The Origins of Agriculture in Europe takes a look at current ideas in the light of a considerable mass of literature and archaeological evidence; examining the transition to agriculture through the comparison of social and economic developments across Europe.
In this volume, I.J.Thorpe manages to evaluate various alternative explanations in detailed examples, whilst also succeeding in addressing the broader theoretical questions which form the nucleus of contemporary debates. This clearly written and accessible text is an extremely valuable resource for students of European prehistory.

European agricultural policy is too often a tangled web of technicalities wrapped in incomprehensible jargon. Yet it deals with the most basic human requirement - food. This work attempts to explain the complexities of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the 1994 General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the changes that are being forced on agricultural policy in Europe by environmental legislation, biotechnology and political change. Reforms of the CAP were agreed in 1992. Explaining the reform programme in detail, the book goes on to question the effectiveness of the reform and suggests that they will do nothing to diminish the costliness of the CAP or prevent European farm production overstepping the limits imposed by the 1994 GATT agreement. Referring to a wide geographical range of European case material, the author challenges the common assumption that in a world apparently short of food it makes sense to expand high-cost European farm production. It is clear that continued over-production will inevitably lead to new political conflicts with America and other major agricultural exporting nations.

European agricultural policy is too often a tangled web of technicalities wrapped in incomprehensible jargon. Yet it deals with the most basic human requirement - food. This work attempts to explain the complexities of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the 1994 General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the changes that are being forced on agricultural policy in Europe by environmental legislation, biotechnology and political change. Reforms of the CAP were agreed in 1992. Explaining the reform programme in detail, the book goes on to question the effectiveness of the reform and suggests that they will do nothing to diminish the costliness of the CAP or prevent European farm production overstepping the limits imposed by the 1994 GATT agreement. Referring to a wide geographical range of European case material, the author challenges the common assumption that in a world apparently short of food it makes sense to expand high-cost European farm production. It is clear that continued over-production will inevitably lead to new political conflicts with America and other major agricultural exporting nations.

The South West Peak is a lesser-known part of the Peak District stretching from Lyme Park in Cheshire in the north to Onecote in Staffordshire in the south, and from Macclesfield in the west to Buxton in the east. This landscape area includes tracts of high moorland, fertile valleys, wooded cloughs, picturesque villages and tiny hamlets. The farmers of the South West Peak are the people who have made the landscape what it is today, and it is their personal accounts of working in this often challenging land that form the basis of The Land That Made Us. Edited by local author Christine Gregory and dairy farmer Sheila Hine, and published in partnership with the Farming Life Centre and the Peak District National Park Authority with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, this book includes the testimony of over twenty farmers, and it is illustrated with photographs of them and their farming landscapes. We hear stories from across the generations of heroic endeavour in difficult terrain, as well as accounts of day-to-day work and family life spanning eighty years of farming history. The land had been farmed in traditional ways for centuries, but the Second World War changed that, and in succeeding years politics and increasing mechanisation have constantly rewritten the rule book for farmers. There is pride in achievement as well as frustration at the often conflicting demands of food production and wildlife conservation. The Land That Made Us asks what makes for sustainability in the short and the long term. The future of this landscape and of the farming communities that sustain it hangs in the balance, and it is the farmers' turn to reflect on their past and speculate about the future.

Based on new research results and practical findings, this revised edition text re-emphasizes the importance of agroecology as the discipline that provides the basic ecological principles for how to study, design and manage agroecosystems that are both productive and natural resource conserving, and are also culturally-sensitive, socially-just and economically viable. Agroecology goes beyond a one-dimensional view of agroecosystems - to embrace an understanding of ecological and social levels of coevolution, structure and function. However, ecological health is not the only goal of agroecology. In fact sustainability is not possible without preserving the cultural diversity that nurtures local agricultures. Stable production can only take place within the context of a social organization that protects the integrity of natural resources and nurtures the harmonious interaction of humans, the agroecosystem and the environment. The second edition incorporates new insights and concepts in the hope of helping guide agricultural students, researchers and practitioners to a deeper understanding of the ecology of agricultural systems that should open the doors to new managem

