The thesis studies the impact of the financial support of the Environmental and Rural Devel-opment Programme of 2000-2006 on farm diversification and other activities in the rural areas of the Västra Götaland County for the period 2000-2005. Furthermore, it analyses if diver-sification within the firms has improved efficiency due to economies of scope. The statistical data of this study is based on a telephone survey of a total population of 50 firms that have received financial support for diversification, within the County of Västra Götaland. The response rate of the telephone survey was 80 per cent of the total popula-tion. The statistical analysis is based on chi-square and logit models in combination with a descriptive analysis in order to test the hypothesis of the thesis. Therefore, the empirical analysis has both a quantitative and a qualitative character. The result of the study shows that about 87.7 per cent of the surveyed firms have diversi-fied their economic activities during the years 2000-2005. Firms owned by women tend to have diversified to a larger extent compared to men. Further, women show a tendency to be more successful with a higher degree of diversification within the service sector com-pared to men. The enterprises within the production and refinement sectors have, on the other hand, a propensity to focus on traditional agricultural production despite the diversi-fication. A majority of the interviewed firms have received benefits from scope economies, which imply that the firms utilise joint production with shared inputs. The scope econo-mies existed among studied firms previous to the support and there are no significant changes in the economies of scope due to the financial support. Overall, the financial sup-port seems to have had a positive impact on the firms’ economic situation since none of the studied firms has experienced a decline in employment, turnover or income.

<p>The thesis studies the impact of the financial support of the Environmental and Rural Devel-opment Programme of 2000-2006 on farm diversification and other activities in the rural areas of the Västra Götaland County for the period 2000-2005. Furthermore, it analyses if diver-sification within the firms has improved efficiency due to economies of scope.</p><p>The statistical data of this study is based on a telephone survey of a total population of 50 firms that have received financial support for diversification, within the County of Västra Götaland. The response rate of the telephone survey was 80 per cent of the total popula-tion. The statistical analysis is based on chi-square and logit models in combination with a descriptive analysis in order to test the hypothesis of the thesis. Therefore, the empirical analysis has both a quantitative and a qualitative character.</p><p>The result of the study shows that about 87.7 per cent of the surveyed firms have diversi-fied their economic activities during the years 2000-2005. Firms owned by women tend to have diversified to a larger extent compared to men. Further, women show a tendency to be more successful with a higher degree of diversification within the service sector com-pared to men. The enterprises within the production and refinement sectors have, on the other hand, a propensity to focus on traditional agricultural production despite the diversi-fication. A majority of the interviewed firms have received benefits from scope economies, which imply that the firms utilise joint production with shared inputs. The scope econo-mies existed among studied firms previous to the support and there are no significant changes in the economies of scope due to the financial support. Overall, the financial sup-port seems to have had a positive impact on the firms’ economic situation since none of the studied firms has experienced a decline in employment, turnover or income.</p>

Under de senaste årtiondena har klimatförändringarna påverkat naturliga och mänskliga system världen över, och som en följd har extrema väderhändelser inträffat oftare och blivit mer intensiva. Många ekosystem och mänskliga system är både mycket sårbara och exponerade, däribland jordbruket. Klimatförändringarna innebär ökade risker för översvämningar och torka, behovet av växtskyddsåtgärder kommer öka, djur riskerar att drabbas av värmestress oftare, samt förändringar inom sjukdomsspridning och insektsinvasioner förväntas. Dessa förändringar kommer leda till ökad instabilitet som påverkar kvalitén och tillgången på mat, det kan förändra den sociala och ekonomiska stabiliteten, och den regionala konkurrenskraften inom jordbruket. Sverige drabbas årligen av översvämningar, och sommaren 2018 präglades av en torka som sträckte sig över stora delar av landet. De ovanligt torra och varma förhållandena varade i ca tre månader och orsakade en halvering av den normala skördenivån. Det blir samtidigt allt tydligare att samhällen måste gå från en reaktiv, oplanerad katastrofhantering till ett proaktivt fokus. Teorin om resiliens