AGRICULTURE AND MODERN LIFE: Some Danger Signals

New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 225, 15 October 1943, Page 8

AGRICULTURE AND MODERN LIFE:

Some Danger Signals

(Written for "The Listener" by PROFESSOR

E. R.

HUDSON

Director, Canterbury Agricultural College)

N his recent work, A Time for Greatness, Herbert Agar states that we have come to regard Civilisation as a by-product of the economic process. His statement is undoubtedly correct, and is a fair and reasonable criticism of our modern attitude towards life. We have become entangled in the mesh of present-day technology and think we are developing culture. We limit new ventures to "sound-business" and "assured profits,’ and forget that living is no less important than making a living. We struggle for a "higher standard* of living’ and fail to realise that what we seek is a higher standard of contentment. We look for stimulus and excitement, and vainly imagine we are getting pleasure and satisfaction. We are too prone*to use the yardstick of money as the sole unit for assessing values. What is the value of Magna Charta,. of antiseptic surgery, of the satisfaction of work well done, of a garden to the garden lover, of a, happy family, of friendship, of the Sabbath day of rest and of innumerable other

things which make life good? Such things are not produced in factories. Neither are they articles of trade, and they certainly do not appear in balance sheets or statements of profit and doss. The Full Life Just as our most pressing collective task is the winning of the war, so each one of us as an individual is confronted, first and foremost, with the ever-present problem of making a living. These matters demand priority, but unless we look beyond them, they become futile. It will not profit us to win the war and fail to rectify the conditions which brought it about. Likewise the earning of a living should be the’ first step towards a full and contened life. I believe that such a life is more readily attained under country than under city conditions, It would appear that this is not the popular opinion, and there is no doubt that at the present time there is a widespread tendency to regard rural life as being unattractive. In championing country life, I have no wish to create the impression that it is everything it might be. That would be

far from the truth, and there is unlimited room for improvement. The same" might be said of urban conditions: but taking both town and country as they are, and also as they might be, it is my firm opinion that the country offers the better prospects of a good, of the good life. Man is one of the most adaptable of living organisms, and readily adjusts himself to changing conditions. But there are limits even to man’s adaptability, and if the environment changes too rapidly, he can experience stresses and strains which may result in physical, mental and spiritual maladjustment. The past half-century has probably witnessed a greater change in our way of life than has any previous thousand years. The rate of change has exceeded our adaptive capacity and technological progress has outstripped the development of a social structure which would enable us to reap its full benefits. It would probably be to our ultimate benefit if we could halt the march of "progress" long enough to enable some necessary social adjustments to be made. An idle thought!

Country life is still lived close to Nature, and therein lies its advantage. On the farm we are still surrounded with living things rather than with bricks and mortar, chromium plate, and (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) neon light. We still experience the rhythm of the seasons and the varying tasks associated with each period of the year. Although the tractor tends to displace the horse and cows are milked by machines, in essence the farm to-day is similar to the farm our grandfathers knew. Technology plays an increasingly important part, but the change is more gradual than in the city, and there is time for adjustment of the human mechanism. The worker is still in tune with his environment. He does not have to cope with the tension of highspressure city life with its rapidly increasing tendency to develop a_ conveyor-belt, assembly-line, card-index, human-chain tvne of existence. Land-Hunger Decline The relative unpopularity of country life is illustrated in many ways. The land hunger strongly in evidence about the time of the first world war is much less marked to-day. A much smaller percentage of returned servicemen are interested in taking up land. Young people are reluctant to seek rural work and, to an increasing degree, are attracted by the superficial glamour of the city. The weight of the educational system is directed to the preparation of youth for city rather than for country life. ‘If we are to have an increasing number of people enjoying the benefits which country life can offer, some farreaching reforms @re necessary. Country work has to be made less arduous and more attractive and healthy social amenities should be more readily available. An attractive career should be open to the young man of energy and ability even if he is without capital. While recognising that with modern equipment and up-to-date methods it is possible for a small percentage of workers on farms to provide for our sustenance, we must recognise that the reduction of our rural population is likely to have serious social repercussions. Our objective should be a large, contented and enlightened population living in an attractive, well-farmed, and beautified countfyside. This should provide individual satisfection and national stability. To gain this objective some drastic changes may be necessary. Established procedure and traditional practices relating to land use and land tenure will have to be modified. : I am well aware of the magnitude of the task and of the resistance which will be offered to changes of this nature; but the problem is too serious for half measures, It is not an over-statement to affirm that our national life and, over a wider field-for the problem is not confined to our own country-Western civilisation is at stake. The Farm and the Birth-Rate _ This is illustrated by reference to the matter of the declining birthrate. It is well established that rural ‘populations have a_ higher birth-rate than urban. Town life has to be replenished from. the country so that the number and the quality of the rural ‘population is a measure of the human resources of a nation. The future is pre-' judiced if the country districts are underpopulated or carry a population of inferior type.

In all countries of Occidental civilisation the birth-rate is alarmingly low. In Great Britain, for instance, a continuation of existing trends will reduce the population to under four and a-half millions in less than a century. Similar trends are in evidence in New Zealand. It must be obvious that before such a low population level is reached, we will be overwhelmed by catastrophe. This is not a vague prospect for the dim and distant future. It is likely to involve our own grandchildren. Our immediate task is to encourage a big and superior rural population. It is necessary to reverse the present tendency to attract the most able young people to the cities and to divert the less able to the country. As a first step, there should be provided a clear line of advancement from the primary school through the secondary school and agricultural college to the farm-as a farmer. To-day, unless a lad expects to be able to command an appreciable amount of capital, there is insufficient inducement to train for a farming career, The rewards as a farm worker are not good enough to attract ability, and, in general, if without capital, only the very exceptional lad, capable of living frugally and practising Spartanlike self-denial for many years, will become a successful farmer. I do not want to see things made too easy for the future farmer. "Blessed is the man who has carried the yoke in his youth. . ." but he should not be confronted with a task which is wellnigh an impossible one. Beginning with the Boys If a few changes were made, it should not be impossible to get farming and rural life on to a better basis. A boy with a leaning towards the country could leave school at the age of 15 or 16 and take work with an approved farmer. On reaching the age of 18 if his school and subsequent record wete satisfactory, he should then be entitled to enter an agricultural college for a course of at least one year’s duration; two years would be advisable; and his training should be without charge. He should then return to farm work for a few more years to gain maturity and experiencé, after which he would be eligible to become a farmer. Young men with such a training and with a good record, should be more liberally financed by State lending institutions than should untrained and unproven men. At present, the State will provide loans up to two-thirds of the value of a farm. It would be justified in advancing much more to_ properlytrained and experienced applicants; would suggest up to 90 per cent. A plan of this kind would overcome many existing difficulties. It would provide a core of well trained and enlightened men in the farming industry and, giving opportunity to all, would offer an inducement for boys of ability but without capital to undertake a farming career. Unless we do something of this kind, we cannot expect a reversal of the dangerous trends of the present time, and deterioration ‘in our agriculture may prove to be the forerunner of 6 decline of our civilisation, ve