Author: Laurie E. Drinkwater
Publisher: Department of Agriculture
ISBN: 9781888626162
Category : Agricultural systems
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author: Michael Mayerfeld Bell
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 9780271046327
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Farming for Us All gives us the opportunity to explore the possibilities for social, environmental, and economic change that practical, dialogic agriculture presents.

Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821386840
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 685

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Book Description
Managing the ability of agriculture to meet rising global demand and to respond to the changes and opportunities will require good policy, sustained investments, and innovation - not business as usual. Investments in public Research and Development, extension, education, and their links with one another have elicited high returns and pro-poor growth, but these investments alone will not elicit innovation at the pace or on the scale required by the intensifying and proliferating challenges confronting agriculture. Experience indicates that aside from a strong capacity in Research and Development, the ability to innovate is often related to collective action, coordination, the exchange of knowledge among diverse actors, the incentives and resources available to form partnerships and develop businesses, and conditions that make it possible for farmers or entrepreneurs to use the innovations. While consensus is developing about what is meant by 'innovation' and 'innovation system', no detailed blueprint exists for making agricultural innovation happen at a given time, in a given place, for a given result. The AIS approach that looks at these multiple conditions and relationships that promote innovation in agriculture, has however moved from a concept to a sub-discipline with principles of analysis and action. AIS investments must be specific to the context, responding to the stage of development in a particular country and agricultural sector, especially the AIS. This sourcebook contributes to identifying, designing, and implementing the investments, approaches, and complementary interventions that appear most likely to strengthen AIS and to promote agricultural innovation and equitable growth. It emphasizes the lessons learned, benefits and impacts, implementation issues, and prospects for replicating or expanding successful practices. The information in this sourcebook derives from approaches that have been tested at different scales in different contexts. It reflects the experiences and evolving understanding of numerous individuals and organizations concerned with agricultural innovation, including the World Bank. This information is targeted to the key operational staff in international and regional development agencies and national governments who design and implement lending projects and to the practitioners who design thematic programs and technical assistance packages. The sourcebook can also be an important resource for the research community and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251315698
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 72

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Book Description
The Farmer Field School (FFS) has been one of the most successful approaches developed and promoted by FAO over the past three decades, empowering farmers to become better decision makers in their own farming systems. Initiated by FAO in 1989, and subsequently adopted by many other organizations and institutions, the FFS programs constitute one of the most important “results of the collective action of millions of small-scale farmers” that FAO has supported. FFS is an interactive and participatory learning by doing approach that offers farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolks, foresters and their communities a place where they can learn from each other,share experiences, co-create knowledge and try new ways of doing. Participants enhance their understanding of agro-ecosystems, resulting in production systems that are more resilient and optimize the use of available resources. FFS aims to improve farmers’ livelihoods and recognize their role as innovators and guardians of natural environments. FFS has attained plenty of outstanding achievements in all aspects of agriculture and rural development.

Author: Charles L. Mohler
Publisher: Natural Resource Agriculture and Engineering Service (Nraes)
ISBN: 9781933395210
Category : Crop rotation
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Author: Ben Hartman
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603585923
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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A practical, systems-based approach for a more sustainable farming operation To many people today, using the words "factory" and "farm" in the same sentence is nothing short of sacrilege. In many cases, though, the same sound business practices apply whether you are producing cars or carrots. Author Ben Hartman and other young farmers are increasingly finding that incorporating the best new ideas from business into their farming can drastically cut their wastes and increase their profits, making their farms more environmentally and economically sustainable. By explaining the lean system for identifying and eliminating waste and introducing efficiency in every aspect of the farm operation, The Lean Farm makes the case that small-scale farming can be an attractive career option for young people who are interested in growing food for their community. Working smarter, not harder, also prevents the kind of burnout that start-up farmers often encounter in the face of long, hard, backbreaking labor. Lean principles grew out of the Japanese automotive industry, but they are now being followed on progressive farms around the world. Using examples from his own family's one-acre community-supported farm in Indiana, Hartman clearly instructs other small farmers in how to incorporate lean practices in each step of their production chain, from starting a farm and harvesting crops to training employees and selling goods. While the intended audience for this book is small-scale farmers who are part of the growing local food movement, Hartman's prescriptions for high-value, low-cost production apply to farms and businesses of almost any size or scale that hope to harness the power of lean in their production processes.

Author: Michael P. Collinson
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9789251043110
Category : Agricultural systems
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
This book provides a detailed history of farming systems research (FSR). While it includes the application of FSR to developed country agriculture, its main focus is on FSR in its original role, with small scale, resource-poor farmers in less developed countries. There are some 40 contributions from nearly 50 contributors from 20 countries, illustrating both the diversity and yet the coherence of FSR. The five parts of the book cover: (1) FSR - understanding farmers and their farming (FSR origins and perspectives; understanding farming systems); (2) the applications of farming systems research (FSR in technology choice and development; FSR in extension and policy formulation); (3) institutional commitment to FSR (FSR: some institutional experiences in national agricultural research; dimensions of the organization of FSR; training for FSR); (4) FSR: the professional dimension (regional and international associations; FSR and the professional disciplines); and (5) cutting edge methods, abiding issues and the future for FSR.

Author: Steven Charles Franzel
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 9780851998848
Category : Agroforestry
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Most published books on agroforestry have focused on biophysical aspects. There has been a lack of scientifically rigorous information about the socioeconomic features of agroforestry, and the adoption of agroforestry practices by farmers.This book fills that gap by assessing the adoption of selected agroforestry practices developed with African farmers, describing methods, and drawing out the implications for research, development, and policy. The volume includes five case studies of research conducted in Kenya and Zambia to evaluate the adoption potential of agroforestry. The cases illustrate methods of farm and village technology design, testing, and analysis that are applicable to a wide range of natural resource management practices.Along with the case studies, the contents also include chapters on: methods for assessing agroforestry adoption potential, promoting new agroforestry technologies: policy lessons from on-farm research, and assessing adoption potential: lessons learned and future directions.

Author: United States. Bureau of Agricultural Economics
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Health insurance
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Author: Chris Reij
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134204981
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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One of Africa's major untapped resources is the creativity of its farmers. This book presents a series of clear and detailed studies that demonstrate how small-scale farmers, both men and women, experiment and innovate in order to improve their livelihoods, despite the adverse conditions and lack of appropriate external support with which they have to contend. The studies are based on fieldwork in a wide variety of farming systems throughout Africa, and have been written primarily by African researchers and extension specialists. Numerous lively examples show how a participatory approach to agricultural research and development that builds on local knowledge and innovation can stimulate the creativity of all involved - not only the farmers. This approach, which recognizes the farmers' capacity to innovate as the crucial component of success, provides a much-needed alternative to the conventional 'transfer of technology' paradigm. This book is a rich source of case studies and analyses of how agricultural research and development policy can be changed. It presents evidence of the resilience and resolution of rural communities in Africa and will be an inspiration for development workers, researchers and policy-makers, as well as for students and teachers of agriculture, environment and sustainable development.