Since the Moshav was conceived within a given social and
ideological framework, the main objection to Model B as
voiced by veteran leaders of the Moshav movement, was
the eventual alienation of the family from the farm 7). The
results of the survey on this point were univocal: no
significant, relation was found between the family's involvement
in farm chores, and the placement of, or distances to
farmbuildings. The farmer's wife usually overcomes the
difficulty of distance when this is either profitable or
necessary.
Mobility, defined as the possibility for the optional
switching of production lines, was another important issue.
The survey brought up six farmbuildings which had been
turned over to other farmers for their use, but all of these
were detached from the farm. Of the interviewed farmers,
25 % agreed to the idea of transferring an idle structure to
another farmer in the case of detached farmbuildings, as
against 11.7 % who were inclined to do so with buldings
located in the farmyard. About the same percentage (25 %)
acknowledged the advantages of mobility inherent in Model
B. While the results tend to confirm the assumption of
easier mobility, the restricted number of cases precludes
definite proof of this point.
Over three quarters of the inverviewed took exception
to partnerships in farmyard operations, which reflects the
preference for private enterprise in the family farm in
general. Among the interviewed sample, however, fifteen
partnerships were found; fourteen of these were in farmbuildings
detached from the farm, and only one in the
adjoining farmyard itself. The detailed responses on this
issue suggest that partnerships, if set up at all, occur mostly
in labour-intensive operations such as flower-growing.
The question of increased dependence on services
organized by the cooperative was of particular interest to
planners. The transfer of economic services from the individual farmer to local or regional cooperative levels is
a widespread and ongoing process per se. Economic services
include the delivery of concentrates from the mill to the
chicken-run, grading, packaging, and shipping of agricultural
produce, heating, refrigeration, etc. The findings
did not provide clear proof that the changes brought about
by separation and agglomeration of farmyard activities
had any bearing on the process. On the other hand, since
the time these tests were run, several central heating plants
have been installed in grouped greenhouses, and further
investigation on this point may therefore be in place.
The findings indicated that in Moshav villages where
most of the farmbuildings were removed and grouped at
some distance from the village proper, the incidence of
friction between neighbours or discomfort from environmental
irritants was markedly lower. The results support
the contention that consideration of environmental quality
must be taken into account in the physical planning of the
Moshav.
An overwhelming majority of 90 % of the interviewed
expressed preference for a farmyard large enough to
contain all, or at least part of the farmbuildings, over a
small yard as suggested by Model B. Even in questions
bearing on environmental problems, caused by the
proximity of farming activities to the dwellings, only one
third favoured separation. This contradicted the response
of more than 50 % of the interviewed, who considered
environmental hazards a drawback of Model A.
Throughout, economic criteria seem to determine
attitudes toward the basic principles of separation and
agglomeration. A breakdown of answers shows a clear
division into two distinct groups: one which prefers the
conventional Model A because of the higher property value
associated with an adjoining farmyard and farmbuildings,
and its relative freedom from outside interference. This
group comprises the older generation of farmers, aged over
fifty, of urban background and with elementary education.
The other group embraces the arguments of agrotechnical
advantages and eventual economies of scale offered by
Model B. It comprises mostly the younger, second-generation
farmers who grew up in agricultural settlements, with
secondary education and above. This group tends to overcome
attitudes and set aside other considerations if the
economic advantages of Model B can be proved to them.
The fact that transpires from the study is, that the
differences between Model A and B, in most quantifiable
values such as cost of infrastructure, distances and operation,
are negligible when compared with the overall investment
involved in developing a Moshav settlement. On the
other hand, the inherent economies of scale and improved
environmental quality of Model B promise to solve major
difficulties in conditioning the cooperative of smallholders
to the requisites of modern agriculture.
It seems that the removal of farmyards from the village
proper and resulting compactness of the residential area
will lead to increased emphasis on architectural and landscaping
aspects, with a view to improve the quality of life
in the Moshav, without disturbing vital production
functions of the individual farm.
The general trend in the physical planning of the
Moshav points to the creation of an agro-industrial park
with centralized services on a cooperative or other institutional
basis. This trend, already implemented in recently
planned Moshav villages, represents a sharp departure from
conventional approaches to the planning of family-farm
settlements. The aim of further research in the field will be
to verify the readiness of the modern farm-family to adopt
such radical change from traditional village patterns.