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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Agriculture Traditional farming'
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Sherif, Souad Mohammed. "The economic feasibility of introducing aquaculture into traditional farming systems in Arizona." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/288781.
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The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the economic feasibility of introducing fish culture into irrigated cotton production on farms in central Arizona. The representative farm adopted in this study is a cotton farm described in Arizona Field Crop Budgets, 1994-95. The only adjustment necessary for the farmer to make is to keep water in the ditches at all times. Water as a production variable for fish production was thus calculated only for the additional quantity required. Analysis of these production systems was accomplished by budgeting procedures as well as statistical analysis. The economic-engineering (synthetic firm technique) was employed to develop the input-output coefficients necessary for analysis. Five fish densities and eight ditch capacities were tested. The production function was estimated using input and yield data. Three functional forms (linear, quadratic and Cobb-Douglas) were examined to determine how well they estimated the production system. Using budget analysis, a fish stocking density of six fish per cubic meter and a ditch capacity of 2,925 m3 appear to provide the optimal production scenario, if the percentage of fish reaching harvestable size is improved from 66 percent to at least 80 percent. This density has been proven to require minimum production costs and to provide the most efficient use of resources. However, production functions estimated in this study indicate that profits can be increased through additional use of feed. At any ditch capacity, a density of six fish per cubic meter, provides the optimal economic results, MVP = PX2 Finally, the implication of the findings of this study are that raising tilapia in irrigation ditch systems on cotton farms in central Arizona is feasible at a stocking density of six fish per cubic meter. Studies to improve the percentage of fish reaching marketable size at this density is very critical. Increasing the initial size of the fingerlings could be a consideration in improving the percentage of fish reaching marketable size and eventually increasing optimum economic returns.
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Grubbs, Morris Allen. "Wendell Berry’s Cyclic Vision: Traditional Farming as Metaphor." TopSCHOLAR®, 1990. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1552.
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Although Wendell Berry’s first book, a novel, appeared in 1960, he did not gain significant national attention until the publication of his nonfiction manifesto, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, in 1977. Since its publication, Berry has moved increasingly toward the prose of persuasion as he continues to sharpen his argument in support of a practical, continuous harmony between the human economy and Nature. His canon as a whole – the poems, essays, and novels – is an ongoing and thorough exploration of man’s use of and relationship to the land.
Arguing that the health of a culture is linked to the health of its land, Berry focuses on agriculture, particularly the growing conflict between traditional farming (which espouses a harmonious cyclic vision) and modern agribusiness (which espouses a discordant linear vision). As a traditional farmer wedded to the land, Berry derives his ideas and images largely from his practical experiences and form his devotion to careful and responsible land stewardship. He also, in his nonfiction, turns to several agricultural (as well as a few literary) writers of the past and present to lend support to his arguments.
Berry’s strong sense of Nature’s cycle is the basis for his imagery of departures and returns. As a crucial part of the cycle, death is prerequisite to life, and Berry shows the importance of understanding “that the land we live on and the lives we live are the gifts of death” (Home Economics 62). The power of Nature’s cycle is at once destructive and restorative; Berry teaches that by allying our human economy more with natural cyclic processes rather than with man-made linear – and ultimately destructive – ones, we and future generations can live with hope and assurance through the possibility of renewal.
Traditional farming has taught Berry the concepts which inform his poems and essays (as well as his novels and short stories, which merit a separate study beyond the scope of this paper.) For example, he has learned, and continues to learn, the importance of understanding and acknowledging the primal, and ruling, character of a “place”; of looking to Nature for guidance, instruction, and justice; and of allying farming practices to Nature’s “Wheel” of birth, growth, maturity, death, and decay. This cycle and related motifs unify and connect his central themes, particularly death as a means of renewal. In Berry’s view, one of the cruxes in the agricultural crisis is that, whereas traditional farming seeks a natural balance between growth and decay, industrial farming, because of its pull toward mass production, stresses growth only (a linear inclination), which wears out the land and leads inevitably to infertility. Tracing our modern crisis to our past and to our present character and culture, Berry shows the ramifications of our abuse of Nature’s “gifts.”
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Boag, Franca Elise. "Integrated Mediterranean farming and pastoral systems : local knowledge and ecological infrastructure of Italian dryland farming /." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/nq22954.pdf.
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Vorster, Halina Johanna. "The role and production of traditional leafy vegetables in three rural communities in South Africa." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2008. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02122009-115129/.
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Milestad, Rebecka. "Building farm resilience : prospects and challenges for organic farming /." Uppsala : Dept. of Rural Development Studies, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, 2003. http://epsilon.slu.se/a375.pdf.
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Larsson, Jimmie. "Traditional agricultural landscapes and their importance in the fight against land degradation." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-43201.
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Markförstöring är idag ett utbrett problem som till stor del är orsakat av konventionellt jordbruk och ohållbar markanvändning. Traditionella jordbrukslandskap har i många områden bedrivits under lång tid utan att uppvisa samma problem samtidigt som de haft hög artmångfald. Denna litteraturstudie studerar dessa landskap med inriktning på Europa och Ostasien. Resultatet visar att det är flera faktorer som är viktiga i deras bevarande av artmångfald såsom heterogenitet, konnektivitet och intermediära störningar. Utöver detta så är effektiv återvinning av näringsämnen, användning av poly-kulturer och jordbrukslandskapens låga intensitet, viktiga faktorer som skyddat dem från överexploatering. Problemet med traditionella jordbrukslandskap är att de inte är ekonomiskt hållbara. Även om restaurering av ekosystem är ett av FN:s mål det kommande decenniet så sker det inte om det inte finns ett incitament att restaurera. Genom att bättre förstå hållbara jordbrukslandskap kan vi i framtiden skapa både ekologiskt resilienta och ekonomiskt stabila produktionslandskap som inte bara gynnar samhället utan även artmångfalden.
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Derakhshani, Nava. ""God has locked the sky" : exploring traditional farming systems in Tigray, Ethiopia." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97123.
