This book deals with past legacies and emerging challenges associated with agriculture production, water and environmental management, and local and national development. It offers a critical interpretation of the tensions associated with the failures of mainstream regulatory regimes and the impacts of global agri-food chains. The various chapters include conceptual and empirical material from research carried out in Brazil, India and Europe. The assessment takes into account the dilemmas faced by farmers, companies, policy-makers and the international community related to growing food demand, water scarcity and environmental degradation. The book also questions most government reactions to those problems that tend to reproduce old, productivist approaches and are normally under the powerful influence of global corporations, mega-supermarkets and investment funds. Its overall message is that the trajectory of agriculture, rural development and environmental management are integral elements of the broader search for justice and novel socio-ecological thinking.

Agriculture in developing countries has been remarkably productive during the last few decades; however, the production levels were achieved at the cost of placing more stress on natural resources and the environment. This volume brings together state-of-the-art applied, practical research related to agriculture, development, and the environment in the developing world. It attempts to distill current knowledge and to summarize it in readable form for development practitioners. Where possible, authors use specific examples to indicate which approaches have worked and which have not, under which conditions, and why.

This reissue, first published in 1995, focuses on philosophy and social science in human ecology, and includes case studies dealing with the problems of political implementation of development plans and schemes. Part One deals with theory, including a comprehensive introduction to the field and an overview of the conceptual modelling typical in human ecology. Part Two moves towards questions of human behaviour and action, exploring the relationship between environmental ethics and policy in terms of the justification and implementation of human interactions with nature and the environment on an ecologically sustainable basis. In Part Three, the author focuses on environmental policy in China since 1949 and on a regional case study in India. The final part of the book discusses the prospects for sustainable development more broadly, in terms of favouring ecological and cultural variety in agriculture and of viewing the relationship between human beings and the natural environment as a matter of overexploitation rather than crisis.

Urban agriculture is an increasingly popular practice in cities worldwide, and a sustainable future for it is critical, especially for the urban poor of the developing world.

Accompanying CD-ROM also has titles in French and Spanish.

Precision agriculture (PA) involves the application of technologies and agronomic principles to manage spatial and temporal variation associated with all aspects of agricultural production in order to improve crop performance and environmental quality. The focus of this book is to introduce a non-specialist audience to the the role of PA in food security, environmental protection, and sustainable use of natural resources, as well as its economic benefits. The technologies covered include yield monitors and remote sensing, and the key agronomic principles addressed are the optimal delivery of fertilizers, water and pesticides to crops only when and where these are required. As a result, it is shown that both food production and resource efficiency can be maximized, without waste or damage to the environment, such as can occur from excessive fertilizer or pesticide applications. The authors of necessity describe some technicalities about PA, but the overall aim is to introduce readers who are unfamiliar with PA to this very broad subject and to demonstrate the potential impact of PA on the environment and economy. Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 3.0 license.

Farming for Our Future examines the policies and legal reforms necessary to accelerate the adoption of practices that can make agriculture in the United States climate-neutral or better. These proven practices will also make our food system more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Agriculture's contribution to climate change is substantial--much more so than official figures suggest--and we will not be able to achieve our overall mitigation goals unless agricultural emissions sharply decline. Fortunately, farms and ranches can be a major part of the climate solution, while protecting biodiversity, strengthening rural communities, and improving the lives of the workers who cultivate our crops and rear our animals. The importance of agricultural climate solutions can not be underestimated; it is a critical element both in ensuring our food security and limiting climate change. This book provides essential solutions to address the greatest crises of our time.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of emerging challenges facing different social groups, policy-makers and the international community related to economic growth, social development and environmental change, social inclusion and regional development. The book undertakes a critical assessment of the tensions associated with the failures of mainstream regulatory approaches and impacts of social and economic policies whilst widening the discussion on the interface between the expansion of the socio-environmental demands, equity and justice. These are crucial challenges, of great importance today and of equal relevance to the Global North and South. The book explores one of the main contradictions of development, the simplification of assessments and narrow consideration of alternatives. Taking this dilemma as its departure point, it goes on to examine the justification, trends and limitations of Western-based development and possible alternatives to fundamentally modify the basis and the rationale of the development process. It considers theoretical and lived experiences of development, paying attention to multiple scales, local realities and economic frontiers. Contributing authors explore policy recommendations and discuss effective practical tools for determining the values different people hold for ecosystem services and territorial resources. They cover the monitoring of change in the provision of ecosystem services that might increase the well-being of vulnerable groups as well as strategies to promote innovation and integrated, equitable and sustainable development.

As urban populations rise rapidly and concerns about food security increase, interest in urban agriculture has been renewed in both developed and developing countries. This book focuses on the sustainable development of urban agriculture and its relationship to food planning in cities. It brings together the best revised and updated papers from the Sixth Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) conference on Sustainable Food Planning. The main emphasis is on the latest research and thinking on spatial planning and design, showing how urban agriculture provides opportunities to develop and enhance the spatial quality of urban environments. Chapters address various topics such as a new theoretical model for understanding urban agriculture, how urban agriculture contributes to restoring our connections to nature, and the limitations of the garden city concept to food security. Case studies are included from several European countries, including Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the UK, as well as Australia, Canada, Cameroon, Ethiopia and the United States (New York and Los Angeles).

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.