This groundbreaking book is the first to provide state-of-the-art information on the current changes and developments in European food and agricultural marketing. Food and Agribusiness Marketing in Europe contains broad and up-to-date coverage of agricultural and food marketing by experts in a variety of European countries including Germany, Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Hungary. With chapters selected by the famous marketing specialist Matthew Meulenberg of The Netherlands, this enlightening book allows food and marketing professionals to gain new perspectives on the changing roles of food retailing and food industry in agricultural marketing and the structure of agriculture and food markets.This insightful book introduces readers to the common factors influencing European food marketing today including the stagnating volume of food demand, severe competition between suppliers of agricultural and food products, the overall shift in agricultural marketing towards more market-consumer orientation, and the resulting concern about product development, branding, and customer relationships. Major national differences in food and agricultural marketing in each country are also analyzed, in particular, the problems of implementing European Community legislation in the face of tremendous divergences among member countries in their needs, expectations, and priorities. Some of the other important topics covered in this in-depth book include: European food consumption and consumers food retailing in Europe the impact of the Common Agricultural policy and other government policies on agricultural marketing the conduct of agricultural marketing institutions and agribusinesses and their marketing performances agricultural and food marketing channels in European countries Food and Agribusiness Marketing in Europe is the first resource available that provides essential information on the tremendous changes in food and agricultural marketing in Europe. It is an invaluable reference on European marketing for students and teachers of agricultural marketing, European-oriented agribusiness managers, and internationally oriented agriculture policymakers who need to develop an understanding of food marketing developments in this area of the world.

Agriculture was the central economic activity of ancient Greece. The authors of this thorough and lucid introduction describe and discuss the natural conditions, the techniques, the plants cultivated and the animals reared. They demonstrate how agriculture fitted into the society of gods and men in the Greek city-states.

Originally published in 1975 this book analyses the factors making for success and failure in agricultural development among black Zimbabweans during the 20th century. A detailed analysis is given of 2 tribal trust lands, including government policies and administrative control of these areas, voluntary and forced adjustment to land shortage and the economic resources and productivity of peasant cultivators. Settlements under individual land tenure are examined, as are government policies to these, the internal transofrmation of these communities and their economic resources and productivity. There is also a section on irrigation schemes and the reaction of people to irrigation farming. This is an indispensable book in understanding the present-day situation of agriculture in Zimbabwe.

A combination of academic research, action-research, programme-specific studies, consultancy reports amd more reflective policy discussions that have been carried out with local NGOs and with donor agencies. This book addresses fundamental processes of agrarian structural change and their gender implications; opportunities for wider participation by landless men and women in agricultural growth; the social implications of rural works and fish culture programmes; rural institutions and poverty alleviation; and broad institutional questions arising from interaction between the state, market and community (including NGOs) concerning good governance and the franchise state. to patterns of land use and shifting sets of opportunities for poor actors. It concludes by offering 11 working principles as a guide through the development maze of poverty alleviation in Bangladesh. The principles focus on the agenda of rights, governance, democracy, organizational culture, realistic expectations about NGO performance, and the portfolio character of people's lives.

This text is intended for plant physiologists, molecular biologists, biochemists, biotechnologists, geneticists, horticulturalists, agromnomists and botanists, and upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines. It integrates advances in the diverse and rapidly-expanding field of seed science, from ecological and demographic aspects of seed production, dispersal and germination, to the molecular biology of seed development. The book offers a broad, multidisciplinary approach that covers both theoretical and applied knowledge.