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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Tigray region in northern Ethiopia is a historic centre of agricultural production and home to many subsistence farmers that still use traditional farming systems and practise rain-fed agriculture. The region has been affected adversely by famines and periodic droughts for centuries and is vulnerable to climate change. Farmers are producing on small plots of often degraded land and through their own actions have depleted the natural resources they rely on, in particular soil, water and trees. This study sought to explore the environmental degradation of Tigray through both a literature review of its agricultural socio-political history and a lived experience in the village of Abraha We Atsebaha among farmers of the region. It uses a variety of methodologies and methods, including a literature review, grounded theory, narrative inquiry and ethnography, to expand on the factors that have contributed to the current degradation, the implications for traditional farming and the potential for land regeneration. The first journal article seeks to explore how Ethiopians have shaped their natural environment. In particular, it focuses on deforestation, soil degradation, the role of changing governance and land-ownership patterns, and the effects of climate change. The article demonstrates that traditional farming systems do not operate in isolation from their socio-political and environmental context. The second journal article provides an in-depth narrative inquiry conducted in Abraha We Atsebaha over a three-month period in 2014. This village is known for its indigenous farming knowledge, commitment to regeneration and innovation in conservation practices. Interviews were conducted with selected farmers and local leaders and informal discussions were carried out with government extension representatives using the ethno-ecological cosmos-corpus-praxis guidelines to enable an integrated exploration of the nature of traditional farming, the causative factors of environmental deterioration and the resultant communal response. In addition to written interview notes, observations and field notes were recorded daily. Photographs are used to give a real sense of the community and their work. It emerged during this process that underlying belief systems were exceptionally important in a context of traditional conservation. Both articles discuss the development work undertaken by government in the rural farming sector and the successes and challenges faced. They also show that elements of traditional farming, sustainability measures and environmental care were suspended in favour of short-term survival as a consequence of social, political and population stressors. This study provides learning points, gained from insights gleaned from the literature review and the lived experience, for improving development interventions in this region. This study did not explicitly explore the role of religion in conservation or the potential long-term effects of current government policies and initiatives. However, it contributes to the small pool of literature on the region focused on traditional farming systems by providing a comprehensive overview of the drivers of degradation (historical and current) and offers a unique, “soft” experiential narration of a village in northern Ethiopia that allows insight into farmer experiences, pressures and adaptation efforts.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Tigray-streek in die noorde van Ethiopië is ’n historiese sentrum van landbouproduksie en die tuiste van menige bestaansboer wat nog op tradisionele boerderystelsels en reënbesproeiing staatmaak. Die streek het eeue lank onder hongersnood en periodieke droogtes gebuk gegaan en is kwesbaar vir klimaatsverandering. Boere bewerk klein stukke, dikwels afgetakelde, grond en het deur hul eie optrede die natuurlike hulpbronne waarop hulle staatmaak – veral die grond, water en bome – uitgeput. Hierdie studie was daarop toegespits om ’n beter begrip te vorm van die omgewingsaftakeling in Tigray. Vir hierdie doel is ’n literatuurstudie van die sosiopolitieke landbougeskiedenis van die gebied onderneem, en is die lewe in die dorp Abraha We Atsebaha tussen boere van die streek ervaar. Die navorsing het van ’n verskeidenheid metodologieë en metodes, waaronder ’n literatuuroorsig, gegronde teorie, narratiewe ondersoek en etnografie, gebruik gemaak om lig te werp op die faktore wat tot die huidige aftakeling bygedra het, die implikasies vir tradisionele boerdery, en die potensiaal vir grondvernuwing. Die eerste tydskrifartikel verken hoe Ethiopiërs hul natuurlike omgewing gevorm het. Dit konsentreer veral op ontbossing, grondaftakeling, die rol van veranderende staatsbestuurs- en grondbesitpatrone, en die uitwerking van klimaatsverandering. Die artikel toon dat tradisionele boerderystelsels nie afsonderlik van hul sosiopolitieke en omgewingskonteks funksioneer nie. Die tweede tydskrifartikel beskryf ’n narratiewe diepte-ondersoek wat oor ’n drie maande lange tydperk in 2014 in Abraha We Atsebaha onderneem is. Hierdie dorp is bekend vir sy inheemse landboukennis, toewyding aan vernuwing, en innoverende bewaringspraktyke. Onderhoude is met ’n uitgesoekte groep boere en plaaslike leiers gevoer, en voorligtingsbeamptes van die staat is by informele gesprekke betrek. Die etno-ekologiese cosmos-corpus-praxis-riglyne is gebruik om ’n geïntegreerde studie te onderneem van die aard van tradisionele boerdery, die oorsaaklike faktore van omgewingsaftakeling, en die gevolglike gemeenskapsreaksie. Benewens skriftelike aantekeninge gedurende die onderhoude, is waarnemings en veldnotas ook daagliks opgeteken. Foto’s word gebruik om die gemeenskap en hul werk getrou uit te beeld. Gedurende hierdie proses het aan die lig gekom dat onderliggende oortuigingstelsels besonder belangrik is in ’n tradisionele bewaringskonteks. Albei artikels bespreek die ontwikkelingswerk wat die regering in die landelike boerderysektor onderneem, sowel as die suksesse en uitdagings daarvan. Dit toon ook dat elemente van tradisionele boerdery, volhoubaarheidsmaatreëls en omgewingsorg as gevolg van maatskaplike, politieke en bevolkingsfaktore laat vaar is ten gunste van korttermynoorlewing. Die insigte wat uit die literatuuroorsig sowel as die lewenservaring in die bestudeerde gemeenskap spruit, bied lesse vir die verbetering van ontwikkelingsintervensies in die streek. Die studie het nie uitdruklik die rol van godsdiens in bewaring of die potensiële langtermynuitwerking van huidige staatsbeleide en -inisiatiewe ondersoek nie. Tog dra dit by tot die klein hoeveelheid beskikbare literatuur oor tradisionele boerderystelsels in die streek deur ’n omvattende oorsig te bied van die (historiese en huidige) snellers van aftakeling, en vertel dit ’n unieke, ‘sagte’ ervaringsverhaal oor ’n dorp in die noorde van Ethiopië om sodoende insig in landbou-ervarings, -druk en -aanpassingspogings te bied.
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Zhou, Xiaofeng. "Adoption of non-traditional enterprises by Virginia farmers." Thesis, This resource online, 1994. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07112009-040519/.
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Mpuzu, Misery Sikelwa. "The impact of farmer support programmes on market access of small holder farmers in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007140.
