The Dutch farmer as boundary object: Media frames and roles of the Dutch farmer pertaining to the nitrogen crisis

Abstract

The current way of producing food is harming nature, which is especially present in countries with a relatively big agricultural sector. The Netherlands is dealing with a nitrogen crisis, mainly because of the immense agricultural sector. A societal controversy is present on what the role of the farmer in this crisis is. The media frames the crisis which leads to the attribution of roles to the farmer and fuels the controversy even more. This study seeks to find the roles that are attributed to the farmer. This research used the framing analysis method proposed by Benford and Snow to analyze newspapers and find the role of the farmer in diagnostic and prognostic frames present in these newspapers. Three frames were found in which the farmer has a victim, protester or cause role. In the first frame the farmer is a victim of mainly governmental actions, but the solution linked to this frame shows that the farmer will have a better place in a new agricultural system. In the second frame the farmer is protesting because he does not feel heard and is not content with the proposed plans. He therefore wants to be included in conversations to help find a solution with his expertise. In the third frame the farmer is the cause of the crisis and therefore some articles mentioned that he needs to be bought out. However, this mainly applies to peak polluters and farmers close to Natura 2000 areas. These findings have societal implications for instance the uncertainty that farmers experience, the public perception towards them and the understanding of their story. These findings have academic implications building on the use of an actor as a boundary object and analyzing roles in a sustainable transition. The findings of this research urge governments to listen and talk to farmers as they have practical knowledge and ideas about solutions to make the current way of producing food more sustainable. Not talking to them will fuel anger, which does not contribute to a smooth sustainable transition of the agricultural sector