Abstract
Many studies of soil and water conservation in third world situations show that among the farmers' incentives the commercial view on rural management is important and that at the same time intangible considerations are playing an important role. Traditional belief, local customs as well as inner conviction are also significant in the farmer's life. An example of incentives of land husbandry in the first world is given by a case of the Swiss Alp-farming. Their great attachment to this type of farming as well as the national support for mountain farmers' income play a role. In activities aimed at improvement of rural development in a third world country, the viewpoint of the expert may easily dominate any kind of plan making because of his position in the projects. However, his cultural background may limit his understanding of the rural situation in countries foreign to him. This has frequently lead to misjudging the importance of other than commercial incentives. A critical self-appraisal of motives and attitude to life by the adviser would often be needed in order to take immaterial incentives into account in development projects and in the achievement of agricultural policy. From the experience obtained in the third world and from the case study of the european alp-farming, the weight of intangibles in the land users' incentives appears as one of the crucial factors in rural management. This weight will grow with the present increasing need for sustainable agricultural productivity as well as with the need to create a sustained use of the environment in many parts of the world.
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Bergsma, E. Incentives of land users in projects of soil and water conservation, the weight of intangibles. GeoJournal 50, 47–54 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007146008246
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007146008246