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The Agricultural Dilemma: How Not to Feed the World (Earthscan Food and Agriculture)
by Glenn Davis StoneThe Agricultural Dilemma questions everything we think we know about the current state of agriculture and how to, or perhaps more importantly how not to, feed a world with a growing population. This book is about the three fundamental forms of agriculture: Malthusian (expansion), industrialization (external-input-dependent), and intensification (labor-based). The best way to understand the three agricultures, and how we tend to get it wrong, is to consider what drives their growth. The book provides a thoughtful, critical analysis that upends entrenched misconceptions such as that we are running out of land for food production and that our only hope is the development of new agricultural technologies. The book contains engaging and enlightening vignettes and short histories, with case studies drawn from across the globe to bring to life this important debate and dilemma. The book concludes by arguing there is a viable alternative to industrial agriculture which will allow us to meet the world's needs and it ponders why such alternatives have been downplayed, obscured, or hidden from view. This important book is essential reading for all studying and researching food production and agriculture, and more broadly for all interested in ensuring we are able to feed our growing population.
Agricultural Involution: The Processes of Ecological Change in Indonesia
by Clifford GeertzAgricultural Involution: The Processes of Ecological Change in Indonesia is one of the most famous of the early works of Clifford Geertz. It principal thesis is that many centuries of intensifying wet-rice cultivation in Indonesia had produced greater social complexity without significant technological or political change, a process Geertz terms "involution".Written for a US-funded project on the local developments and following the modernization theory of Walt Whitman Rostow, Geertz examines in this book the agricultural system in Indonesia and its two dominant forms of agriculture, swidden and sawah. In addition to researching its agricultural systems, the book turns to an examination of their historical development. Of particular note is Geertz's discussion of what he famously describes as the process of "agricultural involution" in Java, where both the external economic demands of the Dutch rulers and the internal pressures due to population growth led to intensification rather than change.
Agricultural Land Use and Natural Gas Extraction Conflicts: A Global Socio-Legal Perspective (Earthscan Studies in Natural Resource Management)
by Madeline Taylor Tina HunterOnshore unconventional gas operations, in most jurisdictions, operate on the legal principle that all activities during exploration and extraction are ‘temporary’ in nature. The concept that the onshore unconventional gas industry has a temporary effect on the land on which it operates creates a regulatory paradox. On one hand, unconventional gas activities create energy security, national wealth and a bourgeoning export industry. On the other, agricultural land and agriculturalists may be significantly disadvantaged by unconventional gas activities potentially producing permanent damage to non-renewable fertile soils and spoiling the underground water tables. Thus, threatening future food security and food sovereignty. This book explores the socio-regulatory dimensions of coexistence between agricultural and onshore unconventional gas land uses in the jurisdictions with the highest concentration of proven unconventional gas reserves – Australia, Canada, the USA, the UK, France, Poland and China. In exploring the differing regulatory standpoints of unconventional gas land uses on productive farming land in the chosen jurisdictions, this book provides an original three-part categorisation of regulatory approaches addressing the coexistence of agricultural land and unconventional gas namely: adaptive management, precautionary and, finally, statism. It offers a timely and topical approach to socio-legal natural resource governance theory based on the participation, transparency and empowerment for agricultural landholders, examining how differing frameworks such as the collective bargaining framework can create equitable and sustainable contractual arrangements with unconventional gas companies.
Agricultural Law: Current Issues from a Global Perspective (LITES - Legal Issues in Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies #1)
by Mariagrazia Alabrese Margherita Brunori Silvia Rolandi Andrea SabaThis book focuses on the social and environmental issues being addressed by agricultural law within the current globalised system. What is agricultural law? Agricultural regulations concern and affect essential human needs and values that must be dealt with by pursuing a comprehensive and coordinated global approach. By tracking the developments in this context, this book explores the new challenges that agricultural law needs to address in order to frame emerging dilemmas. International governance of natural resources and their role in addressing food insecurity is the object of the first Part of the volume, which deals with sustainable agriculture and agro-ecosystem services in connection with the food security issue. The second Part focuses on the regulation of food as the main product of agricultural activity, and explores the answers that the law can provide in order to accommodate consumers' interests and concerns (inter alia, novel foods, animal welfare, direct sales and e-commerce). The third Part examines the social, environmental and legal consequences of a renewed interest in agricultural investments. Further, it analyses the evolution and the interplay between different legal systems with regard to land tenure, environmental concerns and investments in agriculture.
