Social Work Practice Report

This report provides an in-depth analysis of social work practice in the agricultural sector in Robertson, Australia. It explores the challenges faced by farmers and the socio-political and cultural context of the area. The report also discusses service delivery models and approaches used to support farmers. Read more on Desklib.

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SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE REPORT
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Social Work Practice Report
Introduction
The export market in Australia is mainly supported by regional, rural, and remote areas.
It is approximated that 67 percent of Australian export revenues (Pines, n.d). Out of these,
agriculture contributes 3 percent, which amounts to about $50 billion in GDP. There are
approximately 134,000 farms businesses in Australia, with 99 percent of it owned by Australian
citizens (“National Farmer Federation,” 2017, p. 6). Citizens produce Ninety-three percent of
Australia's daily domestic food supply. The agricultural industry employs more than 1.6 million
people in the Australian economy. The sector contributes more than 3 percent of the country’s
Gross Domestic Economy. Out of these percentage, the farmer's exports around 60 percent of
their output. The farmers’ exports earn more than 40 billion, and it has been going ups and
downs over the years since 2008. Nevertheless, Australian farming has continued to face decline,
and yet it has remained internationally competitive through efficiencies and productivity growth
(Cheshire, 2016, p. 25). However, the growth in the agricultural sector has been tremendously
increasing at a rate of 2.8 percent before the years 2008. Since 2008, the sector has been falling
at the rate of 1 percent per year and hence evidence that there is need to be an increase in
research and development to revive the industry to satisfy the global food demand of ever-
growing world population.
The social work practice was conducted in Robertson in New South Wales. The area is
140 km from SW and has a population of 1,865 people (“Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017,”
2017). The primary economic activity in Robertson is agriculture and contribute to more than 90
percent of local revenues. Most farmers are a small scale for local market consumption with few
large farms sparsely distributed in the area. Large farms sell the surplus to other regions and

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export the rest. The farming activities in Robertson contribute to the employment of more than
500 locals (Tonts, Plummer, and Argent, 2014, p. 365). Although agriculture is primarily
practiced in this area, in the last decade, farmers face challenges in farming. A social worker was
tasked to research the farming practices in Robertson and the problems they face.
Therefore, the difficulties with Robertson’s farms ranged from social, economic,
educational, and cultural practices. According to McGrath (2015, p. 286), Australian rural
farming daily farming has issues of the high cost of production, droughts, transportation, and
treatment of their animals. It is true because farmers in Robertson struggle with lack of credit
services, inaccessibility of government support to finance agricultural activities as well as farm
rule and regulations. The problems impact on the quality and quantity of farm produce and
growth of the farming sector. Although there have been mechanisms put in place to address the
issues of agriculture in Roberson, a lot has not been done at the detriment of farmers in the area.
As a result, most farmers are left in despair and in desperate need of refuge to salvage them from
succumbing to debts, the decline in outputs and market and which is leading them to poverty.
The challenges necessitated a social worker to investigate and assist them with farming
challenges.
Farming Family’s Current Situation
The farming conditions in Robertson was analyzed in the perspectives of social,
economic, educational, and cultural aspects of living and their implications to women, men,
youths, and elderly. Robertson is a remote area where most of the farmers practice small scale
farming with few large farmers practicing commercial dairy and beef farming (Department of
Agriculture, n.d). Lands are privately owned with few renting lands, particularly large farms
(Land Registry Services, 2019). According to the registry, much of the lands in New South

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Wales is registered under the Torrens Title System (Land Registry Services, 2019). Some people
live in their lands with their families. Families offer labor in small scale farming, while large
farms employ casual and permanent workers. Unfortunately, women and children are the ones
who provide labor in family farms while men are the managers. Young people are mostly
employed in local farms to provide manual jobs. According to the opinion of the locals, older
people do not contribute to farming activities since they are considered tired and worn out to
continue working. Older people are provided for by their siblings.
On the other hand, Robertson is economically backward, with most people living in
poverty due to drought (Rose, 2018). According to Arthur (2014), drought contributes to poverty
among dairy farmers in New South Wales. As such, subsistence farming has not elevated most of
them economically. Farmers still use manual and old methods of farming like hand farrowing,
irrigations, harvesting, and storage. I was also found that some farmers still practice traditional
methods of pests and disease controls. However, large farmers use modern agricultural
technologies like tractors, combine harvesters, pest and disease controls as well as irrigations.
Large farms also have modern greenhouses for horticulture farming. Small-scale farmers
produce mostly for household consumptions and local market, and hence farming does not have
a significant contribution to their economic life. The most affected people by low economic
status in Robertson are old and young people. Reason being, the older generation is weak to
work and depend on their children for their wants and needs. Women and men are the
landowners and resources, and hence get rent for them. However, young people depend on
employment on farms or their parents. Socio-economic backwardness has led to persistence in
poverty, particularly in youths and older people.

