Exploring Agrodiversity
Will be published approx. on 7. May 2001
Book
Hardback
608 pages
978-0-231-10232-2 (ISBN)
Description
Small farmers are often viewed as engaging in wasteful practices that wreak ecological havoc. Exploring Agrodiversity sets the record straight: Small farmers are in fact ingenious and inventive and engage in a diverse range of land-management strategies, many of them resourcefully geared toward conserving resources, especially soil. They have shown considerable resilience in the face of major onslaughts against their way of life by outsiders and government. Using case studies from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific, this book provides in-depth analysis of agricultural diversity and explores its history. The book also considers the effect of the "gene revolution" on small farmers and reviews the effects of the "green revolution" in Asian countries. In conclusion, it questions whether the diverse agricultural practices employed by small farmers can survive modern pressures and the global ambitions of the biotechnology industry.
Reviews / Votes
Brookfield brings together a rich collection of evidence... and elegantly outlines the importance of agrodiversity. Nature Brookfield has again broken the mould with this extrememly valuable and detailed introduction to, and exposition of, his latest interest and speciality-the agrodiversity of small farmers... An excellent treatment of small farmer management strategies. Land Degradation and Development A valuable contribution...provides many interesting examples that question well established and widely disseminated hypotheses. Basic and Applied Ecology Harold Brookfield has written a book well worth the read... Few scholars are as well positioned as Brookfield to write about dynamic diversity in traditional agricultural systems centered on the farmer and the farm. Conservation Ecology Brookfield has emphasized the extremes of agriculturally managed landscapes in the small-farming regions of developing countries... [T]he volume is an excellent resource for scholars and policymakers, as well as a major contribution to the field of agrodiversity. -- Shivaji Prasad The Professional Geographer [T]his is an interesting book and would be a worthwhile addition to any personal or academic library just for a range of case studies alone... There is a fascinating range of examples of variations on the themes of human adaptability and landscape change. -- Christopher Young Landscape EcologyMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Weight
822 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-10232-2 (9780231102322)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Harold Brookfield
Exploring Agrodiversity
E-Book
09/2015
1st Edition
De Gruyter
from
€52.95
Available for download
Harold Brookfield
Exploring Agrodiversity
Book
05/2001
Columbia University Press
€71.86
Article not available at the moment
Person
Harold Brookfield is professor emeritus at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies of the Australian National University. He has written several books, including Land Degradation and Society.
Content
Introduction Part I. Presenting Agrodiversity 1. Presenting Diversity by Example: Mintima and Bayninan 2. Diversity, Stress, and Opportunity Part II. Diversity Within Rotational Land Systems 3. Defining, Describing, and Writing About Agrodiversity Part III. Paths of Transformation 4. Learning About the History of Agrodiversity Part IV. The Future of Agrodiversity 5. Understanding Soils and Soil--Plant Dynamics 6. Analyzing Shifting Cultivation 7. Alternative Ways to Farm Parsimonious Soils 8. Managing Plants in the Fallow and the Forest 9. Coping with Problems: Degraded Land, Slope Dynamics, and Flood 10. Who Has Driven Agricultural Change? 11. Farmer-Driven Transformation in Modern Times 12. The Green Revolution 13. Recent Trends in Agriculture 14. Science, Farmers, and Politics Epilogue: Looking at the Future References