Agricultural Mechanics: Fundamentals & Applications
by Ray V. HerrenA text for students learning basic mechanical skills in high school and postsecondary programs in agriscience, production agriculture, agribusiness, ornamental horticulture, and agricultural mechanics. Treatment begins with information on careers, then provides instruction on basic mechanical skills and applications. Covers use of hand tools, power tools, and stationary power equipment with numerous materials, touching on processes of wood- and metalworking, electric and gas welding, electrical wiring, robotics, plumbing, and construction. Includes color photos of male and female students, and 54 project plans. This fourth edition is revised to reflect the latest developments in the field. Annotation c. Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
Agricultural Nanobiotechnology: Modern Agriculture for a Sustainable Future
by Fernando López-Valdez Fabián Fernández-LuqueñoNanobiotechnology in agriculture is a new knowledge area that offers novel possibilities to achieve high productivity levels at manageable costs during the production and merchandising of crops. This book shows us how we can use the cutting-edge knowledge about agriculture, nanotechnology, and biotechnology to increase the agricultural productivity and shape a sustainable future in order to increase the social welfare in rural areas and preserve the environmental health. Specialists from several countries will provide their feedback on a range of relevant topics such as environment-friendly use of nanofertilisers, nanodevices, nano-food packaging, nanocoating and nanocarriers and their relationship with the modern agriculture.
Agricultural Policy: Farm Programs and National Welfare
by Rainer SchickeleThis book is written for the student of rural America, be he farmer, businessman, labor leader, public servant, college student, or instructor, anyone who is curious to understand what problems farmers are facing in their relations to an industrial world, and what the government is doing to help them meet these problems.
Agricultural Policy, Agribusiness, and Rent-Seeking Behaviour, Third Edition
by Andrew Schmitz Charles Moss Troy G. Schmitz G. Cornelis van Kooten H. Carole SchmitzCosting billions of dollars annually, international trade in agricultural products is impactful and influenced by several factors, including climate change, food policy, and government legislation. The third edition of Agricultural Policy, Agribusiness, and Rent-Seeking Behaviour provides comprehensive economic analyses of the policies that affect agriculture and agribusiness in Canada and the United States. Looking at current agricultural policies, the third edition includes new chapters on food pyramids, climate change, and GMOs, while also highlighting the effect of international policies on Canadian trade, including the problematic US ethanol policy. The new edition addresses current issues, including how the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected agricultural value chains and played a hand in the ongoing growth in opioid use. Including a number of key findings, and discussing current debates on topics including foreign ownership of Canadian farmland, Agricultural Policy, Agribusiness, and Rent-Seeking Behaviour will appeal to students in agricultural economics and policy, as well as policymakers, agricultural firms, energy companies, and readers wishing to reduce their nation’s carbon footprint.
Agricultural Productivity: Measurement and Explanation (Routledge Revivals)
by Susan M. Capalbo John M. AntleThis book, first published in 1988, provides a comprehensive, integrated body of knowledge concerning agricultural productivity research, highlighting both its strengths and limitations. This book will be of value to scholars and research leaders for the knowledge it conveys of future productivity research, and will also be of interest to students of environmental studies.
Agricultural Resilience: Perspectives from Ecology and Economics (Ecological Reviews)
by Sarah M. Gardner Stephen J. Ramsden Rosemary S. HailsAgriculture as a social-ecological system embraces many disciplines. This book breaks through the silos of individual disciplines to bring ecologists and economists together to consider agriculture through the lens of resilience. It explores the economic, environmental and social uncertainties that influence the behaviour of agricultural producers and their subsequent farming approach, highlighting the importance of adaptability, innovation and capital reserves in enabling agriculture to persist under climate change and market volatility. The resilience concept and its relation to complexity theory is explained and the characteristics that foster resilience in agricultural systems, including the role of biodiversity and ecosystem services, are explored. The book discusses modelling tools, metrics and approaches for assessing agricultural resilience, highlighting areas where interdisciplinary thinking can enhance the development of resilience. It is suitable for those researching sustainable agriculture or those engaged in agricultural policy decisions and analysis, as well as students of ecology, agriculture and socioeconomics.
Agricultural Subsidies in the WTO Green Box: Ensuring Coherence with Sustainable Development Goals
by Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz Christophe Bellmann Jonathan HepburnDo the World Trade Organization's rules on 'green box' farm subsidies allow both rich and poor countries to achieve important goals such as food security, or do they worsen poverty, distort trade and harm the environment? Current WTO requirements set no ceiling on the amount of green box subsidies that governments can provide, on the basis that these payments cause only minimal trade distortion. Governments are thus increasingly shifting their subsidy spending into this category, as they come under pressure to reduce subsidies that are more directly linked to production. However, growing evidence nonetheless suggests that green box payments can affect production and trade, harm farmers in developing countries and cause environmental damage. By bringing together new research and critical thinking, this book examines the relationship between green box subsidies and the achievement of sustainable development goals, and explores options for future reform.