Shanna Farrell loves a good drink. As a bartender, she not only poured spirits, but learned their stories—who made them and how. Living in San Francisco, surrounded by farm-to-table restaurants and high-end bars, she wondered why the eco-consciousness devoted to food didn’t extend to drinks. The short answer is that we don’t think of spirits as food. But whether it's rum, brandy, whiskey, or tequila, drinks are distilled from the same crops that end up on our tables. Most are grown with chemicals that cause pesticide resistance and pollute waterways, and distilling itself requires huge volumes of water. Even bars are notorious for generating mountains of trash. The good news is that while the good drink movement is far behind the good food movement, it is emerging. In A Good Drink, Farrell goes in search of the bars, distillers, and farmers who are driving a transformation to sustainable spirits. She meets mezcaleros in Guadalajara who are working to preserve traditional ways of producing mezcal, for the health of the local land, the wallets of the local farmers, and the culture of the community. She visits distillers in South Carolina who are bringing a rare variety of corn back from near extinction to make one of the most sought-after bourbons in the world. She meets a London bar owner who has eliminated individual bottles and ice, acculturating drinkers to a new definition of luxury. These individuals are part of a growing trend to recognize spirits for what they are—part of our food system. For readers who have ever wondered who grew the pears that went into their brandy or why their cocktail is an unnatural shade of red, A Good Drink will be an eye-opening tour of the spirits industry. For anyone who cares about the future of the planet, it offers a hopeful vision of change, one pour at a time.

Sally Urwin and her husband Steve own High House Farm in Northumberland, which they share with Mavis the sheepdog, one very fat pony, and many, many sheep. Set in a beautiful, wild landscape and in use for generations, it's the perfect setting for Sally's - sometimes brutally - honest and charming account of farming life. From stock sales to lambing sheds, and days spent out in the fields through driving snow and hot summer days, A FARMER'S DIARY reveals the highs, lows and hard work involved in making a living from the land, through all four seasons of the year. Filled with grit and humour, newborn lambs and local characters, this is an enlightening read for anyone who has ever wondered what it's like on the other side of the fence.

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economy and development of Pakistan providing food to consumers, raw materials to industries, and a market for industrial goods. Unfortunately, agricultural production is stagnant due to several barriers including a fixed cropping pattern, reliance on a few major crops, a narrow genetic pool, poor seed quality, and a changing climate. In addition, the high cost of production, weak phytosanitary compliance mechanisms, and a lack of cold chain facilities makes Pakistan agriculturally uncompetitive in export markets. Despite all these issues, agriculture is the primary industry in Pakistan and small farmers continue to dominate the business. Small farmers grow crops for subsistence under a fixed cropping pattern and a holistic approach is required to develop agriculture to improve the livelihoods of the rural populace. This book presents an exhaustive look at agriculture in Pakistan. Chapters provide critical analyses of present trends, inadequacies in agriculture, strategic planning, improvement programs and policies while keeping in view the natural resources, plant- and animal-related agricultural production technologies, input supplies, population planning, migration and poverty, and balanced policies on finance, credit, marketing, and trade.

This presents 20 specially commissioned case studies of farmer participatory approaches to agricultural innovation initiated by NGOs in Africa. Beginning with a broad review of institutional activity at the grassroots, the authors set the case material within the context of NGO relations with the State and their contribution to democratisation and the consolidation of rural civil society. Specific questions are raised: how good/bad are NGOs at promoting technological innovation and addressing constraints to change in present agriculture?; how effective are NGOs at strengthening grassroots organizations? and how do/will donor pressures influence NGOs and their links to the State? This title is part of a series on "Non-Governmental Organizations" co-ordinated by the Overseas Development Institute. To complete this comprehensive review and critique there are two other regional case study volumes on "Asia" and "Latin America" and an overview volume, "Reluctant Partners?".

This presents 20 specially-commissioned case studies of farmer participatory approaches to agricultural innovation initiated by NGOs in Latin America. Beginning with a broad review of institutional activity at the grassroots, the authors set the case material within the context of NGO relations with the state and their contribution to democratization and the consolidation of rural civil society. Specific questions are raised: how good/bad are NGOs at promoting technological innovation and addressing constraints to change in present agriculture?; how effective are NGOs at strengthening grassroots organizations? and how do/will donor pressures influence NGOs and their links to the state? This title is part of a series on "Non-Governmental Organizations" co-ordinated by the Overseas Development Institute. To complete this comprehensive review and critique there are two other regional case study volumes on "Asia" and "Africa" and an overview volume, "Reluctant Partners?". Anthony Bebbington and Graham Thiele have published numerous journal articles between them.

