Farming Systems Research into the 21st Century: The New Dynamic
Farming Systems Research into the 21st Century: The New Dynamic

Author: Ika Darnhofer

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-05-30

Total Pages: 488

ISBN-13: 9400745036

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Farming Systems Research has three core characteristics: it builds on systems thinking, it depends on the close collaboration between social and biophysical sciences, and it relies on participation to build co-learning processes. Farming Systems Research posits that to contribute towards sustainable rural development, both interdisciplinary collaborations and local actor engagement are needed. Together, they allow for changes in understanding and changes in practices. This book gives an overview of the insights generated in 20 years of Farming Systems Research. It retraces the emergence and development of Farming Systems Research in Europe, summarises the state-of-the-art for key areas, and provides an outlook on new explorations, especially those tackling the dynamic nature of farming systems and their interaction with the natural environment and the context of action.

European Agricultural Research in the 21st Century
European Agricultural Research in the 21st Century

Author: Guy Paillotin

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-04-17

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 3662036924

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Jointly published with INRA, Paris. What will people eat in the future and how can the food requirements in terms of quantity and quality be met? This EU-based study elucidates the need for a productivity level that will make agriculture competitive on the market and yet is reconciled with the need to manage natural resources and lands wisely. In this book the necessary changes for European agriculture from the biological, medical, economic and political perspective are discussed.

Alternative Agriculture in Europe (sixteenth-Twentieth Centuries)
Alternative Agriculture in Europe (sixteenth-Twentieth Centuries)

Author: Gerard Beaur

Publisher:

Published: 2020-06-15

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 9782503586748

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The treatment of long-term agricultural transformation remains a lively topic for historians. Much debate arose when agricultural development patterns were discovered that did without a dominant, production-oriented cereal crop, even when it was accompanied by livestock farming. Joan Thirsk hoped to conclude this debate by putting forward the hypothesis that such "alternative agriculture" was the farmers' way of responding to the difficulties caused by periods of low agricultural prices. This theory stirred up controversy and arguments both for and against.00The contributions to this volume take this hypothesis seriously and attempt to assess its validity. Examining a large number of "alternative agricultures" over the long term, from the fifteenth to the twentieth century, they discuss the issues encountered in tracing the links between the spread of alternative crops, such as fruits and vegetables, flowers, and industrial crops, and the general economic environment, across a vast swathe of territory stretching from Flanders to Spain and from France, through Italy and Switzerland, as far as Russia.

Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century
Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-07-25

Total Pages: 598

ISBN-13: 0309148960

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In the last 20 years, there has been a remarkable emergence of innovations and technological advances that are generating promising changes and opportunities for sustainable agriculture, yet at the same time the agricultural sector worldwide faces numerous daunting challenges. Not only is the agricultural sector expected to produce adequate food, fiber, and feed, and contribute to biofuels to meet the needs of a rising global population, it is expected to do so under increasingly scarce natural resources and climate change. Growing awareness of the unintended impacts associated with some agricultural production practices has led to heightened societal expectations for improved environmental, community, labor, and animal welfare standards in agriculture. Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century assesses the scientific evidence for the strengths and weaknesses of different production, marketing, and policy approaches for improving and reducing the costs and unintended consequences of agricultural production. It discusses the principles underlying farming systems and practices that could improve the sustainability. It also explores how those lessons learned could be applied to agriculture in different regional and international settings, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. By focusing on a systems approach to improving the sustainability of U.S. agriculture, this book can have a profound impact on the development and implementation of sustainable farming systems. Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century serves as a valuable resource for policy makers, farmers, experts in food production and agribusiness, and federal regulatory agencies.

Nature and Agriculture in the European Union
Nature and Agriculture in the European Union

Author: Floor Brouwer

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9781781009802

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Nature and agriculture both shape the European countryside and one of the main challenges for the years to come will be to strengthen their interaction for the future development of rural areas. In this valuable and highly topical book, the authors demonstrate how economics and ecology can play a critical role in maintaining and sustaining this relationship. The book identifies the dilemmas facing European agriculture and explores their economic and ecological consequences. The authors believe a better understanding of these problems will be crucial in recognising the potential options for the future role of agriculture and nature policy and will guide the identification of suitable policy instruments. They highlight current threats to the relationship between agriculture and nature - such as abandonment and intensification - and demonstrate how these problems can be resolved by a rational policy mix. The book also provides extensive empirical evidence from four case studies and concludes by scrutinising the major changes in market conditions and the Common Agricultural Policy which could upset this important but fragile balance between agriculture and nature.

