MAF's work on sustainable agriculture now includes the social factors which affect farm profits and the long term viability of farming, and these are fed into the Government's policy process. It is time to take stock again. As well as researchers, we have people from government agencies, local government and non-government organisations, and overseas guests. Most satisfactory are the numbers of rural people who are attending, including a representative from the Chatham Islands. For this seminar we have selected projects which reflect the problems and issues rural and farm people are currently facing, and projects which show how communities are coping with these issues.
Rural areas are diverse.
The impacts of technical advance, global influences, reforms and long term social and demographic trends are felt differently in different places. Each rural community experiences its own distinctive problems and issues. It is difficult to fully understand the processes which are transforming family and community life in rural areas. We know that social wellbeing and 'social capital' are essential in holding communities together. People need to be involved, to feel part of their local community, and to participate in the national community.