Agroecologists from around the world share their experiences in the analysis and development of indicators of agricultural sustainability in Agroecosystem Sustainability: Developing Practical Strategies. The authors build on the resource-conserving aspects of traditional, local, and small-scale agriculture while at the same time drawing on modern ecological knowledge and methods. They define the relationship between agroecology and sustainable development.

Leading researchers present case studies that attempt to determine 1) if a particular agricultural practice, input, or management decision is sustainable, and 2) what is the ecological basis for the functioning of the chosen management strategy over the long term. They discuss common findings, define the future role of agroecology, and explore strategies for helping farmers make the transition to sustainable farming systems.

Preserving the productivity of agricultural land over the long term requires sustainable food production. Agroecosystem Sustainability: Developing Practical Strategies covers topics that range from management practices specific to a particular region to more global efforts to develop sets of indicators of sustainability. It links social and ecological indicators of sustainability. From this foundation we can move towards the social and economic changes that promote sustainability in all sectors of the food system.

Medicinal Plants: Culture, Utilization and Phytopharmacology covers over 400 species. Each chapter gathers valuable information from a wide variety of sources, and supplies it to the user in convenient table format, arranged alphabetically by scientific name, followed by the common name. Data topics include: major constituents (active ingredients) and medicinal values of plants; toxicity or hazardous components; essential oils; value-added products and possible uses; cultivation and harvesting; diseases and insects found in medicinal plants. Three appendices (alphabetical listing of plants by common name, followed by the scientific name; essential oils and their derivation; active ingredients and their sources) provide handy cross-references to the Tables.

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.

This dictionary contains terms covering the following fields and subfields: plant growing and cultivation, processing of agricultural products, soil science, mineral nutrition and fertilizing, plant protection, agrometeorology, biochemistry and physiological characters of plants and animals, forest management and organization, animal breeding, foodstuffs, animal nutrition, veterinary medicine, farm implement and machinery, vehicles and conveying devices, economics and organization of agriculture.

"Elsevier's Dictionary of Agriculture" is a valuable tool for agricultural specialists, scientists, students and for everyone with an interest in agricultural problems.

Discover farming techniques that will decrease soil erosion and costs Soil erosion from U.S. croplands has long been recognized as a national problem. Conservation Tillage in U.S. Agriculture: Environmental, Economic, and Policy Issues is the first ever complete study of the costs and benefits of using conservation tillage to prevent soil erosion. Designed for professionals working in the areas of soil science, agronomy, economics, environmental studies, and agriculture, this complete study covers everything from machinery and trends in conservation tillage to its adoption to use in regions of the United States. With this in-depth manual, you will examine different types of tillage and the many benefits this practice can ensure, such as improving water quality, increasing organic matter in your soil, sequestering carbon, and providing habitat and food for wildlife. Covering the economic, environmental, and policy issues of this practice, Conservation Tillage in U.S.Agriculture features: the history of conservation tillage case studies on costs and benefits of differing conservation tillage practices with various crops tables and graphs of trends, and case studies concerning the use of different farming methods U.S. Department of Agriculture soil conservation policies how to prevent soil erosion without harming the environment factors affecting conservation tillage, adoption, and use for crops such as peanuts, potatoes, beets, tobacco, and vegetables. With the help of this book, you will measure the benefits and costs of conservation tillage based on profitability and environmental impact and explore the positive and negative environmental consequences that may involve air, land, water, and/or the health and ecological status of wildlife. Conservation Tillage in U.S. Agriculture is a timely and informative look at conservation tillage practices that will help you improve residue management and create better conditions for wildlife and the environment.

The Living Land sets out a new 'stakeholder' vision for rural regeneration in Europe. It integrates three themes: sustainable agriculture, localised food systems and rural community development. All three offer ways of rebuilding natural and social capital, and a large 'sustainability dividend' is waiting to be released from current practices - creating more jobs, more wealth and better lives from less.

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.

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.

Author, Robert J. Drew has relived his many years of experience in England and America dealing with both pigs, and the people that care for them, in this humorous and educational read Pig Tales From Across the Pond.