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Furthermore, according to my observation, most people in Robertson have formal
education and have gone beyond college and tertiary education. According to the interviews
conducted with the locals, it was found that the young generation was influenced to get a better
education from their parents. Young people are the most learned, followed by their parents and
older people. Compared to men, women less educated with most having achieved a college
education. Since the locals practice farming, most people have pursued knowledge in farming,
mainly in agricultural engineering, horticulture, management. The most available jobs are
engineers and horticultural specialist and mostly employs young people and men. Education has
contributed to skilled labor and growth inefficiency in agriculture in Robertson.
Moreover, the cultural aspect of living has negatively impacted on agriculture in
Robertson. Culture is the way of life of the people, which include beliefs, behaviors, and values
(Zimmermann, 2017). According to the conducted field study, some farmers still use traditional
methods of farming like pest and disease control, manual works, and other beliefs. Some believe
that the application of petroleum jerry on injured animals help prevent infections and accelerate
healing. Some people used a mixture of ash and pepper for disease and pest control. However,
these methods are not scientifically proven and results in low harvests. Traditionally, people in
Robertson are animal keepers and hence most small-scale farmers at least keep a domesticated
animal in their farm. Dairy cows and beef are the most domesticated animal. People rely on these
animals for milk and meat as well as manure. Women and children are traditionally the primary
sources of labor in farms, while men have roles in management. Because of their strength, young
people are offered manual and casual labor in their family farms and where employed. Culture
has influenced the type of agriculture practiced in A and hence, the main economic activity.
Current Socio-Political and Cultural Context of the Rural Social Work Practice

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A social worker needs to have a keen interest in the socio-political and cultural context of
the area of practice. As such, this section explores the influence of the socio-political and cultural
context on the development of social work practice models and practices in Robertson. In social
work, it is not possible to separate theory from practice or concepts from actions. In the bid to
help the locals in their farming practices, the use of social knowledge and applying theory is
needed to bring change in local farming (Besthorn, 2013, 190). There exist many theories and
models in the application of social practice framework. In so doing, the use of concepts, beliefs,
values, propositions, assumptions, hypothesis, and principles is inalienable.
To get opinions from farmers about issues affecting them approached like interviews,
observation, and social interactions were used (Ritchie, Lewis, Nicholls, and Ormston, 2013).
The interviews were conducted using the critical people in farming as community
representatives, mainly. The methods will give a chance for interaction with the locals and hence
create a sense of trust between them and the social worker. Also, face to face interviews and
interactions will give firsthand information that is critical in decision making. Additionally, the
approach will give the social worker a chance to observe various issues affecting farming in
Robertson. The strategy for gathering information will keep in check the different social,
political, and cultural perspectives of the locals.
In the context of socio-political and cultural, Robertson is concerned about issues about
the environment, government interventions in agriculture, produce prices, cultural heritage, and
more (Specht et al. 2014, p.36). The locals are worried about the clearing of forests for farming.
According to them forest formed part of their culture, particularly in the practice of alternative
medicine, hunting, animals reserve and had aesthetic values. The major concerns were that
people had encroached forest, especially in areas around Royal National Park and the beaches of

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Wollongong. Other issues were the government roles in regulating the daily and beef farming
activities in the area. Although many felt that the government has tried in its roles, others saw the
need for reduction in feed taxes to reduce the cost of production. Also, concerned were the farm
output prices which has been on the decline for the last one decade ago following deregulation of
private factories. Farmers felt that they were not getting value for their farming efforts, mainly in
dairy and beef production. The town of Robertson is famous for beef and cheese production,
which has declined due to inaccessibility of the market in Sydney. Potato farmers, on the other
hand, felt since it is their main economic activity, efforts to support the sector should be
intensified. The local politics and culture have affected how people in Robertson perceive
government policies in support of agriculture.
However, the Australian government has tried to support agricultural sectors through
various policies and programs (Grundy et al., 2016, p. 75). Through the relevant ministries, the
government has enabled a market and supply chain responsiveness, in that, it has prioritized
advocacy efforts in marketing through multilateral trade agreements. The advocacy has focused
on addressing the market access issues, develop strategies for technical barriers, domestic
reforms, and advocating for international trade liberalization. Locally, the government has tried
to come up with regulations and enforcement to foster cohesive, consumer-driven domestic
values chain where all farmers are recognized and participate in mutual dependency.
Additionally, the government has worked to increase competitiveness and growth in the
agro-food sector (Willer, Lernoud, and Kemper, 2018, p. 22). According to Willer, Lernoud, and
Kemper Australian government harnesses existing collaborative funding and arrangements for
research. As such, the government avail more resources and ensure complementarity between
research and social workers’ efforts to promote innovation in the farming value chain. Besides,