Agricultural Sustainability: Principles, Processes, and Prospects
by Saroja RamanTake a balanced look at ways to ensure food security and to work to erase hunger around the worldAgriculture is the most aggressively managed ecosystem. Agricultural Sustainability: Principles, Processes, and Prospects provides a comprehensive examination of all facets of agricultural sustainability, beginning with the history of the evolution of the concept to the present. Challenges to sustainability are clearly presented along with practical strategies to counter prospective problems. This vital resource considers options for the future, as well as reviewing past approaches for their value in today’s world.When one considers that the alternative to agricultural sustainability is the collapse of the world’s food systems, it is understood that compromise is impossible. Agricultural Sustainability takes a holistic approach to the issues that are involved in making agriculture ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially responsible around the world. The book is divided into three parts. Part One clarifies the concept of agricultural sustainability, bringing a rational and balanced view of the core elements. Part Two discusses ways to promote sustainability in the world, including practical scientific and technological processes for improving yields while ensuring food security for future generations. Part Three peers into future decades, reviewing the vision documents of international agencies, their perceptions and expectations for the years ahead, and present dysfunctional aspects in the current food system. The book is extensively referenced and includes figures and charts to clearly explain data.The book examines: the historic evolution of the concept of agricultural sustainability the combined effects of a multiplicity of agricultural systems concepts for validating the sustainability of a production system the role of natural capital in production the role of science and technology in sustainable use managing land, water, biodiversity, and energy quantitative approaches to measuring agricultural sustainability the current status of agricultureand predictions for its growth in the coming decades case studies of agricultural growth from India and China problemsand possibilitiesof creating a hunger-free world by the end of this century Agricultural Sustainability is crucial, enlightening reading for field workers in NGOs and agricultural extensions; personnel in local, national, and international developmental organizations; and educators and students of sustainable agricultural production, food security, rural development, environmental science, and the conservation of natural resources.
Agriculture and Ecosystem Resilience in Sub Saharan Africa: Livelihood Pathways Under Changing Climate (Climate Change Management)
by Yazidhi Bamutaze Samuel Kyamanywa Bal Ram Singh Gorettie Nabanoga Rattan LalThis volume discusses emerging contexts of agricultural and ecosystem resilience in Sub Saharan Africa, as well as contemporary technological advances that have influenced African livelihoods. In six sections, the book addresses the sustainable development goals to mitigate the negative impacts on agricultural productivity brought about by climate change in Africa. Some of the challenges assessed include soil degradation, land use changes, natural resource mismanagement, declining crop productivity, and economic stagnation. This book will be of interest to researchers, NGOs, and development organizations.Section 1 focuses on climate risk management in tropical Africa. Section 2 addresses the water-ecosystem-agriculture nexus, and identifies the best strategies for sustainable water use. Section 3 introduces Information Communication Technology (ICT), and how it can be used for ecosystem and human resilience to improve quality of life in communities. Section 4 discusses the science and policies of transformative agriculture, including challenges facing crop production and management. Section 5 addresses landscape processes, human security, and governance of agro-ecosystems. Section 6 concludes the book with chapters uniquely covering the gender dynamics of agricultural, ecosystem, and livelihood resilience.
Agriculture and EU Environmental Law
by Brian JackThis book critically examines the development and current structure of European Union agri-environmental measures at a substantive level. Examining the measures in an integrated manner, showing how they interrelate linking different aspects of European Union agricultural law and policy, this volume examines the legislation adopted at European Union level as well as the impact of particular national measures to implement that legislation. Where appropriate, comparisons are drawn between the manner in which European Union legislation has been implemented among various Member States. Critically assessing European Union and national measures, in the light of other policy pressures such as the influence of world trade agreements and the political pressures exerted by the agricultural sector within the national legal systems of individual Member States, this volume is a valuable resource for academics researching and practitioners working in the areas of European Union environmental and agricultural law.
Agriculture and Public Goods: The Role of Collective Action
by Francesco VanniThe debate on the future orientation of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is increasingly shaped by the role of agriculture in providing public goods, and there is a broad consensus that this approach will be particularly relevant in legitimating the policy intervention in agriculture in the future. In the context of this debate, it is not clear to what extent collective action could be taken into consideration as a valuable alternative to market or state regulation in contributing to the provision of public goods, and to what extent it is possible to design and implement agricultural policies that incorporate a collective and collaborative approach between different stakeholders in rural areas. Through an in depth analysis two case studies in Italy, the book provides insights to both the policy and the theoretical debate on the role of collective action for the public goods associated to agriculture.
