Agricultural Policies and Geographical Specialization of Farming in England

영국의 농업정책이 지리적 전문화에 미친 영향 연구

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of agricultural polices on the change of regional structure based on the specialization during the productivism period. Analysis are carried on through the comparison of distribution in 1950s and 1997. Since the 1950s, governmental policy has played a leading role in shaping the pattern of farming in Great Britain. The range of British measures have also been employed in an attempt to improve the efficiency of agriculture and raise farm income. Three fairly distinct phase can be identified in the developing relationship between government policies and British agriculture in the postwar period. In the 1st phase, The Agricultural Act of 1947 laid the foundations for agricultural productivism in Great Britain until membership of the EC. This was to be achieved through the system of price support and guaranteed prices and the means of a series of grants and subsidies. Guaranteed prices encouraged farmenrs to intensify production and specialize in either cereal farming or milk-beef enterprise. The former favoured eastern areas, whereas the latter favoured western areas. Various grants and subsidies were made available to farmers during this period, again as a way of increasing efficiency and farm incomes. Many policies, such as Calf Subsidy and the Ploughing Grant, Hill cow and Hill Sheep Schemes and the Hill Farming and Livestock Rearing Grant was provided. Some of these policies favoured western uplands, whilst the others was biased towards the Lake District. Concentration of farms occured especially in near the London Metropolitan Area and south part of Scotland. In the 2nd stage after the membership of EC, very high guaranteed price created a relatively risk-free environment, so farmers intensified production and levels of self-sufficiency for most agriculture risen considerably. As farmers were being paid high prices for as much as they could produce, the policy favoured areas of larger-scale farming in eastern Britain. As a result of increasing regional disparities in agriculture, the CAP became more geographically sensitive in 1975 with the setting up of the Less Favoured Areas(LFAs). But they are biased towards the larger farms, because such farms have more crops and/or livestock, but small farms with low incomes are in most need of support. Specialization of cereals such wheat and barely was occured, but these two cereal crops have experienced rather different trend since 1950s. Under the CAP, farmers have been paid higher guaranteed prices for wheat than for barely because of the relative shortage of wheat in the EC. And more barely were cultivated as feedstuffs for livestock by home-grown cereals. In the 1950s dairying was already declining in what was to become the arable areas of southern and eastern England. By the mid-1980s, the pastral core had maintained its dominance, but the pastoral periphery had easily surpassed arable England as the second most important dairying district. Pig farming had become increasingly concentrated in intensive units in the main cereal areas of eastern England. These results show that the measure of agricultural policy induced the concentration and specialization implicitly. Measures for increasing demand, reducing supply or raising farm incomes are favoured by large scale farming. And price support induced specialization of farming. And technology for specialization are diffused and induced geographical specialization. This is the process of change of regional structure through the specialization.

본 연구는 농업의 산업화 과정에서 국가의 농업정책이 지역적 전문화(specialization)에 어떠한 영향을 미쳤는가를 영국을 사례로 하여 분석한 논문이다. 1950년대 이후 영국은 영농규모의 집중화(concentration), 보장 가격의 설시, 조건불리지역 사업을 통해 농업의 산업화를 촉진하는 정책을 실시하였으며 이로 인해 농업의 지역적인 전문화가 발생하였다. 작물의 전문화는 밀과 보리 및 종유(oilseed)를 중심으로 나타났다. 밀의 경우 EU 가입이후 상대적으로 부족하면서 공동농업정정책(Common Agricultural Policy)에서 높은 보장가격을 지지받음에 따라 동부 잉글랜드 지방의 토양이 비옥한 지역을 중심으로 전문화가 이루어졌다. 보리의 경우 사료작물로 재배되면서 가축사육지원정책의 영향을 받아 가축사육의 전문화가 이루어진 지역에서 집중 재배되었다. 종유의 지역적 전문화는 식품가공업이 발달과 함께 품종 개발, 가공 및 저장기술의 발달로 남부지역에서 북부지역으로 확산되었다. 가축 사육은 작물 재배보다 전문화가 뚜렷하였다. 특히 1970년대부터 실시된 조건불리지역 사업은 영농조건이 불리한 영국 서부 구릉지 지역에 전문화를 유발시키면서 환경보전론자들의 비판을 받기도 하였다. 또한 1980년대 중반이후 우유생산량을 줄이기 위한 쿼터제도에서 농민들간에 쿼터량을 거래할 수 있게 함으로서, 동부지역의 농민이 서부지역에 이를 양도함으로서 전문화는 더욱 촉진되었다. 이와 같은 연구 결과는 농업정책이 현시적으로 혹은 암묵적으로 공간적인 측면을 지니게 되어 농업의 지역적 분화를 유발함을 의미한다.