Handbook of Agricultural Economics
Handbook of Agricultural Economics

Author: Robert E. Evenson

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2007-06-28

Total Pages: 847

ISBN-13: 0080545270

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Volume 3 of this series of the Handbooks in Economics follows on from the previous two volumes by focusing on the fundamental concepts of agricultural economics. The first part of the volume examines the developments in human resources and technology mastery. The second part follows on by considering the processes and impact of invention and innovation in this field. The effects of market forces are examined in the third part, and the volume concludes by analysing the economics of our changing natural resources, including the past effects of climate change.Overall this volume forms a comprehensive and accessible survey of the field of agricultural economics and is recommended reading for anyone with an interest, either academic or professional, in this area.*Part of the renown Handbooks in Economics series*Contributors are leaders of their areas*International in scope and comprehensive in coverage

Agriculture & Food Systems To 2050: Global Trends, Challenges And Opportunities
Agriculture & Food Systems To 2050: Global Trends, Challenges And Opportunities

Author: Rachid Serraj

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2018-11-08

Total Pages: 680

ISBN-13: 9813278366

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This book features a comprehensive foresight assessment, exploring the pressures — threats as well as opportunities — on the global agriculture & food systems between now and 2050. The overarching aim is to help readers understand the context, by analyzing global trends and anticipating change for better planning and constructing pathways from the present to the future by focusing on the right questions and problems. The book contextualizes the role of international agricultural research in addressing the complex challenges posed by UN 2030 Agenda and beyond, and identifies the decisions that scientific leaders, donors and policy makers need to take today, and in the years ahead, to ensure that a global population rising to nine billion or more combined with rising incomes and changing diets can be fed sustainably and equitably, in the face of the growing climate threats.

The EU in the 21st Century
The EU in the 21st Century

Author: David Ramiro Troitiño

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-03-06

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 3030383997

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In the light of Brexit, the migration crisis, and growing scepticism regarding the European integration process, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the most pressing problems facing the European Union in the 21st century. Written by experts from various disciplines, the contributions cover a wide range of economic, legal, social and political challenges, including populism, migration, Brexit, and EU defence, foreign policy and enlargements. Each paper includes a historical account, insights into the problems and challenges confronting the EU, and an assessment of the institutions and policy instruments applied by the EU in response. Discussing each of the problems as part of a process – including the historical roots, current situation and potential solutions – the book allows readers to gain an understanding of the European Union as a living project.

European Agriculture
European Agriculture

Author: Brian Gardner

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-04-10

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 113488575X

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The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is central to both economic and environmental developments in Europe. But with the advent of new environmental legislation and political change in Europe the CAP faces increasing pressure to reform. European Agriculture provides a comprehensive breakdown of the workings of the CAP and its impact on farming in Europe. The author discusses every aspect of European agricultural policy, production and trade, from environmental contraints and the impact of biotechnology, to the role of European farming in the world food supply system. Posing direct questions about the recent 1992 agricultural reform, the 1994 GATT agreement and the reasons for the expensive continuation of the CAP, European Agriculture analyses the economic, political and environmental implications of pursuing present farming policy and provides a provocative commentary on the agricultural future of Europe.

Precision Agriculture in the 21st Century
Precision Agriculture in the 21st Century

Author:

Publisher: National Academies

Published: 1997-09-08

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13:

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Sensors, satellite photography, and multispectral imaging are associated with futuristic space and communications science. Increasingly, however, they are considered part of the future of agriculture. The use of advanced technologies for crop production is known as precision agriculture, and its rapid emergence means the potential for revolutionary change throughout the agricultural sector. Precision Agriculture in the 21st Century provides an overview of the specific technologies and practices under the umbrella of precision agriculture, exploring the full implications of their adoption by farmers and agricultural managers. The volume discusses how precision agriculture could dramatically affect decisionmaking in irrigation, crop selection, pest management, environmental issues, and pricing and market conditions. It also examines the geographical dimensions--farm, regional, national--of precision agriculture and looks at how quickly and how widely the agricultural community can be expected to adopt the new information technologies. Precision Agriculture in the 21st Century highlights both the uncertainties and the exciting possibilities of this emerging approach to farming. This book will be important to anyone concerned about the future of agriculture: policymakers, regulators, scientists, farmers, educators, students, and suppliers to the agricultural industry.