Agriculture and the Development Process: A Study of Punjab (Routledge Library Editions: Agriculture #2)
by D. P. Chaudhri Ajit K. DasguptaFirst published in 1985. The need to increase agricultural output and to use increased output to generate sustained general economic development is a problem facing many Third World countries. This book explores in particular the agricultural growth of the Punjab in Northern India, a country which has long been a leader in the formulation of new development strategies. It shows how agricultural output is affected by, and affects, demographic changes, income distribution, state involvement and structural changes both in society and the economy. Agricultural growth in the Punjab is seen in an historical perspective. In addition, the different aspects of economic development are viewed in an integrated way so that much is learned about the contribution of agricultural growth to the development process. The conclusions drawn can be related to problems and trends worldwide.
Agriculture and the European Community (Routledge Library Editions: Agriculture #3)
by John S. Marsh Pamela J. SwanneyFirst published in 1980. From the earliest beginnings of the European Economic Community, it was recognised that a common market for agriculture would be one of the basic prerequisites for workable economic unity. And yet the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) remained a subject of much controversy and debate. The CAP, more than any other element of European policy, was seen to test the true depth of the commitment shown by Community members to the practice as well as the principle of economic integration. Agriculture and the European Community examines the reasons for the existence of the CAP and its format. It outlines the main instruments, price and structural policy, and the changing emphasis between them. It discusses in turn the effects of the CAP on producers’ income levels and on consumer prices; how far it had fulfilled the promises of the Treaty of Rome; the implications of the policy for third country trade; and its place within the Community as a whole. The study argues that, although incomes of Community farmers had improved, this is not simply the result of the CAP, nor was the geographical distribution of benefit in terms of farming income satisfactory. The policy has achieved a degree of success in securing food supplies and stabilising prices but the cost to the consumer has been high. Knowledge of the CAP had become almost essential to any understanding of modern European affairs. Agriculture and the European Community will serve as a straightforward introduction to the policy for students approaching the subject for the first time, especially in departments of Agricultural Economics, European Studies and Political Science.
Agriculture, Biodiversity and Markets: Livelihoods and Agroecology in Comparative Perspective
by Stewart Lockie David CarpenterDebate about how best to ensure the preservation of agricultural biodiversity is caught in a counter-productive polemic between proponents and critics of market-based instruments and agricultural modernisation. This book argues that neither position does justice to the range of strategies that farmers use to manage agrobiodiversity and other livelihood assets as they adapt to changing social, economic, and environmental circumstances. Chapters explore relationships between the exploitation and conservation of agricultural biodiversity and the livelihoods of agricultural communities, and evaluate the capacity of national and multilateral institutions and policy settings to support the protection and capture by communities of agrobiodiversity values. The place of ecosystem services in valuing biodiversity in the marketplace is emphasized. A number of authors assess the potential for market-based instruments and initiatives to encourage the protection of biodiversity, while others compare agrobiodiversity/community relationships, and the effectiveness of instruments designed to enhance these, across international boundaries. The book takes a comparative approach, drawing on empirical case studies from across the developed and developing worlds. In doing so, the book does not simply point to similarities and differences in the experience of rural communities. It also shows how global trade and multilateral institutions bring these otherwise disparate communities together in networks that exploit and/or preserve agrobiodiversity and other resources.
Agriculture, Environment and Development: International Perspectives on Water, Land and Politics
by Antonio Augusto Rossotto Ioris Bernardo Mançano FernandesThe Second Edition of this book is completely revised and updated throughout providing an overview of current challenges faced within the area of Agri-food in relation to policymaking, ecological conservation and socio-environmental justice. Including a range of new chapters, the book explores some of the conceptual and analytical gaps that are presented by current approaches to this topic. The series of interconnected chapters offers a critical reinterpretation of the tensions associated with the failures of mainstream regulatory regimes, land and resource grabbing, and the impacts of global agri-food chains at local, regional and inter-sectoral scales. The book also examines past legacies and emerging challenges associated with agriculture modernisation, politico-spatial disputes, climate change, social movements, gender, ethnicity and education. It likewise addresses the transformative potential of different combinations of biophysical, socio-technical and socio-spatial practices of food sovereignty.