This presents 20 specially commissioned case studies of farmer participatory approaches to agricultural innovation initiated by NGOs in Africa. Beginning with a broad review of institutional activity at the grassroots, the authors set the case material within the context of NGO relations with the State and their contribution to democratisation and the consolidation of rural civil society. Specific questions are raised: how good/bad are NGOs at promoting technological innovation and addressing constraints to change in present agriculture?; how effective are NGOs at strengthening grassroots organizations? and how do/will donor pressures influence NGOs and their links to the State? This title is part of a series on "Non-Governmental Organizations" co-ordinated by the Overseas Development Institute. To complete this comprehensive review and critique there are two other regional case study volumes on "Asia" and "Latin America" and an overview volume, "Reluctant Partners?".

Presents twenty specially commissioned case studies of farmer participatory approaches to agricultural innovation initiated by NGOs in Asia with case material set within the context of NGOs' relations with the state.

'Fuss-free dishes full of nature's freshest flavours.' - Psychologies 'Packed with delicious nostalgia.' - Radio Times 'Celebrates the joy of seasonal home cooking.' - BBC Good Food 'Kate Humble dishes up home-cooked heaven.' - Daily Mail Weekend A celebration of simple, seasonal home cooking full of flavour, comfort and joy. With more than 100 recipes from Kate Humble's kitchen table, this is food to share from breakfast time to the evening meal - for lazy days, busy weeknights or gatherings, and everything in between. Recipes include: SPRING A Ham Sandwich on Beer Bread with Piccalilli Spring Chicken with Wild Garlic & New Potatoes Rhubarb Vodka SUMMER Tomatoes with Steak & Wild Salsa Verde Elderflower Jellies Summer in a Teapot AUTUMN Beet Bourguignon Apple Crumble Ice Cream with Blackberry Ripple Butternut Tea Loaf WINTER A Soda Bread for Winter with Oats & Black Treacle Sausages in Red Wine Clementine Cake with an Orange & Pomegranate Salad

Historical Geography of Crop Plants is devoted to a variety of staple and food crops, as well as fodder, fiber, timber, rubber, and other crops. The origins and histories of many of these crops have been clarified only recently by new research. The book has been arranged alphabetically by family and higher taxa for easy reference. Within families, species and cultivars are listed chronologically and geographically. The taxonomy and geography of probable wild progenitors have been outlined, and archeological evidence (when available) and historical evidence on region and domestication are traced. The subsequent evolution and spread of many domesticated species are examined, and the reasons behind the diversity in crop histories are explored. Historical Geography of Crop Plants will be a useful reference for botanists, economic botanists, ethnobiologists, agronomists, geographers, and others interested in the subject.

The state subsidies which have supported agriculture in developed market economies are being questioned. Food surpluses and the damaging effects of modern farming techniques on the environment are regularly reported in the press and media. The Geography of Agriculture in Developed Market Economies describes and explains how these and other problems being encountered in modern agriculture have developed and also how the problems vary in intensity between different farming regions.

Agriculture was the main source of living in Ancient Greece and this book provides a broad introduction to ancient Greek agriculture. The initial focus is firmly on the art of agriculture proper - the tools and the techniques, the plants cultivated and the animals reared - thereafter the book examines the position of agriculture in the society of gods and men in the Greek city-states. In the epilogue it is stated that Greek agriculture in the period of the city-states was rather primitive and the authors question the view which maintains that agriciulture was the main source not only of living but also of wealth in Ancient Greece. The book's arguments are strengthened by its close adherence to contemporary Greek sources, literary as well as archaeological, avoiding the use of later as well as of Roman material.

