ovilja att leva traditionellt liv. Detta fick dock inget stöd av den empiriska studien. Studien visade också att en produktion med fem kor (eller motsvarande värde av andra djur som kräver högkvalitativt bete) är nödvändig för att investeringar för att utnyttja sommarbeten ska vara lönsamma. I dagsläget har bönderna färre djur än så, och därför skulle ett samarbete mellan jordbrukare kunna initieras både för att minska överutnyttjandet av vinterbetena och öka utnyttjandet av sommarbeten. Sommarbetena i byn har nämligen stor biologisk mångfald. En annan fördel med sommarbetena är att djurens tillväxt och avkastning med stor sannolikhet gynnas. Studiens slutsats är därför att sommarbetena bör ses som en resurs och att man bör äverväga att inkludera dem i de policies som pågår och som syftar till att förbättra naturresurserna och minska fattigdomen. Intervjuerna visade att NRDP hade stort förtroende hos bönderna, och därför skulle projektet kunna fungera som en tredje part i ett potentiellt samarbete mellan bönder. 2008-12-29 Other NonPeerReviewed application/pdf sv https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10933/1/jonzon_y_170920.pdf Jonzon, Ylva, 2008. Why is the grass greener on the other side? : a case study of pasture use in North-Eastern Albania. UNSPECIFIED, Uppsala. Uppsala: (NL, NJ) > Dept. of Economics <https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/view/divisions/OID-510.html> urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-7022 eng |
| spellingShingle | Agrarian structure Jonzon, Ylva Why is the grass greener on the other side? |
| title | Why is the grass greener on the other side? |
| title_full | Why is the grass greener on the other side? |
| title_fullStr | Why is the grass greener on the other side? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why is the grass greener on the other side? |
| title_short | Why is the grass greener on the other side? |
| title_sort | why is the grass greener on the other side? |
| topic | Agrarian structure |
| url | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10933/ https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10933/ |