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Most smallholder farmers in South Africa are characterized by poor resources such as land, labour and capital while they play an important role in poverty alleviation especially in poor rural areas. Smallholder farmers are increasingly recognized because of their contribution to household food security. The world markets are increasingly being integrated due to globalization and liberalization. As a result, smallholder farmers are facing increasing market competition, not only in international markets but in local markets as well. However, smallholder farmers often face a number of barriers to accessing these markets arising in part from the tightening of food safety and quality standards requiring compliance with phytosanitary and sanitary standards and growing power of supply chain integration. Furthermore, the viability of these smallholder producers is constrained by institutional obstacles which include lack of access to information, high marketing and transaction costs and low quality and lack of critical volume in the absence of bulking up arrangements, etc. These barriers have contributed to the exclusion of smallholder/small-scale farmers from formal markets. In order to address these obstacles and speed up the pace of agrarian reform many support schemes (farmer support programmes) are now being designed to specifically address market access and value chain issues through unique co-innovation arrangements to improve the farmer’s access to profitable international chains. A number of farmer support programmes (FSP) have been implemented in South Africa to reduce the risk of a lack of capacity and a lack of economic and/or financial experience in smallholder farms. Intervention measures have been instituted to these smallholder farmers to assist them to move out of poverty through agricultural production. The aim of this study was to understand the roles played by farmer support programmes in addressing income and welfare levels and sustainability of smallholder farmers in South Africa. Eighty nine (89) farmers were interviewed for this study and almost half (49%) of them received support from various organizations while 51% of the sampled farmers did not receive any support. The study was designed to compare the two groups between the treated and control group to assess the impact of these programmes.Using a Tobit and Propensity Score Matching technique, potential diffusion effects were eliminated between farmers supported by Farmer Support Programmes and farmers that did not belong to support services. The latter was selected from comparable communities with no agricultural support services. Findings from the Tobit regression and propensity score matching are consistent across the two methods, suggesting that being a member of any agricultural support programme has a significant positive impact on income and welfare of smallholder farmers.Farmer Support Programmes and collective marketing activities such as the collection and sale of members’ products appear to have a significant and positive impact on smallholder welfare of those farmers engaged in them. In the second analysis the study tested the types of arrangements that farmers would adopt to market their produce. From the results it was established that those farmers who were supported by institutional arrangements or FSP had better access to markets than those farmers who operated as individuals. Marginal effects are used to show the degree to which farmers chose a particular marketing channel or institutional arrangement that these farmers take when trying to access better paying markets. Then the final analysis is on factors that determine the extent to which collective action contribute to farmers’ income and market access. A number of variables (age, distance to the market, region the farmers are located) were evaluated using the multinomial regression model. Empirical results suggest that among South African cooperatives, those established in KwaZulu-Natal and partly in the Eastern Cape and upon the voluntary initiative of farmers are more sustainable and have access to better paying markets both locally and internationally than the other areas. The results also show that NGO-supported cooperatives have a longer life span than Government controlled cooperatives.
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Long, Scot Eric. "The complexity of labor exchange among Amish farm households in Holmes County, Ohio." The Ohio State University, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1064374526.
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Gao, Ze. "Organic Farming is Coming to Our Valley : The Development of Pumi Eco-Agriculture and the Indigenisation of Modernity in Sino-Myanmar Borderlands." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-388436.
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How do indigenous people perceive and practice eco-agriculture, especially when it was introduced as a development project? This thesis aims to delve into this question by focusing on a policy-induced agrarian transition for Pumi community in Sino-Myanmar borderlands. Using ethnographic methods, I intend to offer an intimate account of a provincial programme to facilitate eco-agriculture in this ethnic region. With the conceptual framework presented, the current research starts with the introduction of Pumi agricultural history and indigenous farming knowledge, with a focus on Pumi biocultural heritage. Then, I will examine how the process of ‘indigenisation of modernity’ (Sahlins 2000) has occurred against the backdrop of Pumi eco-agriculture programme. The insights will be distilled from three different aspects, which are agricultural land use, technical practices, and governance issues. For each aspect, I will scrutinise to what degree the government is following an industrial model to design the eco-agriculture agenda which corresponds to the ‘conventionalisation hypothesis’ of organic production (Buck 1997) and is thus in alignment with their long-term strategic goals to ‘modernise’ this borderland region through agricultural transformations, whereas the local Pumi farmers are actively coping with the government’s external interventions, meanwhile searching for the ‘alternative pathway’ towards agricultural modernisation. In the final chapter, I will interpret the motives of the both actors in the programme. For the government, the post-development theory will be employed to provide a critique of the ‘development discourse’ embedded in the agenda. For local farmers, the concept of ‘environmentality’ (Agrawal 2005) will be focused to interpret the Pumi farmers’ motives to indigenise, which ultimately questioning the transforming powers of modernity and globalisation on Pumi agrarian society. Basically, this thesis aims to trace the socio-political processes which drive the ‘agrarian transition’ in a Southeast Asian frontier, and further demonstrate how the resource abundance in the borderlands can underpin intense processes of commodification and dispossession (Nevins and Peluso 2008; Ishikawa 2010; see also Milne and Mahanty, 2015), the implications of which crystallised in an ethnographic context. To a larger extent, this research aims to shed lights on the interactions between social structure and individual agency ― although the Pumi farmers are struggling to survive with the adaptation to modern inputs, they are still marginalised by the structured inequality of the market economy, which limited the farmers’ opportunities to improve their own livelihoods. Furthermore, this research also has significant policy implications as it addresses the issues such as agricultural policy and ethnic relations in the borderland regions. By reflecting upon the overlapping implications of highland livelihoods, agencies, and the transforming powers of social change, the current study aims to build a locally rooted understanding of Pumi eco-agriculture programme, and provide lessons for sustainable planning and future policy-making for rural development in developing countries such as China.
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Hashe, Luvuyo E. "The role of the state and the environment in indigenous livestock farming: a case study of Debe Marela, Middledrift area, Eastern Cape." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/372.
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The study focused on the role of the State and the environment in indigenous livestock farming in Debe Marela in Middledrift. Although communal farmers in the area used ethnoveterinary medicines to treat and prevent animal diseases, they also widely used conventional medicines, as these often provided a remedy to animal diseases. The livestock farmers believed in indigenous knowledge which empowered them in using herbs to a certain extent, but the latter was preferred. The Department of Agriculture has featured as a support institution and although livestock farmers in the area have participated in and benefitted from state programmes, they believe that they needed more interventions such as visits from veterinary surgeons, Extension Officers and Animal Health Technicians. The study therefore attempts to address the gaps highlighted in the work of other researchers.
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Payn, Valerie. "'Ilima', 'Izithebe' and the 'Green Revolution' : a complex agro-ecological approach to understanding agriculture in Pondoland and what this means for sustainability through the creation of 'Living Landscapes'." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/20228.
