The social impacts of horticultural development in Canterbury

Abstract

This is a study of the social aspects of agricultural land use change, in particular, the intensification of pastoral and arable land through the development of irrigation and field-scale horticultural production systems in Canterbury. This study incorporates the findings from a social survey, conducted in 1984, of 20 farm families in Canterbury who have diversified from dryland or irrigated farming to establish a horticultural unit on their properties. A major theme of the study is the impacts for women of this transition to horticulture and their changing role in farm work and decision making. The issues raised in the survey are set in the context of current trends in horticultural development and their implications for further research into land-use change in Canterbury are discussed.