Both countries have elements that are undoubtedly unique. There are however many similarities, and it is these, along with the subtle differences in cultures and paradigms that are observed and then drawn upon by the author that are sure to make you laugh. Wild Boars and Wild BullsCowboys and Indiansi Tornadoes and BlizzardsSnakes and Snapping TurtlesMarijuana and more.......

Whether you use the word hog or pig, drive on the left hand side of the road or the right, smoke cigarettes or fags, or have ever been asked by a complete stranger . . . "Do you know how to shag?" There is something within Pig Tales From Across the Pond that will make you want to tell your family and friends.

Designed as an accessible text on sustainable agriculture, this book contains information on community organization and participation, technologies for sustainability and the wider policy and service environment. The book looks at a variety of ways of encouraging sustainability through policy change and service provision, including: ways of improving financial services; ways of improving land security; and ways of improving training. The book is illustrated by a range of case studies and examples, and contains lists of contact addresses.

By setting industrialization against the background of wider processes of economic growth, recent trends in economic history have once again placed agriculture at the center of debate on the formation of modern economies. The nine essays in this volume examine the broader terms and implications of this new emphasis, and reassess the contribution of agriculture to economic growth in contexts that range from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries and from Europe to Russia and Asia.
The essays are tightly focused around a set of central themes. Emphasizing how contexts of time and place have determined the relationship between agricultural change and economic growth, they explore comparatively such issues as the problems of interpretation and methodology posed by the close inter-dependence between agriculture and social organization, the critical role of political intervention in agricultural change, as well as the technical difficulties involved in measuring changes in productivity and their wider impact on economic growth. As a result the volume offers a uniquely broad but coherent and critical assessment of current trends in the interpretation of agriculture's major but complex historical role in modern economic growth.

People's participation in development has been promoted for over 20 years, yet it is still commonplace for projects to be predesigned, without more than a token consultation with those farmers for whom they are intended. This book describes a project among small-scale farmers in the drought-prone and arid communal lands of Zimbabwe which, within the broad remit of promoting food security, helped the farmers identify their problems and choose their own solutions to them. The aim of the project was participatory technology development: to extend the range of soil-and-water conserving farming techniques available to men and women, and to help them evaluate and disseminate these and their own traditional techniques so as to improve the returns from their land. Central to the project was the attention paid to strengthening existing institutions--the local farmers' clubs and women's garden groups--to ensure the continuity of activities after the departure of the project. Also of critical importance was the involvement of Agritex, the government agricultural extension service, from the start of the project, which has meant that the process approach that was demonstrated in Chivi District, is now being taught to extension workers and adopted throughout the service. The book describes the background of farmers in the communal lands of Zimbabwe, and then recounts the process approach which involved needs assessment surveys, institutional surveys, participatory planning, awareness raising training, visits to view new technologies, evaluating and disseminating new and traditional agricultural techniques and local seed varieties. How the project also attempted to strengthen women's position in the local community without confrontation is also described. The project is also being replicated elsewhere in Zimbabwe, adapting the ten-year experience in Chivi. This project has been unique internationally in it's combination of the participation of local community institutions and the governments' commitment to the reorganization of it's agricultural development services. The range of the successful institutionalization of these methods has lessons about sustainability for us all.

Biomass currently accounts for about 15 per cent of the global primary energy consumption and is particularly important as an energy resource in developing countries. It will undoubtedly play an increasing role in the world's energy consumption. Which crops make up this large percentage of our energy resources? Where do they grow and what can be done to boost the levels of production? What impact does their cultivation have on the environment and development? The book starts with aspects of biomass accumulation, harvesting, transportation and storage, as well as conversion technologies for biofuels. This is followed by a look at the environmental impact and economic and social dimensions, including prospects for renewable energy. The book then goes on to cover all the main potential energy crops. For each main species it gives a brief description, outlines the ecological requirements, methods of propagation, crop management, rotation and production, harvesting, handling and storage, processing and utilization, then finishes with selected references. All those whose work involves biomass production, whether as agriculturalist, student, farmer, producer, planner or policy maker will find this book an invaluable reference work.