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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis uses local narratives to explore relationships between agrarian landscapes, agrarian land use practices and the traditional cultural perspectives of traditional amaMpondo farming communities living along Pondoland‟s Wild Coast, on the East Coast of South Africa. This endeavour is based on theories that propose that human behaviour, including agrarian practice, is influenced by complex socio-cultural factors that shape cultural values, knowledge and world-views, and that are reflected in cultural narratives, and these influence the way different cultures relate to the surrounding environment. As a consequence of these cultural influences, different cultures use and shape the landscape in unique, culturally determined ways. Consequently, in human impacted landscapes attention needs to be paid to how cultural world-views, practices, customs and value systems influence the land use practices of the people inhabiting those landscapes. Amongst traditional communities with a long history of habitation within particular landscapes, traditional land use practices and customs, including agrarian practices, need to be understood from the perspective of the opportunities and constraints that particular environments present. Literature shows that a failure to understand relationships between culture and land use can led to the imposition of unsuitable development practices and policy on traditional cultures, and this can undermine cultural, agricultural and ecological diversity and lead to unsustainable models of development (Naveh, 1995; Antrop, 2005; Antrop, 2000; Capra, 2003; Capra, 1996; Nusser, 2001; Harding, S. 2006). Given the need to address development and agricultural practices that perpetuate unsustainable land use, an understanding of the nature of influencing relationships between landscape, land use and culture is particularly important Despite the debilitating influences of a colonial history, many rural communities along the Pondoland Wild Coast still retain a strong sense of cultural identity that has deep roots in a traditional agrarian system, and this has given rise to a unique indigenous landscape. This study of traditional amaMpondo farming communities presents an opportunity to gain insights into how different cultural perspectives might shape and utilize the landscape and lead to alternative land use systems than the dominant industrial norm.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis gebruik plaaslike narratiewe om die verhoudings tussen agrariese landskappe, landbou grondgebruik en die tradisionele kulturele perspektiewe van tradisionele amaMpondo boerdery gemeenskappe wat langs die Pondolandse Wildekus, aan die ooskus van Suid-Afrika voorkom te verken. Hierdie strewe is gebaseer op teorieë wat voorstel dat menslike gedrag, insluitende agrariese praktyk, beïnvloed word deur die komplekse sosio-kulturele faktore wat kulturele waardes, kennis en wêreldbeskouings vorm, en wat weerspieël word in die kulturele verhale, wat dan weer invloed het op die wyse waarop die verskillende kulture verband hou met die omliggende omgewing. As gevolg van hierdie kulturele invloede, maak verskillende kulture in unieke, kultureel bepaalde wyse gebruik van die landskap. Gevolglik, in landskappe wat deur die mens beïnvloed word, moet aandag geskenk word aan hoe kulturele wêreldbeskouings, praktyke, gewoontes en die waarde stelsels die mense in hierdie provinsies se landgebruik be-invloed. Tradisionele praktyke en kulture waaronder agrariese praktyke ingesluit is, moet in die tradisionele gemeenskappe wat 'n lang geskiedenis het van habitasie binne bepaalde landstreke, verstaan word vanuit die perspektief van geleenthede en beperkings wat hierdie besondere omgewings verteenwoordig. Litteratuur toon dat die versuim om die verhoudings tussen kultuur en grondgebruik te verstaan, kan lei tot die oplegging van ongeskikte ontwikkelings praktyke en beleid op tradisionele kulture. Dit kan' n kultuur-, landbou-en ekologiese diversiteit ondermyn en lei tot onvolhoubare modelle van ontwikkeling (Naveh, 1995; Antrop, 2005; Antrop, 2000, Capra, 2003; Capra, 1996; Nusser, 2001; Harding, S. 2006). Om die behoefte te vul wat ontwikkeling en landbou-praktyke wat nie-volhoubare grondgebruik perpetueer, is 'n goeie begrip van die aard van die beïnvloedings verhoudings tussen landskap, grondgebruik en kultuur veral belangrik. Ten spyte van die kreupelende invloed van 'n koloniale geskiedenis, het baie landelike gemeenskappe langs die Wildekus van Pondoland nog steeds' n sterk gevoel van kulturele identiteit wat diep wortels in 'n tradisionele agrariese stelsel het. Dit het aanleiding gegee tot' n unieke inheemse landskap. Hierdie studie van die tradisionele amaMpondo boerdery gemeenskappe bied 'n geleentheid aan om insig te verkry in hoe verskillende kulturele perspektiewe van die landskap kan vorm en gebruik maak en lei tot' n alternatiewe grondgebruik as die dominante industriële norm.
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Alhamidi, Sameer K. "New directions towards sustainability of agricultural systems /." Alnarp : Dept. of Crop Science, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, 2003. http://epsilon.slu.se/a425-ab.html.
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Tipper, Richard. "Technological change in contemporary peasant farming systems of northern Chiapas, Mexico." Thesis, University of Stirling, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/2598.
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A study of the process of technological change in contemporary Mayan agricultural systems was undertaken by an action research method that involved close collaboration with the rural development efforts of farmers in the northern highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Firstly, the socioeconomic context of technological change in Chiapas was described, with special reference to the effects of markets on agricultural development. Secondly, theta actors affecting the productivity and sustainability of the regions principal agricultural systems: maize and beans for subsistence and coffee for cash were described and measured. The use of traditional swidden methods of maize cultivation with shorter fallow periods was found to be causing a significant decline in the fertility of soils. Alternative, non-burning methods were found to be sustainable in terms of soil fertility, but required high labour inputs and were less productive during a 2-3 year transition period. Despite government programmes to promote the development of coffee plantations most farmers had adopted only ad hoc improvements, and coffee system productivities were found to be generally low. Models integrating dynamic and linear progranuning components of the improvement problem systems in maize and coffee production were constructed using evidence from the field studies. By examining a number of hypothetical scenarios, further hypotheses about the coffee and maize systems were generated. It was inferred that the relative scarcity of farm labour, cash or land resources would affect the optimum technical decisions of farmers. In particular, it was concluded that farmers with scarce cash resources would face most difficulty (in terms of loss of effective income) in adopting non-burning maize techniques and the promoted methods of coffee plantation improvement. On the basis of the evidence from the field studies and the modelling exercises a number of technical, project and policy recommendations were advocated. These were based upon the objective of maximising the potential competitive strengths of the peasant mode of production, including: the efficient use of marginal, dispersed and inaccessible resources and the production of a wide range of specialised agricultural and forestry products.
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Caunce, Stephen Andrew. "Farming with horses in the East Riding of Yorkshire : some aspects of recent agricultural history." Thesis, University of Leeds, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.328699.
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Ferrell, Ann Katherine. "“Replacing” Tobacco on Kentucky Farms: Discourses of Tradition, Heritage, and Agricultural Diversification." The Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1253554961.
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MacLean, Roger R. "A trans-disciplinary approach integrating farm system data to better manage and predict Striga infestations /." Thesis, McGill University, 2002. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=38228.
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The following research developed an approach and methodology to simultaneously gather and integrate social and natural science farm system data of developing countries into one data base. The overall approach was based on Weber's theory of abstraction, which requires the identification of the broadest number of variables as possible. The first step to understanding the farm system was to overview a number of the key variables which represented a number of key farm components; the second step was to juxtapose and blend together the various forms of data in linear forms against a test variable of Striga infestation levels; the third step was to evaluate if the amount of knowledge gained in predicting Striga infestation levels was statistically significant by cross correlating soil nutrient levels, crop management approaches, farmers' perceptions of Striga infestation and spatial distances; the fourth step was to use parametric and non-parameterc analytical tools in conjunction with data compression to locate the best combination of parameters to better manage Striga. The final part of the process was to identify and integrate the crop, field and social data into a profile of farmer's who have the highest and lowest likelihood of being infested by Striga by using a soil nutrient concentration baseline as the indicator. The results were that natural and social science data could be successfully combined, integrated and have statistically significant cross correlations. These correlations indicate that specific spatial parameters combined with specific soil components, farmer's management and crop placement could be used as predictors of Striga infestation levels. As well the farmers' perception could be validated using natural science data.
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Dórea, Antônio Tadeu Neves. "Agricultura familiar e sustentabilidade em Mutuípe-BA: estudo propositivo sobre planejamento agroecológico de produção agrícola em comunidade rural." Universidade Catolica de Salvador, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/123456730/312.
