SPECIAL FEATURE: CASE REPORT Pathways towards sustainable landscapes Regional agricultural governance in peri-urban and rural South Australia: strategies to improve multifunctionality Simon J. Fielke • Douglas K. Bardsley Received: 7 May 2014 / Accepted: 17 September 2014 / Published online: 1 November 2014 Ó Springer Japan 2014 Abstract Historically, agricultural policy in Australia has focused on maximising the economic productivity and efficiency of the sector. The issues that have arisen from this governance focus are manyfold. In this study, we illustrate the regional disparity and implications for agri- cultural sustainability caused by such a policy model. We surveyed farmers in two South Australian case study regions, the adjoining peri-urban Barossa-Light region, and the rural area of Loxton. It was found that respondents from Loxton had larger properties, saw more benefits from government support for agriculture, and were more likely to prioritise support for their local community and increa- ses in productivity. Respondents from Barossa-Light were more concerned about risks of urban encroachment, pri- oritised keeping their farms in their families, and were generally more concerned about government support. These results highlight the complexity involved with applying appropriate government support mechanisms across a diverse industry such as agriculture, with various regional sustainability issues driving respondent priorities. We also suggest that regional variation will require explicit planning which aims for heterogeneous goals and that educational and cooperative pursuits may help to increase the capacity of the land managers in the case study regions. These suggestions have broader implications for other regions where agricultural diversity complicates policy to support the industry within historically productivist agri- cultural regimes. Keywords South Australia Á Multifunctionality Á Productivism Á Farmer perceptions Á Regional disparity Á Agricultural policy Introduction Despite recognition of the need for socially, environmen- tally, politically, and economically sustainable agri-sys- tems, agricultural policy has followed the neoliberal trend pervading Australian governance in general over the last 40 years (Dibden et al. 2009; Higgins et al. 2008). In fact, agriculture in Australia has continued to experience struc- tural adjustment throughout the last century, with reduc- tions in public spending in the agricultural sector resulting in the privatisation of traditional agricultural extension services (Coleman and Skogstad 1995), the loss of farming families (Muenstermann 2009; Neales 2012a), and a con- tinual reduction in the number of South Australian farm businesses (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008a, 2012a). Policy solutions to address agricultural sustainability con- cerns and increase the welfare of South Australian farmers revolve around making productivity gains and finding new markets (Austin 2012; Australian Government 2013). This economic orientation has contributed to the social decline of rural communities, detrimental terms of trade for the agricultural industry, and the dominance of transnational corporations in regard to both agricultural inputs and wholesale (Smailes 2006). Competition for resources such as fuel and land has also initiated conflict between other industries, such as the mining sector, while increasingly Handled by Iris C. Bohnet, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia. S. J. Fielke (&) Á D. K. Bardsley Geography, Environment and Population, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia e-mail: simon.fielke@adelaide.edu.au S. J. Fielke CSIRO Land and Water, Waite Rd., Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia 123 Sustain Sci (2015) 10:231–243 DOI 10.1007/s11625-014-0272-6