Agri-environmental Management Through Collective Action

Agriculture has both positive and negative impacts on the environment. With the growing awareness of environmental issues, improved approaches to agri-environmental management have become important policy issues. Previous studies on agri-environmental policies have focused on individual farmers rather than on collective action. However, some agri-environmental issues need to be managed by farmers co-operatively. Collective action can facilitate geographically appropriate management of resources, allow for shared knowledge among members thus increasing their capacities, and provide solutions for dealing with agri-environmental issues. However, sometimes, transaction costs can hinder collective action from being initiated. Moreover, farmers often need external support such as scientific knowledge, technical information and financial assistance. Thus, external help from public agencies or other interested bodies may be necessary to promote collective action. Many local and central governments encourage farmers and other stakeholders to take initiatives to manage the environment by themselves through various policy measures including technical assistance and financial assistance programmes. Collaboration with intermediaries is also necessary to facilitate state-community relationships. Governments can assist agri-environmental management, as opposed to inerfering with it, through better agri-environmental policies that promote collective action.