Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services
Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services

Author: Denyse J. Snelder

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-07-19

Total Pages: 498

ISBN-13: 1402082614

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Recent history reveals that both the large-scale reforestation projects of the 20th century have often been less successful than anticipated, and that tree growing by smallholders – as an alternative means to combat deforestation and promote sustainable land use – has received relatively little attention from the scientific and development communities. Taking a first step to addressing that balance, this collection of peer-reviewed papers adopts a comparative approach to explore the potential role that tree growing by farmers can play in sustainable forest management. The goal of this approach is to identify common threads and to start to develop a framework for future research and practice. Presenting case studies from the Philippines and comparative data from a number of Asian countries the book reveals that farmer tree growing has the potential to play a significant role in sustainable forest management, and discusses the surrounding issues which must be addressed in order to realise this potential. The book is primarily aimed at research scientists and graduate students interested in relevant aspects of forestry, agroforestry, agricultural diversity, natural resource management and conservation in agricultural landscapes, as well as those involved in sustainable development and international development studies. It will also provide a valuable reference for professionals, managers, consultants, policy makers and planners dealing with issues in sustainable development, natural resource management, land use change issues and participatory approaches to resource management.

Shifting Cultivation Policies
Shifting Cultivation Policies

Author: Malcolm Cairns

Publisher: CABI

Published: 2017-11-13

Total Pages: 1117

ISBN-13: 1786391791

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Shifting cultivation supports around 200 million people in the Asia-Pacific region alone. It is often regarded as a primitive and inefficient form of agriculture that destroys forests, causes soil erosion and robs lowland areas of water. These misconceptions and their policy implications need to be challenged. Swidden farming could support carbon sequestration and conservation of land, biodiversity and cultural heritage. This comprehensive analysis of past and present policy highlights successes and failures and emphasizes the importance of getting it right for the future. This book is enhanced with supplementary resources. The addendum chapters can be found at: www.cabi.org/openresources/91797

Lao People's Democratic Republic
Lao People's Democratic Republic

Author: Paavo Eliste

Publisher: Fao

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13:

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"The results of this study confirm the continuing structural transformation of the Lao rice sector which started a decade ago. To some extent, the sector transformations being led by inter related factors not strictly related to government rice sector policies, including: (i) continued GDP growth led by mineral and hydropower exports; (ii) increasing job opportunities in the non-tradable, non-agricultural sector, and in neighboring countries, associated with increasing incomes; (iii) increasing shortages of farm labour and an ageing farm population; (iv) increasing urbanization and related changes in food consumption patterns; and (v) stabilization of aggregate national rice consumption as a result of a declining population growth rate and gradual diversification of diets away from rice as a source of calories. Furthermore, emergence of new private sector driven export crops. The current situation, which decouples rice sector-related government policies between farm and post-farm, each governed by different sector line ministries, may no longer be efficient. The growth in the number of commercially-oriented rice farmers as shown by the 2010 agriculture census data means that investments in further productivity improvements need to be well articulated with measures to sustain a sound market environment and this has trade policy implications."--Publisher's description.

Shifting Cultivation and Environmental Change
Shifting Cultivation and Environmental Change

Author: Malcolm F. Cairns

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-01-09

Total Pages: 1405

ISBN-13: 1317750187

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Shifting cultivation is one of the oldest forms of subsistence agriculture and is still practised by millions of poor people in the tropics. Typically it involves clearing land (often forest) for the growing of crops for a few years, and then moving on to new sites, leaving the earlier ground fallow to regain its soil fertility. This book brings together the best of science and farmer experimentation, vividly illustrating the enormous diversity of shifting cultivation systems as well as the power of human ingenuity. Some critics have tended to disparage shifting cultivation (sometimes called 'swidden cultivation' or 'slash-and-burn agriculture') as unsustainable due to its supposed role in deforestation and land degradation. However, the book shows that such indigenous practices, as they have evolved over time, can be highly adaptive to land and ecology. In contrast, 'scientific' agricultural solutions imposed from outside can be far more damaging to the environment and local communities. The book focuses on successful agricultural strategies of upland farmers, particularly in south and south-east Asia, and presents over 50 contributions by scholars from around the world and from various disciplines, including agricultural economics, ecology and anthropology. It is a sequel to the much praised "Voices from the Forest: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into Sustainable Upland Farming" (RFF Press, 2007), but all chapters are completely new and there is a greater emphasis on the contemporary challenges of climate change and biodiversity conservation.

Farming Systems and Poverty
Farming Systems and Poverty

Author: John A. Dixon

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 9789251046272

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A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.