The Latin American Agribusiness Development Corporation (LAAD) was one of many initiatives taken at the height of the Cold War to alleviate poverty in countries threatened by communist insurgencies. Its mission was to promote rural development by funding local agribusiness enterprises to create new permanent jobs and new economic activity. In Mission Possible, Ross, president of LAAD from 1972 to 1998, gives a richly detailed insider's account of the company's first three decades.Originally capitalized with a little over $2 million, and beginning with the small economies of Central America, it gradually expanded into the Caribbean islands and South America and now is a factor in 25 countries. To date, LAAD has provided over $300 million to 700 projects, generating tens of thousands of new jobs and new annual exports of $500 million. Always profitable, it has paid a dividend for twenty years. Its capitalization has grown to over $30 million by reinvesting most of its earnings in Latin America. Since LAAD was committed exclusively to Latin America, it had to contend with an often unsettled political environment; it could not simply stand on the sidelines and wait for conditions to improve. Indeed in a broader sense LAAD's mission was to help improve those conditions.Mission Possible describes a small but significant chapter in a broader context of how the world's rich countries have tried to raise living standards among their poorer neighbors. Students of economic development and international business management will learn much from the story of how this unique experiment grew into a dynamic enterprise."[Ross] offers innumerable studies [in Mission Possible] of investment projects that stimulated the commercial production of agricultural produce in the region. He recounts the frustrating negotiations with uncomprehending central bankers and the difficulties of developing marketing and other infrastructural networks that are so important for assuring the success of any business, and is pleased with what he identifies as the two most significant changes that profoundly affected agriculture: the decline in the role of the state in Latin America and in protectionism in the industrialized world. ... He stresses the fundamental roles that innovative entrepreneurs can play, taking advantage of opportunities created by organizations like LAAD, and using market information to reduce uncertainty." -David Barkin, Latin American Research ReviewRobert L. Ross, a Harvard-educated development economist, has worked for forty years in Latin America. He taught economics at the Latin American Economic and Social Planning Institute in Santiago, Chile and worked on the first development plans in Haiti and Paraguay. He was president of the Latin American Agribusiness Development Corporation from 1972 until his retirement in 1998.

Focusing on organic farming, this book presents peer-reviewed contributions from leading international academics and researchers in the field of organic agriculture, plant ecosystems, sustainable horticulture and related areas of biodiversity science. It includes case studies and reviews on organic agriculture, horticulture and pest management, use of microorganisms, composting, crop rotation, organic milk and meat production, as well as ecological issues. This unique book addresses a wide array of topics from all continents, making it a valuable reference resource for students, researchers and agriculturists who are concerned with biodiversity, agroecology and sustainable development of agricultural resources.

This exploration of the conditions which characterize the process of a general application of agro-mechanical technology is illustrated through a detailed study of the use of a new agricultural tool in rural India.

'You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be touched by Kate's enthusiasm for her new way of life' - Daily Mail In 2007, after 20 years of living in London, Kate Humble and her husband Ludo decided it was time to leave city life behind them. Three years later, now the owner of a Welsh smallholding, Kate hears that a nearby farm is to be broken up and sold off. Another farm lost; another opportunity for a young farmless farmer gone. Desperate to stop the sale, Kate contacts the council with an alternative plan - to keep the farm working and to run a rural skills and animal husbandry school alongside it. Against all odds, she succeeds. Here, in Humble by Nature, Kate shares with us a highly personal account of her journey from London town house to Welsh farm. Along the way we meet Bertie and Lawrence the donkeys, Myfanwy and Blackberry the pigs and goats Biscuit and Honey, not forgetting a dog called Badger and his unladylike sidekick Bella. And we are introduced to the tenant farmers Tim and Sarah, the locals who helped and some who didn't, and a whole host of newborn lambs. Full of the warmth and passion for the natural world that makes Kate such a sought after presenter, Humble By Nature is the story of two people prepared to follow their hearts and save a small part of Britain's farming heritage, whatever the consequences.