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the Australian government has continued to make adjustments in issues affecting farmers, firms,
and communities. It does so by having consistent and time-framed government interventions.
The target is achieved through education on management skills and self-reliant and ways to be
responsive to market incentives. Most importantly, the government has continued to task the
farmers with the stewardship of natural resources. A sustainable environment is considered a
significant concern in making future agricultural policies (Howden, Schroeter, Crimp, and
Hanigan, 2014). Therefore, the consensus is between the government, farmers, and
environmental groups, and it is market-based to ensure optimal use and responsibility in the
management of natural resources, maintain biodiversity, and balance the ecosystem.
Service Delivery Models and Approaches
Service delivery models underpin the social support social workers deliver to people in a
particular area or the mode of delivery. The models determine the objectives and desired results
of the social work (Mbo’o-Tchouawou and Colverson, 2014). In essence, service models are the
framework from which initiatives are developed to guide a social worker to deliver services to
the target group or area (Roberts et al., 2017, p. 65). Such models as a system, social learning,
problem-solving, and crisis intervention models will be used.
First, system theory was used to describe human behaviors in the system of farming. By
application of this theory, a social worker has to understand that an effective farming system is
based on individual needs, rewards, expectations, and attributes of the farmers (Gallant, and
Thyer, 2017, p. 250). Therefore, families and farmers’ groups or associations should be directly
involved in resolving the issues facing them. For instance, the theory can be used to solve
problems of pest controls and market prices fluctuations. Mainly, pest and disease control has
taken a center stage out of all issues facing farmers in Robertson. The model involved gathering

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all the stakeholders affected by the problem of pest and diseases control and train them on
approach to solutions. The theory helps the social worker to identify the needs as pest and
disease and rewards as a solution to the problem of pest and disease in both animals and crops.
Also, the model helped speculate on the farmers’ expectations about the training or extension
service. The attribute of participants includes farming as their primary activity and include all
farmers from Roberson. The approach in system theory is holistic in that it focuses on the whole
community, starting with individual farmers.
On the other hand, social learning theory assumes that farmers will learn through
observation and imitation and to reinforce a new behavior (Akers and Jennings, 2015, p. 230).
Instead of the social worker giving training verbally, he/she can engage them in excursions and
practices in their farms. The theory contributes to hands-on practices of new farming methods
and technologies. For instance, a social worker can take some farmer to model farms to learn
about modern dairy farming. The exercise will use both observation and imitation of farming
practices in their farms. The theory is suitable to resolve the problem of many farmers using
inferior and traditional methods of production, which has led to low earnings.
Moreover, the social worker used crisis intervention and problem-solving models to
address critical issues facing farmers in Robertson (Lanfranchi, Giannetto, Abbate, and
Dimitrova, 2015, p. 715). Some problems like government taxes on animal feeds and other farm
inputs, low prices of produce and inaccessible markets need interventions with the relevant
government agencies for appropriate policies to protect farmers (Thompson, 2017, p. 135).
Problem-solving give farmers a chance to think through challenges they are facing and together
with the social worker to come up with solutions. The method of crisis intervention is suitable

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since it allows the social worker to be proactive in mediating between the government or relevant
agency and farmers.
Personal Practice Framework (Social Work Knowledge, Values, And Skills)
Social work practice needs to harbor an ally of knowledge, values, and skills to be
effective and efficient (The University of South California, 2019). A social worker is a
professional, and therefore, essential skills, values, and standards have to apply. One has to have
the skills to use motor and sensory. Motor abilities help in acquiring and integrating new
information through the use of senses to perform the tasks. Also, a practitioner is expected to
have good interpersonal and communication skills. To demonstrate this, one should be
compassion, objectivity, integrity, and respect for all while being mindful of others. Social work
must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively to the target group. That is, the ability to
express ideas and feeling coherently and precisely and demonstrate the willingness and ability to
listen to others. Most importantly, communications skills have to be sufficient in both spoken
and written.
Furthermore, a social worker needs to have values which include social justice and
diversity (Randstad, 2018). Social justice includes the promotion of equality and human rights
and recognizes human dignity. Diversity involved appreciating the value of human diversity.
That is, a social worker must serve appropriately to all persons that need help regardless of age,
class, race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. In essence, during personal practice, religion,
sexual, and cultural values are set aside. As such, they must be cognizance on how personal
values, beliefs, attitudes, and experiences might affect thinking, behaviors, and interpersonal
relations.
Rural Social Work Practice Challenges

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An agricultural social worker is likely to have challenges of varying degrees while in
practice. One of the main one being that one may not be able to satisfy all farmers’ needs. Every
farmer comes with their problems, but a social worker chooses to have a holistic approach to the
issues affecting the area. Sometimes, balancing personal values, beliefs, and attitude may be
difficult, which might interfere with serving objectively and uphold justice. Also, the social
worker may be faced with a language barrier, mainly if people in Robertson different language.
Conclusion
Agriculture is the backbone of Australia and more so Robertson in New South Wales.
Robertson is identified as one of the most fertile in Australia, receive high rainfall, and hence
farming takes place extensively. A social worker has a role of identifying, intervening, and
solving challenges faced in the areas of assignment of interest. The main problems in the area
included taxes on feeds, the decline in the market, low prices on produce, among others. The key
aspect is to engage the farmers in getting solutions to the problems facing them.

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References
Akers, R.L., and Jennings, W.G., 2015. Social learning theory. The Handbook of Criminological
Theory, 4, p.230.
Arthur, L., 2016. Australia’s dairy farmers are in dire straits. Available from
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Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017. Robertson (State Suburb). 2016 Census QuickStats.
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Besthorn, F.H., 2013. Vertical farming: Social work and sustainable urban agriculture in an age
of global food crises: Australian Social Work, 66(2), pp.187-203.
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