"Ownership Initiative" Receives Praise | EVE Online

"Ownership Initiative" Receives Praise

2008-10-17 - Von Svarthol

Teonusude, Molden Heath - In a recent press conference, senior members of the Vherokior Tribe announced that initial results of their farm privatization plan (dubbed the "Ownership Initiative"), enacted just two months ago, have already shown a marked improvement in productivity.

The plan, undertaken by the Vherokior Tribe Bureau along with their partners Native Freshfood, was designed to give assistance to small, independent farmers. Arvrin Ulppner, a spokesman for the Vherokior Tribe, explained:  "The large industrial farms give individual workers little sense of importance, pride, or self-determination, concepts which are be crucial to breaking down the psychological and social barriers experienced by those born into servitude.  The Ownership Initiative sought to reverse that trend and give individual farmers a new opportunity.  By offering no-interest land-purchase loans, we have empowered small farmers to build something of their own, property and a legacy that they can be proud of."

The plan has proven a remarkable success, which Native Freshfood senior manager Daalgren Ladlios attributes to several causes.  "First off, many of these people have been farming their entire lives in a variety of different climates, and know their business well.  Secondly, we place no requirements on what they grow or how they grow it.  Initiative-supported farms run the gamut from synthetic hydroponics to purely organic, and farmers are free to grow crops according to what they feel will do well on the open market.  In truth, it also avoids monoculture and makes for a much more diverse product line."

Though the shift from large-scale industrial agriculture to small-scale family-run operations seems counter-intuitive, the initial results are difficult to argue with.  The Brutor Tribe has expressed an interest in implementing a similar measure.