Addressing the topic of hunger and food security in Western Africa, the contributing authors to this volume are anthropologists who seek to understand the sociocultural factors involved in the environmental and economic aspects of food production. With an emphasis on technology and the changing patterns of resource use, case studies from regions of Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone reveal how local farmers are responding to change and to the problems of food security. The book also offers a comparative approach to discussions of diverse agricultural systems, both within and across cultural areas, to present wide-ranging implications for planning and policy.

Course in Tropical Agriculture for the Staff of Co-operatives

The enclosure of common land into smaller privately owned units of land by parliamentary intervention transformed the traditional open-field system of farming which gave even the poorest a share in the common land. Despite its long-term benefits, its methods and immediate consequences were controversial, dispossessing the rural poor from their land. This text analyzes the extent and impact of parliamentary enclosure regionally, examining the processes by which land was reorganized, cultivation extended into former waste lands and old practices transformed. It stresses the degree of local variation and the mixture of motives and effects which make the subject complex. The book also weighs up the evidence for the effect of enclosure on the poor, looking afresh at old conclusions and providing new insights.

The revised edition of this text includes substantial new material on hunger in the aftermath of the Cold War; global food productioin versus population growth; changing demographics and falling birth rates around the world; the shifting focus of foreign assistance in the new world order; structural adjustment and other budget-slashing policies; trade liberalization and free trade agreements; famine and humanitarian interventions; and the thrid worldization of developed nations.

Fate and Prediction of Environmental Chemicals in Soils, Plants, and Aquatic Systems focuses on the chemical persistence and ecotoxicological behavior of pesticides in soil, water, and plants. The book examines recent developments in research on various substances and relays information regarding transport, adsorption, absorption, accumulation, degradation, biological effects, toxicity to aquatic organisms, air pollution, exposure, and risk estimation. Leading international scientists present their advances in analytical methodology and instrumentation in the fields of agrochemicals and environmental chemistry. This useful review of data, methods, and principles will benefit environmental researchers, managers, biologists, chemists, pharmacologists, and others interested in assessing the potential for contamination of soil, air, water, and plants.

The main goal of this book is to present a summary of the state of the art historical background. Conventional chemical pest control methods are mentioned only as a means of comparison to controlled release. Research endeavour with biological weapons, potential usage of such controls, and the few instances of success are likewise brought into focus with the same motive. Formulations and methods or preparing controlled release pesticides are discussed in some detail as concerns the antifouling and molluscicide areas, where the compounding methodology has been well developed. The mathematical basis of controlled release has been developed to an extent and is presented in an abbreviated form.

A Primer on Human Impacts on the Environment An insightful and illuminating discussion of the impact humans have had on Earth In A Primer on Human Impacts on the Environment: The Conceptual Approach, distinguished environmental scientist Liam Heneghan explores the intricate relationships between humanity and Earth in an accessible and engaging style. Replete with real-world examples and drawing from classic and contemporary scholarship, the author adapts the fundamental conceptual models of the environmental disciplines to assess the risks human beings are taking with their home planet. The conceptual approach of this primer challenges readers to think across multiple disciplines to reveal the "big picture" that is all too often lost in the details of contemporary environmental studies. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to conceptual modeling, showing how systems models can be adapted and applied in a rapidly changing world Comprehensive explorations of the human impact on the Earth, including an examination of possible ecological limits and planetary boundaries In-depth evaluations of environmental risks, especially, though not limited to, climate change and biodiversity loss A guide to contemplating catastrophic risk and the potential for societal collapse without inducing unnecessary anxiety An interdisciplinary focus, emphasizing the role of the natural and social sciences, as well as the arts and humanistic disciplines in safeguarding the future Perfect for students of environmental science and environmental studies, A Primer on Human Impacts on the Environment will also earn a place in the libraries of graduate students working on environmental themes and practicing professionals in the environmental management community.

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.

Die moderne boer staan deesdae voor probleme soos koste wat astronomies eskaleer, produkpryse wat val en stygende rentekoerse op grondpryse. Die faktore noodsaak boere om hul sake- en bestuursvernuf uit te brei ten einde te verseker dat die plaas ekonomies bestuur word. Hierdie boek bevat die grondbeginsels van finansiele bestuur, ontleding en beheer.