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A agricultura familiar favorece o emprego de práticas produtivas ecologicamente mais equilibradas, como a diversificação de cultivos, o menor uso de insumos industriais e a preservação do patrimônio genético. Nesse sentido, os agroecossistemas constituem-se em unidades fundamentais para o estudo e planejamento das intervenções humanas em busca do desenvolvimento sustentável na agricultura. Este estudo analisa possibilidades e limitações de se planejar agroecologicamente a produção agrícola de uma comunidade rural. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo de abordagem qualitativa. Para tanto, utilizou-se de informações levantadas junto aos agricultores familiares da Comunidade de Água Fria, no município de Mutuípe-BA. Foram identificadas diversas variáveis (que foram denominadas externas - tecnologias agrícolas, crédito rural, entre outras, e internas - fatores socioculturais, organização social, nível de escolaridade e capacidade interna de trabalho) que podem interferir ou influenciar o planejamento agroecológico. Embora, no atual contexto, conclua-se que este planejamento seja inviável, sua potencialidade é evidente, possibilitando a apropriação com efetividade das condições socioculturais presentes na agricultura familiar. Nessa perspectiva, sugere-se a implantação de uma incubadora tecnológica e social que possa contribuir no sentido de minimizar as limitações das variáveis internas e externas identificadas no estudo e, com isso, a comunidade possa planejar agroecologicamente a sua produção.
Family farming is favorable to the adoption of more ecologically balanced production practices, such as growing diversity, reduced use of industrial additives and the preservation of genetic inheritance. In this sense, agroecosystems can be understood as fundamental unities to the analysis and planning of human interferences in order to reach a sustainable development in agriculture. This study examines the possibilities and limitations of planning agroecologically a rural community’s agricultural production. It is a descriptive study that relies on a qualitative approach. To make it possible, pieces of information have been collected among family farmers from the Community of Água Fria in the city of Mutuípe-BA. Several variables (both external – farming technology, rural credit – and internal – sociocultural elements, social organization, schooling, and internal working capacity) that might interfere or influence the agroecological planning were identified. Although in the present moment this agroecological planning is concluded as impracticable, it does have a great potential, since it could effectively make use of the sociocultural conditions that exists in the family farming. In this context, the implantation of a social and technological business incubator is proposed so that the two variables identified in this study could be minimized and, as consequence, the agroecological planning of that rural community’s agricultural production could be possible.
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Schnitman, Tarita. "Agricultura familiar e turismo: estudo de reserva extrativista e território de população tradicional remanescente de quilombo." Universidade de São Paulo, 2014. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/91/91131/tde-09122014-102428/.
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Esta tese veicula uma investigação sobre o papel do turismo para a agricultura familiar. Diante dos problemas do êxodo rural, das desigualdades sociais e das limitadas alternativas de renda para comunidades rurais brasileiras, o estudo dos efeitos do turismo torna-se pertinente para refletir sobre sua capacidade de oferecer soluções pertinentes e vantajosas para os agricultores familiares. Assim, objetiva-se aqui caracterizar e identificar elementos socioculturais e ambientais que possam se constituir em referencial para estudos do turismo e sua contribuição para agricultura familiar. Para tal propósito, realizou-se um estudo de caso na população tradicional remanescente de quilombo Mandira e Reserva Extrativista do Mandira-SP. A tese contém reflexões sobre a ruralidade, a agricultura familiar e o turismo. Efetivamente, a agricultura familiar desempenha papel importante no espaço agrário. A discussão sobre a problemática ambiental no planeta, a emergência do termo sustentabilidade, tomando lugar da noção de ecodesenvolvimento transformam a reflexão sobre a agricultura familiar e as comunidades tradicionais. Neste contexto, a abordagem teórica da multifuncionalidade da agricultura familiar constitui um meio pertinente para a leitura sobre o equilíbrio socioambiental no meio rural. Através das lentes da multifuncionalidade, há uma inter-relação profunda entre ecologia, agricultura e turismo, deste modo a pesquisa percorre o debate sobre as preocupações em torno do turismo e da agricultura familiar. Em termos de estudo empírico, analisa-se a multifuncionalidade na comunidade Mandira como ferramenta para avaliação da atividade turística local. A investigação trata notadamente da infraestrutura turística na comunidade, dos passeios propostos em Mandira, da forma de hospedagem, das reservas, das formas de divulgação, do fluxo turístico e da participação do mandiranos na atividade turística. Com esses elementos, analisamos em que medida o turismo local se ancora na cultura local, favorecendo suas manifestações e revigorando suas tradições. A multifuncionalidade da agricultura familiar em Mandira é tomada portanto para uma análise do turismo. Trata-se de considerar os efeitos desta atividade para a manutenção do tecido social e cultural, a promoção da segurança alimentar, a reprodução socioeconômica das família e a preservação dos recursos naturais e da paisagem rural. Desta maneira, concebe-se um modelo de análise original para a avaliação do turismo comunitário ou do agroturismo no Brasil.This thesis conveys an investigation about the role of tourism in family farming. Given the problems of rural exodus, social inequalities and limited alternative sources of income for rural Brazilian communities, the study of the effects of tourism is pertinent to reflect on the ability to provide relevant and viable solutions for family farmers. Thus, the objective here is to characterize and identify socio-cultural and environmental elements that may constitute a reference for studies of tourism and its contribution to family farming. For this purpose, we performed a case study in the Mandira traditional population of remanescent of quilombo and Mandira Extractive Reserve, Brazil. The thesis contains reflections on rurality, family farming and tourism. Effectively, family farming plays an important role in the agricultural space. The discussion of environmental problems on the planet, the emergence of the term sustainability, the concept of eco-development transforms the reflection on family farms and traditional communities. In this context, the theoretical approach on multifunctionality of family farming is a useful medium for analysing the environmental balance in the rural areas. Through the lens of multifunctionality, there is a deep relationship between ecology, agriculture and tourism. Thus, the research traverses the debate concerning tourism and the family farming. In terms of empirical study, we analyze multifunctionality in Mandira community as a tool for assessing local touristic activity. The investigation deals mainly with tourism infrastructure in the community, tours, hospitality, reservations, marketing practices, tourist flow and the populatoion\'s participation in the tourism activity. With these elements, we analyze to what extent the local tourism anchors in the local culture, favoring its manifestations and reinvigorating their traditions. The multifunctionality of agriculture is taken for an analysis of tourism. It considers the effects of this activity for the maintenance of the social and cultural fabric, the promotion of food security, socioeconomic reproduction of families and the preservation of natural resources and Landscape. Thus, designing na original model for evaluating community tourism or agritourism in Brazil.
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Dimara, Euthalie. "L'agriculture grecque : une étude chronologique et régionale par l'analyse des correspondances et la classification automatique." Paris 6, 1988. http://www.theses.fr/1988PA066199.
