Winter, 1990 (v2n2)
	New Advisory Group Focuses on Labor, Rural Issues UC SAREP convened the first meeting of its Economic and Public Policy Advisory Group in Oakland October 26, 1989. The purpose of the group is to define a research and education agenda for economic and public policy issues as they affect the sustainability of California agriculture, provide a forum for discussion, and plan research and education programs. The group is made up of University of California and California State University faculty, extension personnel, UC SAREP technical and public advisory committee members, and private agricultural consultants. The first meeting began with the identification of three areas in which economics and public policy have a significant impact on sustainability: 1) production practices, 2) labor, and 3) rural/community development. Three subgroups discussed these topics in greater detail and reconvened to hear presentations from each work group. Presented here are abbreviated summaries from each of the three work groups. Production Practices Group Participants in this group included Leslie "Bees" Butler, UC Davis extension agricultural marketing economist; Bob Cantisano, Fran DuBois, Bruce Jennings, Jack Pandol, Jr. and Steve Pavich, UC SAREP Public Advisory Committee members; Bill Liebhardt, UC SAREP director; and Rex Woods of the university-wide Water Resources Center based at UC Riverside. The group began by identifying guiding principles for production practices research. They concluded that this research should 1) focus on preventive practices vs. "curative ones"; 2) be more systems-oriented with a long-term focus; 3) be ecologically sound; and 4) include a focus on the way systems interact. The group suggested specific areas for research including soil building, weed control, pests/pathogens, breeding, non-tillage/minimum tillage, mechanical aids, biological controls, biotechnology, human and animal nutrition using alternative practices, composting and water use/quality. Members agreed that the next step is to identify economic and public policy research related to these practices. Labor Group Participants in the labor group included Franz Kegel, San Joaquin County farm advisor; Robert Peyton, UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources analyst; Howard Rosenberg, UC Berkeley Agricultural Personnel Management Program extension specialist; Kay Thomley, UC SAREP Public Advisory Committee member; Suzanne Vaupel, agricultural consultant; Don Villarejo, Institute for Rural Studies executive director; and Jill Auburn and Gail Feenstra of UC SAREP. The group began by defining sustainable agriculture as "economically viable, ecologically sound, socially just and humane." Group members agreed to direct the attention of SAREP and the university to the needs of California's agricultural laborers. The group noted that agricultural labor conditions should meet accepted social standards for workers in other types of employment, and suggested new community education and research areas that would improve social and work conditions for agricultural laborers. These include: 1) research and education to achieve stable, year-round employment at a liveable wage; 2) improvement of the availability and affordability of housing; 3) improvement of information dissemination to workers and employers regarding worker rights, pesticide and workplace safety; and 4) the establishment of baseline data to determine residential conditions, and needs for community services. The labor group's statement also included questions about how labor should interact with sustainable production systems, including: How much labor will be required? When and where is it needed? What mix of skills will be required? and, What are the preferences of the people who do and could supply this needed labor? Finally, the group noted that people involved in farm labor should have a voice in the political processes affecting them, as well as in setting priorities for agricultural research. Rural Community Development Participants in this group included Isao Fujimoto, UC Davis Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences rural communities researcher; Stan Dundon, Tom Haller, Debra Jones, and George Work, UC SAREP Public Advisory Committee members; Desmond Jolly, UC Davis agricultural economist, Lynne Kennedy, UC Agricultural Issues Center; Jerry Moles, agricultural consultant; Ron Voss, UC SAREP Technical Advisory Committee member; and Barbara Wetzel, UC SAREP. The group began by looking at ways in which the University of California could assist rural residents and communities in achieving sustainability. They concluded that the most effective way of doing this may be to become involved in "action-oriented" research which enables communities to form their own institutions and policies. Group members noted that rural community problems involve the economic and environmental deterioration of the land and its residents, characterized by a flow of resources away from the communities. This results in a loss of population and human resources. Research programs to address these problems must be defined by the communities themselves, group members concluded. Generally, the goal of these research programs is the attainment and preservation of a permanent quality of life which is high enough to cause people to stay in the community, and desirable enough to attract others to reside there. Criteria include permanent and equitable access to social, intellectual, economic and spiritual resources; harmonious interaction with the environment; use of renewable energy; and the use of democratic planning and decision-making processes. Group members noted that each community is unique and will define its own sustainable quality of life differently, and research conducted by outside groups will need to be somewhat non-traditional. The work group noted that action research is what rural communities need now, rather than traditional, publishable research aimed at peers. The group emphasized that action research has concrete change as its goal. This change is characterized by a long-term connection between the community and the assisting agency. The assisting agency might be a more typical research group or a teaching program, that would place students in observational relationships with communities, farmers and rural residents. An example of a research topic might be how new ethnic groups can be sustainably blended into rural communities. The rural communities group ended its discussion by noting that the current university system presents difficulties for researchers doing action research because of strict publishing requirements, lack of acceptance of this less common research by colleagues, and the inadequacy of community-building inherent in the present methods of doing research. The UC SAREP Economic and Public Policy Advisory Group will meet January 11 in Santa Cruz. Index for Sustainable Agriculture Winter, 1990