TECHNICAL CHANGE AND THE SURVIVAL OF FAMILY FARMING IN MALTA - PUBLICAND PRIVATE GOALS IN RESOURCE-MANAGEMENT

In the Mediterranean realm, rural life is increasingly subjected to mo dernization pressures emanating from urban centred and political imper atives to 'level-up' development with northern Europe. Whereas some ob servers argue for a broad vision of rural economic development which p ermits diversity and choice, the conventional wisdoms of high-technolo gy and scale-economies persistently hold sway in practice, particularl y in the 'south'. There, local lifestyles and landscapes are subordina ted to 'convergence' within the ever widening frontiers of European in tegration. This paper, based on a pilot study conducted in Malta, desc ribes the response of a group of small-scale family farmers to superim posed technical change - an environmentally 'sound' water recycling sc heme. It observes that given choice, these farmers select a syncretic approach to development which allows them to absorb change within a co mplex portfolio of social and economic activities. It concludes that a lthough such a choice may ensnare the goals of public policy, it promo tes the survival of local diversity and demonstrates an enthusiasm for land occupance which could be valuable as the focus of European rural development shifts away from productivism in the face of GATT and glu t.