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Dans une étude statistique de la production agricole grecque durant la période 1970-1981, on fait une correspondance ternaire entre trois ensembles de données: les 53 départements grecs, 56 productions différentes et l'ensemble des dix années. Il ressort que l'agriculture grecque a un caractère traditionnel ou le facteur temps n'a pas d'influence significative. On peut distinguer deux zones agraires: productions subméditerranéennes au nord, produits typiquement méditerranéens au sud et dans les iles.
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Henshall, Tiffany Fae. "The spatial configuration of agricultural practices and the role of resilience in farming at Khutwaneng, Bokoni." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/21634.
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A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2016.Despite the expansive size of the Bokoni complex, our knowledge with regards to many aspects of its occupancy is limited. Due to the agriculturally centred nature of the Bokoni, it is important to understand this facet of Bokoni life from as many perspectives as possible. This project aims to take us one step closer to achieving a deeper understanding of the agricultural practices of the Bokoni people. Through my fieldwork and the processing of collected data on land management practices of this society have been explored. Additionally Khutwaneng and the Bokoni complex in general, provide an interesting case study in the role of resilience in agricultural communities. Their agricultural success is inseparably linked to the adaptive strategies employed throughout their occupancy. This allowed for the consideration of the recursive relationship between resilience and sustainability, furthering our understanding of the Bokoni complex.
LG2017
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Maragelo, Ketshogile Pauline. "Traditional agriculture and its meaning in the lives of a farming community : the case of Embo." Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/940.
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Solomon, Lauren Leontine. "Measuring growth potential: a geo-archaeological study of settlement location selection and associated land management practices in Bokoni, Mpumalanga." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/21668.
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A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in
partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2016.The economy of Bokoni was centred on farming, with terrace agriculture playing a fundamental role in the construction and location of village sites. This dissertation examined the recursive relationship between soil chemistry and site location at three Bokoni sites: Doornkop, Khutwaneng and Kranskloof. These sites represent the three different phases of occupation in Bokoni. Analysis focused on the correlation of Ca, Mg, K, P, NH4, NO3, CEC and %C to the site contexts. At a macro scale there are substantial similarities with regards to the geology and the soil chemistry; suggesting a strong preference for locating village sites on relatively nutrient rich clay soils. On a more localised scale chemical analysis of the different contexts of these sites (i.e. domestic areas, central enclosures, terraces and non-archaeological areas) explored the agricultural potential of the soil in the various areas. These analyses showed a distinct difference in agricultural potential of soils in stone walled areas. This profile was the result of the nutrient contribution from the underlying soils in combination with either enrichment at the time of occupation, or the ongoing influence of the stone walled structures on the soils. The enrichment of soil in residential sites, whether intentional or accidental, could explain why Bokoni villagers continually reused sites during the earlier part of the sequence, before violence repeatedly disrupted settlement, and thus choice of settlement location, in the area.
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Caister, Karen. "Moving beyond substence : systemic integrity in commercialising homestead agriculture, with the Ezemvelo Farmers Organisation, KwaZulu-Natal." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/10585.
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The transformation of South Africa’s rural communal spaces into an economically
viable, socially stable and harmonious sector is currently on the political agenda, the
efforts of the public sector to achieve this however have fallen far short of the intended
goal leaving subsistence and emerging farmers with little or no support. A current
decline in agricultural activity in South Africa’s rural areas threatens to weaken even
further the strength of rural economies. Calls for the return of ‘peasant’ agriculture to
the political and academic agendas and a clarion call for South African farmers to rewrite
their history lie within the problem of sustaining humanity with the economic,
social, environmental and temporal dimensions as a driver for development. This
thesis interprets the activities and behaviours that defined the innovative response of
small-scale commercial farmers in KwaZulu-Natal who role model ‘farming’ as a
‘way of life’ in communal land spaces.
The focus of the research was to interpret a useful meaning in the re-negotiation of
power relationships between producers and their market. It conceptualised the process
of individuals who had determined, and continue to define, their future. The events
observed over the three years of field work, offered the possibility of generating an
emergent solution to re-inventing farming as a way of life as season by season,
decisions were made at the individual homestead level, collectively at community
level and between internal and external decision-makers for market oriented
agriculture as an additional farming strategy.
A constructivist epistemology, relying on a pragmatic approach to using grounded
theory methods within a participatory process, constituted the study design. The
research focussed only on emic issues as the ‘culture’ or social and material priorities
of the agronomic system in transition. For this reason, sensitising concepts were drawn
from within the context to limit the scope and analysis of the study. Following the
field work and write up, the literature of agrarian change was used to locate the study
and consider the practical contribution of the study.
This research identified that ‘successful’ commercial homestead agriculture was the
result of changes in mind-set that allowed for new norms and behaviours for farming practice and for relationships. These shifts provided leverage points for overcoming
resistance between producers and markets in accommodating a sustainable market oriented
agronomy. Influencing the change was the impact of informed decision making,
which brought the stakeholders together through the sharing of values and
beliefs. Success was interpreted as using the market-orientated production of
amadumbe to tap into the factors that sustained and created social cohesion, as well as
those that stimulated agricultural activity. This emphasis encouraged the capacity for
development and cultivation of sustainability. The research proposes that deliberate
interdependence between producers and markets creates the incentive for development
that is self-determining, sustainable and derives economic benefits from agricultural
activity.
This research contributes towards understanding how to re-define commercialisation
as an inherent characteristic of traditional agricultural practice and, within this, a
meaningful description for stakeholders of the social impact of a deliberate and
mutually determined reconstruction of livelihood reality through a farmer-market researcher
relationship. The research introduces the need for a new way of engaging
over agriculture in communal spaces; how Discourse is defined and managed; for
whom the results of evaluation and monitoring are aimed; and to whom the results of
research belong. The research raises consciousness of the need for a space within
which dialogue and support for sustaining social agriculture and the role that research
institutions could play.
The product of this research is a theory whose core variable defines successful
commercial homestead agriculture as a dimension of systemic integrity between
internal and external economic interactions. Systemic integrity has been defined as
the process by which commercialisation of traditional agriculture has been
demonstrated through tapping into the motivations that stimulate agricultural activity
and nurturing social cohesion as the framework for legitimate development
partnerships. The findings contribute to the discussion of how to unlock the
technological and productive potential of rural communities within the images of
supportiveness, solidarity, and communalism that produce food for the survival of
humanity in a contemporary and dynamic world.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.
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Jongisa, Lethukuthula Lemon. "Performance of indigenous farming practices : a case study of maize land use types in Umzimkulu area, Eastern Cape." 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/3435.
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Although conventional or scientific farming practices have been encouraged and promoted by state and other agencies, rural and resource poorfarmers have increasingly resorted to indigenous farming practices. This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that indigenous farming practices are not only environmentalfriendly, but are more profitable than conventional practices. A conceptual framework for testing the hypothesis was formulated based on a comparison of Margins above Specified Cost of indigenous and conventional farming practices. The data required were identified and a methodology for data collection and analysis was designed. The research methodology included a literature review, a GIS based sample scheme designedfor data collection and statistical analysis. As a major feature of this component of the mini-dissertation, the literature review reveals that indigenous farming practices have positive impact on the environment by improving soil through mulching, composting and use of non-toxic control ofpests and diseases. On the other hand the review reveals that conventional practices can impact negatively on the environment.Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.