Agriculture: People and Policies (Routledge Library Editions: Agriculture #5)
by Graham Cox Philip Lowe Michael WinterThe structure and future of Britain’s agriculture sector are the central concerns of this volume, first published in 1986. It critically examines the mystique surrounding agriculture which has done much to underpin the special support the industry had enjoyed. The papers collected here address many of the key questions: What is distinctive about the social and economic organisation of agricultural production? What are the main factors which have influenced policy formation? And how are the policy makers likely to respond to widespread concern about the economic and environmental impact of those policies?
Agriculture, Resource Exploitation, and Environmental Change (An Expanding World: The European Impact on World History, 1450 to 1800 #17)
by Helen WheatleyThis volume examines the ecological consequences of European expansion as a result of land use and resource exploitation. These environmental transformations could be as dramatic as the last Ice Age, but scholars have only begun to take full measure of the changes. The articles presented here provide a map of some of the more promising directions of historical research. Major themes include biological exchange, agriculture, extraction of forest and animal resources, interactions between indigenous and European methods of exploitation, and European approaches to regulation and conservation. A useful corrective to the frontier image of Europeans conquering the wilderness, this volume provides a rich picture of the diversity of European interests and the sometimes unexpected consequences of their approaches to the land.
Agriculture, the Countryside and Land Use: An Economic Critique (Routledge Library Editions: Agriculture #4)
by J. K. Bowers Paul CheshireFirst published in 1983. How had the situation developed in which agriculture had become such a creature of state protection, where public money supported prosperous landowners while poor farmers received practically nothing? Where the value of agricultural support exceeded net farm income, and vastly exceeded the level of support available to British Steel or British Rail? In answering these questions John Bowers and Paul Cheshire examined the real value of agricultural support in successive policy phases since the Second World War, and analysed the effects this support had on income distribution. Their thesis was that agricultural change, including the transfer of land from traditional farmers to institutions and corporations, was not the product of impersonal progress, but the direct result of agricultural support policies, resting on specious economic arguments. The authors’ analysis of this subject has inescapable relevance for the policymaker, for the taxpayer and consumer of foodstuffs, for the urban user of the British countryside and indeed for farmers and the farming lobby. Agriculture, the Countryside and Land Use will be an important book for all these groups and also for students of agriculture, geography and economics.
Agrimonde - Scenarios and Challenges for Feeding the World in 2050: Scenarios And Challenges For Feeding The World In 2050
by Sandrine Paillard Sébastien Treyer Bruno DorinHow will the world be able to feed close to 9 billion people in 2050 and still maintain the ecosystems? In this perspective, INRA and CIRAD launched the initiative, in 2006, to develop a foresight project for analysing issues pertaining to the world's food and agricultural systems on the 2050 timeline. This book provides a synthetic presentation of the main conclusions that this foresight project has yielded. First, it recapitulates the main statistical references for the period 1961 to 2003, before going on to describe the Agribiom simulation tool used to calculate food biomass resource use balances. Two scenarios on the 2050 timeline are then considered: Agrimonde GO is a trend-based scenario that bets on economic growth to feed the world, in a context where environmental protection is not a priority; in contrast, the idea in Agrimonde 1 is to feed the world while preserving its ecosystems.
Agriscience: Agriculture, Food, And Natural Resources
by Jasper S. LeeThis book will help you move ahead in learning. With over 25 years since the first edition, and numerous editions since, there is a lot in this book that has been tried and proven. Beginning with the first edition in 1993, emphasis has been on usefulness of the book as a teaching-learning tool. The focus continues to be on approaches that blend science with agriculture, food, and natural resources (AFNR). Students, teachers, parents, agriculturalists, scientists, and many others have provided input that shaped this revised edition. Of course, national, state, and local standards have been used in this process. The goal of the author with this and previous editions has been to produce the best possible book for introductory science-based agricultural education classes. With over a thousand pages, more than 900 illustrations, and 30 carefully designed and written chapters, you are on to something special with this book.
Agro-Climatology: Advances and Challenges
by T.N. Balasubramanian R. Jagannathan V. GeethalakshmiThe chapters in this book cover crop -weather interaction and agro-met observatory, agro-climatic analysis, crop micro-meteorology, remote sensing, crop simulation models, weather codes and their management, integrated weather forecast and agro advisories, climate change, livestock climatology/meteorology and astrometeorology. To understand the text of the book, under terminology, simple details have been given for hard technical words. Further and above all, under practical tools, important computations and calculations have been given with example, which is the unique of this publication. The authors feel that this publication would be very useful to under graduates, postgraduates, research scholars, publics, teachers and also to the politicians to take policy decisions on the subject. Note: T&F does not sell or distribute the hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This title is co-published with NIPA.