förklarar att socioekologiska system behöver ha en förmåga att absorbera störningar, kunna utvecklas genom lärande och anpassning, och att kunna hålla sig inom de mänskliga och miljömässiga gränserna och samtidigt uppnå en kontinuerlig utveckling. Syftet med studien är att få en fördjupad förståelse för hur jordbrukssektorn operationaliserar resiliens för att hantera extrema hydrologiska händelser. Detta ska uppnås genom att undersöka de strategier som införts för att hantera torka och översvämningar och analysera dessa med ”the Disaster Resilience Of Place” (DROP) modellen. Denna studie syftar även till att undersöka vilka förutsättningar som skapar möjligheter och hinder för aktörer inom jordbrukssektorn att bygga resiliens. Studiens metod är en kvalitativ fallstudie av Västra Götalands jordbrukssektor med ett abduktivt förhållningssätt. Genom ett kombinerat strategiskt urval och snöbollsurval har relevanta respondenter från länsstyrelsen, Lantbrukarnas riksförbund (LRF) och jordbruksföretag inkluderats i studien. Baserat på DROP-modellen utvecklades semi-strukturerade intervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod, intervjuerna transkriberades och analyserades med en kvalitativ textanalys. En triangulering genomfördes med en dokumentanalys för att stärka studiens validitet. Resultatet analyserades och diskuterades utifrån DROP-modellen. Resultatet visade att jordbrukssektorn operationaliserar resiliens med många olika strategier inom kommunikation och samarbete, lärande, förebyggande och förberedande, samt anpassning. Jordbrukssektorn visade en god anpassnings- och samarbetsförmåga, och vilja att arbeta proaktivt för att hantera vädervariationer. Viktiga förutsättningar för att bygga resiliens var de lokala förhållandena, tidigare erfarenheter, samt jordbrukspolitiska och ekonomiska strukturer. Resultatet visade att sociala system är komplexa och att strategier både kan bygga resiliens och öka sårbarheten. / Climate change have had an impact on natural and human systems worldwide over the last decades, causing higher frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Many ecosystems and human systems are both highly vulnerable and exposed, and agriculture is one of them. The climate change causes increased risks for droughts and floods, increased need for plant protection measures, heat stress among animals will likely increase, and changes in spread of disease and insect invasions are expected. These changes are expected to cause increased instability that impacts the quality and supply of food, it can change the social and economic stability, and the regional competitiveness within the agricultural sector. Floods occurs annually in Sweden and the drought of 2018 was an exceptional event that extended throughout most regions of the country. The unusual dry conditions lasted for about three months and caused decreased yields. It has become clearer that societies must go from a reactive, unplanned disaster management, towards a more proactive focus. The theory of resilience explains that socio-ecologic systems needs a capacity to absorb disturbances, be able to develop through learning and adaptation, and be able to keep itself within the human and natural boundaries and at the same time sustain a continuous development. The purpose of this study is to obtain a deepened understanding for how the agricultural sector operationalise resilience in order to manage extreme hydrological events. This will be accomplished by reviewing strategies implemented by the sector to handle droughts and floods and analyse these with the Disaster Resilience of Place (DROP) model. This study will also review the requisites that enables and hinders actors in the agricultural sector in Västra Götaland County to build resilience. The method is a qualitative case study of the agricultural sector in Västra Götaland County with an abductive approach. Relevant respondents from the county administrative board, LRF, and agriculture companies where selected through a mix of strategic and snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews where developed based on the DROP-model, they were transcribed and analysed with a qualitative text analysis. A triangulation including a document analysis was done in order to strengthen the study’s validity. The result was analysed and discussed based on the DROP-model. The results showed that the agricultural sector operationalise resilience through a range of different strategies, including communication and cooperation, learning, preparedness and preparations, and trough adaptation. The agricultural sector showed a good adaptive and cooperative capacity, and a will to work proactively in the management of weather variations. Important requisites to build resilience included the local conditions, experience, and agricultural political and economic structures. The results showed that social systems are complex and that strategies can both cause increased resilience and increased vulnerability.