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Huang, Hsiao-Chi, and 黃小綺. "A Case Study of Traditional Agricultural Transformationto Organic Farming Management." Thesis, 2014. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/64553980021572314796.
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碩士國立雲林科技大學
企業管理系
102
The purpose of this study to understand the industry in recent years, Taiwan's traditional agriculture background to the study of traditional farmers to switch to organic farming will face the problem of declining production rate of return, farmers tried to first case, the transformation of traditional agriculture through traditional animal husbandry, and then transition to organic farming course, sorting out the feasibility of improving the added value of industry practices.
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Fan, Min-chih, and 范民智. "Ditch Pond Farming life and Landscape Space Research of Longtan Huangnitang traditional agricultural settlement." Thesis, 2015. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/43361717338562007745.
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碩士華梵大學
建築系在職專班
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Since the end of the twentieth century, domestic agricultural desolate and the topic of agricultural transformation argue constantly, pluralistic government agricultural land, agricultural policies crafty changes; industrial development while taken away the rural labor force; The spread of fallow, abandoned farming and other phenomena; impact lifestyle and existing rural landscape feature, this big of force, it can not be ignored; globalization, the rise of the fashion industry, the farming industry and tourism of refinement, triggering a layout of the new agricultural space, so that the development of local how it can be due, be worth continuing and have planned to explore. Focused barren, drought, water scarcity of Huangnitang, our ancestors in the harsh environment like that, Depend through the build-up of fountain springs form pond, rainwater into the pool connected meantime by ditch series , shaping a repeat itself with vitality field space; tenant territory become to farmers, pioneering reclamation, Contend God willing and survival of perseverance, not stop to run forward with the world, wasteland farmland, putting down roots in breeding populations. Today, the face of the era of great change, the agricultural settlement of this poverty what changes will be made to cope. The ponds living space in what patterns and how to continue performances when rolling after under wheel of Era. Traced to the source in 1748 (Qing Dynasty Qianlong 13 years); Ketagalan (Pingpu ethnicity) Xiaolee ethnicity leader Zhimulio strokes tenant farmers to open up wasteland (Lingtan pond), The jiaqing year reclamation people to use water of with joint forces the big deep pool, constructing completes the Longtan ditch, The water of deep pool flow after the Ushulin, the Huangnitang and the Bachanglie, has laid the foundation which the Longtan agriculture opens up wasteland. Ditch throughout the running around, farmers open pond water storage and irrigation fields gardens, combined with ditch pond, water ducks geese shadow, play pool, wave, dishes, rice aroma permeates every where. In the space of time, the Southern Fujian ethnic depend on sufficient funds, the franchise business; Hakka moved with naked, hard those firms, functional water conservancy Reclamation, pioneer Zhang, Huang, Chen, Xiao, Lee and so on each family, disappeared growth in their Huangnitang, community here tripped the rise and fall, the impact of local industry to also change the shaft diameter space development, through this space reflections, as under the current of traditional rural gradual decline in agriculture modern context, How to develop or change for transformation become field-specific of this space , ethnic culture and farming settlement breath, as a reference to provide follow-up study of local development.
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(10290812), Virginia F. Pleasant. "There's More Than Corn in Indiana: Smallholder and Alternative Farmers as a Locus of Resilience." Thesis, 2021.
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This dissertation is a policy driven ethnography of smallholder and alternative farmers in Indiana that centers food justice and utilizes interdisciplinary frameworks to analyze the adaptive strategies that farmers use to address the specific challenges they face. Through the implementation of adaptive strategies such as regenerative growing practices, the cultivation of community, stewardship of the land, and an emphasis on transparency, the smallholders I worked with over the course of this study negotiate complex agricultural spaces and build the resilience of their farmsteads and the communities they serve. Smallholder and alternative farmers in Indiana are reimagining the agricultural spaces they occupy and driving transformational change of dominant narratives and local food systems. Critiques of conventional agriculture and commodity production are not intended to reify binary perceptions of the agricultural paradigm, but rather to demonstrate that the critical role of smallholder and alternatives farmers should be valued as well.
This research draws on four years of ethnographic research, archival sources, and close readings of policy measures and media reports to illuminate the historical context that has positioned smallholders in juxtaposition to large-scale conventional agriculture, and the critical role of smallholder farmers in driving food systems change while centering food justice and community resiliency. The driving research questions for the following essays follow: Why have small scale and alternative farmers chosen to farm (and farm differently)? What specific challenges do they face and how might these challenges be better addressed by existing support systems and new legislation? What can be learned from the alternative narratives and reimagined spaces smallholder farmers engage with? This work joins the growing body of research that challenges agricultural meta-narratives by presenting a counter-narrative of smallholder resilience and the a priori notion that posits agricultural technology as a panacea for everything from world hunger to economics to environmental concerns.
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Sarapura, Silvia L. "Gender and Agricultural Innovation in Peasant Production of Native Potatoes in the Central Andes of Peru." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10214/6661.
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Native potatoes are an important element of food security both as a direct food source and as a cash crop for peasant producers in the Andes of Peru. Production is basically for self-consumption and the shift to commercialization is a challenge. As a response, the Papa Andina Initiative (COGEPAN) was initiated to promote market innovation and pro-vide relative advantage to producers to respond to emerging markets. Research is limited on the integration, information and communication in relation to social relations. Old and new nonreciprocal relations and roles among stakeholders, consequences of customary practices, undermine the ability of female peasant producers. Any process requires an un-derstanding of culture, traditions and the gendered practices of agricultural production. As the research was premised on a feminist perspective, a sequential explanatory and mixed design was utilized for obtaining background and contextual data in a way that coupled collecting sex-disaggregated data with iterative planning activities readjusting the research to sharpen its focus on women. The situation of Andean peasant women within modern-day agricultural innovation systems is influenced by traditions and cus-tomary laws embedded in the specific lifeworlds of peasant communities. In COGEPAN, gender relations and roles are changing from the macro to the individual levels. Each change opens up new opportunities to shape innovation and benefit women. The partici-patory nature of market chains unfolds spaces for women to reveal leadership abilities. Gender relations and innovation have shifted in their own areas of interest or spheres. However, other gender issues are still embedded in peasant farming systems and the na-tive market chain. Results allow the researcher to recommend further policy analysis. The full range of women’s and men’s activities, resources, and benefits has to be reflected in the assessment of the innovation system and continuing activities. Gendered socio-economic factors affecting the adoption of proposed technological or institutional innova-tions need to be considered. Structural obstacles have to be addressed by implementing policies that facilitate peasant women’s advancement. The design and implementation of policy and legislation have to acknowledge that communities are not homogeneous and mechanisms have to be context-specific to achieve equitable representation of women and men.Government of Ontario, IDRC/AUCC - LACREG, University of Guelph
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Buthelezi, Nkosinomusa Nomfundo. "The use of scientific and indigenous knowledge in agricultural land evaluation and soil fertility studies of Ezigeni and Ogagwini villages in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa." Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/651.
