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The 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.
Esta obra supre uma importante lacuna ao reunir relevantes estudos que ajudam a compreender os efeitos, no estado de São Paulo, de políticas públicas federais e estaduais voltadas à agricultura familiar. Nesse sentido, este livro atende a diferentes objetivos, como o de promover pesquisas e pesquisadores da agricultura familiar no estado, salientar a presença e a importância dessa categoria de agricultores e sua necessidade de maior atenção por parte do Estado e, ainda, demonstrar os efeitos das políticas públicas na agricultura familiar paulista.
Este livro, ao apresentar análises relativas ao desenvolvimento rural na França e no Brasil, contribui sobremaneira para a compreensão dos fenômenos que vêm marcando os espaços rurais. São duas realidades distintas, com políticas de desenvolvimento rural implementadas em épocas diferentes, mas que permitem o estudo de mudanças e impactos sociais, econômicos, culturais e ambientais de forma comparada. A diversidade e a heterogeneidade do mundo rural nos dois países ilustram uma ampla agenda de pesquisas nos temas rurais, do desenvolvimento e da sustentabilidade mundo afora. Isso porque, por maiores que sejam as transformações ocorridas, o agrícola e o rural permanecem centrais nos debates sobre desenvolvimento, bem-estar e qualidade de vida na sociedade contemporânea.
Introduction : why agroecology? -- The scientific principles of agroecology -- The scientific evidence for agroecology : can it feed the world? -- Scaling up agroecology : social process and organization -- The politics of agroecology -- Conclusions : conform or transform?
The Green Revolution – the apparently miraculous increase in cereal crop yields achieved in the 1960s – came under severe criticism in the 1970s because of its demands for optimal irrigation, intensive use of fertilisers and pesticides; its damaging impact on social structures; and its monoculture approach. The early 1980s saw a concerted approach to many of these criticisms under the auspices of Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). This book, first published in 1987, analyses the recent achievements of the CGIAR and examines the Green Revolution concept in South America, Asia and Africa, from an ‘ecodevelopment’ standpoint, with particular regard to the plight of the rural poor. The work is characterised by a concern for the ecological and social dimensions of agricultural development,which puts the emphasis on culturally compatible, labour absorbing and environmentally sustainable food production which will serve the long term needs of developing countries.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba faced its greatest economic crisis, estimated to have been three times more severe than the Great Depression. Between 1989 and 1992, imports needed for industrialized Cuban agriculture were dramatically cut. 50% of its oil, 75% of the fertilizer, and 65% of its pesticides were lost, along with animal feed and basic food imports. Cuba is the world's first national experiment in sustainable agriculture. With government policies declaring food and freedom from hunger as basic human rights, Cuba implemented the National Food Program. Cuban agriculture was reconstructed to be small scale, low input, and biologically based. The results of this experiment demonstrates to other countries that export-based chemically intensive industrial agriculture is not the only way to feed a country.
Throughout the 1960s until her untimely death in 1974, Afro-Cuban filmmaker Sara Gómez engaged directly and courageously with the social, political, economic, and cultural transformations promised by the Cuban Revolution. Gómez directed numerous documentary films in 10 prolific years. She also made De cierta manera (One way or another), her only feature-length film. Her films navigate complex experiences of social class, race, and gender by reframing revolutionary citizenship, cultural memory, and political value. Not only have her inventive strategies become foundational to new Cuban cinema and feminist film culture, but they also continue to inspire media artists today who deal with issu...
Good agroecological practices are indispensable for the development of sustainable agriculture. In this book, principles, diversity and applications of agroecological practices for a range of systems are presented, transforming scientific research and participatory knowledge of production into practical application. It illustrates a broad range of research and teaching being used within the farming community to demonstrate best practice and current state-of-play within the field. Agroecological methods used in crop farming, grass-based livestock farming, fish production, and other complex farming systems are discussed. Conclusions are drawn from studies to provide an outlook on future trends of agroecological practices and on policies supporting implementation.Due to emphasis on real-life application, it is relevant not only to students of the agricultural sciences and public policy, but also to researchers, stakeholders and policy makers involved in the development of sustainable agriculture.
Reconnecting Consumers, Producers and Food presents a detailed and empirically grounded analysis of alternatives to current models of food provision. The book offers insights into the identities, motives and practices of individuals engaged in reconnecting producers, consumers and food. Arguing for a critical revaluation of the meanings of choice and convenience, Reconnecting Consumers, Producers and Food provides evidence to support the construction of a more sustainable and equitable food system which is built on the relationships between people, communities and their environments.
The aim of this book is to bring together a series of contributions from experts in the field to cover the major aspects of the application of geostatistics in precision agriculture. The focus will not be on theory, although there is a need for some theory to set the methods in their appropriate context. The subject areas identified and the authors selected have applied the methods in a precision agriculture framework. The papers will reflect the wide range of methods available and how they can be applied practically in the context of precision agriculture. This book is likely to have more impact as it becomes increasingly possible to obtain data cheaply and more farmers use onboard digital maps of soil and crops to manage their land. It might also stimulate more software development for geostatistics in PA.