Farming in the Сontext of Rural Development

Abstract

Farming as an important socio-economic institution, which largely shapes the appearance of the agrarian production sphere, is considered by the authors in a somewhat atypical projection. Namely, as a factor that generally has a positive impact on the development of rural areas, contributing to the emergence of rather non-trivial and inventive economic and socio-cultural practices in spaces of rural everyday life. Summarizing the results of their own field studies of the past three years, the authors try to outline the contours and details of the transformative activity that is inherent in the new generation of farmers – in contrast to the so-called “first call” farmers (the early 1990-s). The paper generalizes the results of long-term field sociological expeditions taking into account authoritative expert considerations related to the possibility of developing new farming initiatives based on nature-saving practices. An analysis is provided for basic elements and specific forms of modernization of the way of life of the rural population that take place under the influence of “new farmers”. Relying on a high-quality sociological methodology, using materials from interviews with representatives of the farming community, the authors present sketches of an existential (both socio-cultural and production-economic) portrait of “nature-saving farmers”. The most significant moments that hinder the systemic, truly full-blooded development of rural areas are systematized. In conclusion, judgments are formulated about the most favorable prospects for transforming rural worlds – a process where, along with other large-scale actors of change, a new generation of the farming community will play a special role.