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In the past, the indigenous knowledge of soils of small-scale farmers in South Africa has been largely ignored in scientific research. Hence the use of scientific approaches to land evaluation has often failed to improve land use in rural areas where understanding of the prescriptive scientific logic is lacking. Despite this, it is clear that local people and smallscale farmers have knowledge of their lands based on soil and land characteristics that remain largely unknown to the scientific community. It is therefore important for researchers to understand farmers’ knowledge of soil classification and management. To address this issue, a study was conducted in the uMbumbulu area of KwaZulu-Natal to investigate the use of indigenous knowledge as well as farmers’ perceptions and assessments of soil fertility. A preliminary questionnaire was designed to explore indigenous knowledge in a group interview that was conducted prior to the study. Another questionnaire was used to elicit indigenous knowledge from 59 randomly chosen homesteads representative of the population of Ezigeni and Ogagwini villages. Six homesteads were chosen for further detailed information on the cropping history, knowledge specific to the cultivated lands, detailed soil description and fertility. Soil samples were taken from these homesteads under different land uses (taro, fallow, veld and vegetable) at 0-30 and 30-60 cm depth for laboratory analysis. This was done to determine the effect of land use on soil physical and chemical properties and soil microbial activity. For scientific evaluation a general purpose free soil survey was conducted to produce land capability and suitability maps. Farmers identified ten soil types using soil morphological characteristics, mainly soil colour and texture. These soil properties were also used in the farmers’ land suitability assessment. In addition, slope position, natural vegetation and village location were used to indicate land suitability. The amount of topsoil was also used in land evaluation. However, slope position was considered the most important factor as it affects the pattern of soils and hence their suitability. Soils on the footslope were considered more suitable for crops than those found on the midslope and upslope. The yield difference observed between villages, which were higher in Ogagwini than Ezigeni, was also used as a criterion for evaluation. Farmers attributed these yield differences for various crops to the effect of soil type on productivity. In support, scientific evaluation found that Ezigeni village had a number of soils with a heavy textured, pedocutanic B horizon and hence a relatively shallow effective rooting depth. Moreover, the Ezigeni village land suitability was limited in places by poor drainage and stoniness. These limitations were rarely found for the Ogagwini village soils. Farmers had a total of six comprehensive and well defined soil fertility indicators, namely crop yield, crop appearance, natural vegetation, soil texture, soil colour and presence of mesofauna. Results showed that farmers’ fertility perceptions are more holistic than those of researchers. However, despite this, their assessment correlated with soil analysis. There was a close relationship between scientific and indigenous suitability evaluation for three commonly cultivated crops (taro, maize and dry beans). This was further substantiated by yield measurements which were significantly higher for Ogagwini as rated by both farmers and scientific evaluation as the more suitable. The significant agreements between the scientific and indigenous approaches imply that there are fundamental similarities between them. Recognizing this and subsequently integrating the two approaches will produce land use plans relevant and profitable for both small-scale farmers and scientists.Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.
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Nyiraruhimbi, Agnes. "Indigenous approaches to maize production and soil management in Msinga KwaZulu-Natal, Province." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/9906.
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This study explored and examined indigenous knowledge IK in the process of maize production and soil management by farmers in Msinga in central KwaZulu-Natal. This study was qualitative in nature. Two methods were used for data collection: focus group discussions; and individual semi-structured interviews. The study found that the Msinga farmers have a range of techniques and strategies to produce maize and manage the soil; they have been relying on this knowledge for generations. However, many farmers have also begun to adopt elements of western science such as the use of hybrid seeds, fertilizers and pesticides – albeit access to them is a major problem. It was also found that these indigenous knowledge and techniques have also suffered as result of different factors, including the climate conditions as result of the growing drought in the area, the passing on of elders with knowledge, and the breakdown of social cohesion. Communities' indigenous knowledge has been rendered ineffective to, alone, address their maize production and soil management issues. As a result, indigenous knowledge is dying in this community and the farmers are not able to produce sufficient maize to meet their needs. In the face of these pressures, the Msinga farmers also lack any meaningful external assistance either from the government or private agencies. They have no access to extension. This means that communities have to fend for themselves, and where indigenous knowledge has failed they have no other alternatives that will help them to adjust to their environment. Finally, the study found that as a result of this stasis, the Msinga farmers and their families are poor and lack the basic means for their daily survival; food shortages are frequent. The consequence is that they appear powerless and unable to cope with challenges.
The study recommends an integrated approach to address issues of reconstructing indigenous knowledge; social cohesion; environmental matters; poverty eradication; external support and integrating indigenous knowledge and western science.Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.
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Kavadas, Richard J. P. "No mere mouthpiece: An examination of the Hesiodic farmer." Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/893.
Full textAbstract:
Examines the character construction of the Hesiodic ‘farmer’ in the scholarship of Works and Days. Questions Hesiod’s intimacy of agricultural knowledge: was he a practical farmer or a non-farming poet? Using my farming experience I question the adequacy of the information in Works and Days for use as a farming manual. Lines 635-640 - Hesiod’s description of the climatic conditions of Ascra in respect to farming are set against soil properties (soil biochemistry as an evaluating tool) and agricultural responses (farming methods of other cultures) shows Hesiod to have little grasp of the farming methods each situation requires. Text comparatives: Fan Shêng-Chih Shu an ancient Chinese agricultural text detailed with attention to soil fertility. Supporting ancient texts: Cato on Agriculture, Columella on Agriculture, Theophrastus on Plants, Xenophon Oeconomics and Homer’s Odyssey for references to dung and soil fertility. The vague farming information suggests a non-personalized experience - the Hesiodic ‘farmer’ is probably not a practical farmer at all.
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Khanye, Bhekimpilo. "Some issues affecting participation of the poor in development projects in Inkosikazi communal lands in Zimbabwe." Diss., 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/2524.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigates some of the issues affecting participation of the poor in two development projects in Inkosikazi communal lands in Zimbabwe. Recent trends in participatory development are reviewed and discussed in the study. Some definitions of the concept of participation are explored, including its historical background, importance and challenges.
Fieldwork was undertaken in Inkosikazi communal lands in July 2004. Two projects were randomly sampled, and in one of them involving goat-rearing, some of the participants were classified as being very poor, while in the other, a heifer loan-scheme project, none of the participants could be classified as very poor. The possible reasons for these variations are explored in the study.
The conclusion of the thesis is that the study succeeds in examining certain key issues affecting participation of the poor in Inkosikazi communal lands in Zimbabwe and recommendations thereof are made.Development Studies
M.A. (Development Studies)