Protecting Agricultural Areas Through Legislation

Not all modern farmers have the deep connection to the land as their forefathers did. Under economic pressure, many are ready to give up a life of hard work for the promise of financial security that developers can provide.

In an attempt to protect agricultural landscapes, numerous countries throughout the world use economic incentives and laws, but to no avail. Some farmers have changed their approach towards agriculture, switching from intensive/industrial farming to organic farming methods, but this change provides little economic comfort and has occurred on a relatively small number of farms. There has also been state interest in “primitive” farming methods as a method of preserving history and attracting tourism. Yet these efforts will not stay the flood of farmers leaving farmland to the mercy of bulldozers.

Environmental NGOs that try to stop the development of agricultural lands have limited resources at their disposal, and are seen by much of the public as being against progress and against farmers.

The failure of existing methods of rural land preservation and the search for alternative methods produced the idea for this research paper — using existing legislation, not originally meant for the purpose of preserving farmland, to advance the protection of the rural landscape in agricultural areas. This study surveyed legislation from around the world and found many legislative acts that, if implemented correctly, could help stop the destruction of the rural landscape.