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Examines the application of biotech. to agricultural development, assessing farmer-based as well as science-based biotech., & the socio-political context. Looks at rural people's existing biotech. practices in the areas of animal health, bio pesticides, food processing & crop genetic resources. Assesses science-based biotech. research, the potential of existing technologies & the socio-political context of formal sector research. Presents a methodology for the development of biotech. for small-scale farmers in the tropics, & integrating farmers' knowledge. Sets out a model for integrating the formal & informal R&D systems.
Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainabl...
An annotated bibliography of current books on sustainable and alternative agriculture. Entries include title, author, editor, publisher, and annotation. Indexed by author and editor. Includes update of current books for 1998.
This handbook of locally based agricultural practices brings together the best of science and farmer experimentation, vividly illustrating the enormous diversity of shifting cultivation systems as well as the power of human ingenuity. Environmentalists have tended to disparage shifting cultivation (sometimes called 'swidden cultivation' or 'slash-and-burn agriculture') as unsustainable due to its supposed role in deforestation and land degradation. However, a growing body of evidence indicates that such indigenous practices, as they have evolved over time, can be highly adaptive to land and ecology. In contrast, 'scientific' agricultural solutions imposed from outside can be far more damagin...
The author looks at the challenge facing agriculture today and details the concepts and characteristics of alternative, sustainable agricultural practices. Empirical evidence from a diverse range of agro-ecological and community setting show the impact of more sustainable practices. In addition existing policy frameworks and institutional processes are considered and alternatives, which are known to work, are presented
A move towards more flexible, sustainable agricultural practices is increasingly being seen as the way to address or avoid environmental and economic problems associated with existing, predominantly intensive, farming systems. Through case studies taken from around the world, this book examines the implications of adopting more ecologically sound agricultural practices, both at the level of individual farmers and at the level of larger-scale agro-ecosystems such as water catchments. The emphasis of the book is on human and social aspects, rather than on agronomic or economic considerations, focusing on the learning processes necessary for change to be implemented and, in turn, on the facilitation of that learning through participatory approaches and appropriate institutional support and policy structure.