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Responding to the productivist paradigm: Experiences of farmers in Victoria's western Wimmera O'Keeffe, P 2016, 'Responding to the productivist paradigm: Experiences of farmers in Victoria's western Wimmera', in M. Chou (ed.) Proceedings of the Australian Sociological Association (TASA) 2016 Conference, The Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy, Melbourne, 28 November - 1 December 2016, pp. 263-269. Document type: Conference Paper Collection: Conference Papers Title Responding to the productivist paradigm: Experiences of farmers in Victoria's western Wimmera Author(s) O'Keeffe, P Year 2016 Conference name TASA 2016: Cities and Successful Societies Conference location The Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy, Melbourne Conference dates 28 November - 1 December 2016 Proceedings title Proceedings of the Australian Sociological Association (TASA) 2016 Conference Editor(s) M. Chou Publisher The Australian Catholic University Place of publication Melbourne, Australia Start page 263 End page 269 Total pages 7 Abstract Since the early 1970s, Australian agricultural policy has emphasised the need for Australian farms to achieve productivity growth. This article aims to understand how farmers perceive the compulsion to apply productivist farming methods, such as the increased use of technological inputs and increases in farming scale. Furthermore, this article seeks to understand whether farmers feel that viable alternatives exist. To explore these themes, this article uses semi-structured interviews with representatives of 15 different farming businesses in Victoria's western Wimmera. This research found that for many growers, property expansion resulted in a cycle of increased debt and reliance upon the use of productivist farming methods to generate income required to service these debts. Some farmers, however, actively rejected the dominant paradigms of growth and productivism, instead focusing on diversification, and the use of less intensive farming methods. Subjects Rural Sociology Economic Geography Agricultural Economics Keyword(s) Agriculture Productivism Neoliberalism Farming Structural adjustment Copyright notice © TASA 2016 ISBN 9780646964805 Related Links Link Description https://tasa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/TASA_2016_Conference_Proceedin... Link to Published Version   Versions Version Filter Type Thu, 08 Dec 2016, 09:59:01 EST Thu, 26 Apr 2018, 12:23:32 EST Thu, 13 Jun 2019, 10:35:03 EST Filtered Full Access Statistics: 293 Abstract Views  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Thu, 08 Dec 2016, 09:54:00 EST by Catalyst Administrator