Diss. (sammanfattning) Alnarp : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-227).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-161). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-41). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-161). Also available on the Internet.

xiii, 161 p. : ill. / This study investigates the motivations, influences, techniques, challenges, and perceived opportunities of 11 food producers who are participating in an evolving localized food system near Eugene, Oregon. These producers are resisting the distanced anonymity and negative externalities of mainstream global food production. Interviews reveal participation in a move towards production and distribution that are not only geographically traceable, economically satisfying and ecologically sustainable but that also emphasize reflexive communication between the producer and consumer. Through initial surveying and in-depth interviews, producers identified that producing food for the local market allows them to pursue a meaningful livelihood, respond appropriately to the local environment, and engage more deeply in community. In short their practices and attitudes closely follow the "Civic Agriculture" model. Particularly their focus on local production for the local market, as opposed to a more distanced quality oriented supply chain audit model. / Committee in charge: Stephen Wooten, Chairperson; Galen Martin, Member; Harper Keeler, Member

This study investigates the role of non-traditional enterprises in rural economies and attempts to understand farmers’ decision to adopt non-traditional enterprises. Three separate mail surveys were conducted to collect socio-economic data from biological and organic, Angora goat, and ginseng farm enterprises. Descriptive statistics, Pearson χ² tests, and multinomial logit models were used to accomplish the objectives of the study. The analysis focuses on biological and organic, and Angora goat enterprises. The results of the analysis show that the principal operators of these enterprises were significantly younger, better-educated, better-off, and more likely to be a female in comparison to all Virginia farmers. The majority of farm operators came from non-rural backgrounds and their principal occupation is not farming. Only a very small percentage cited economic factors as the most important reason for starting the non-traditional enterprises. The most common information source used for planning and developing these new enterprises is books, magazines, or newsletters. The majority of respondents in both the biological/organic and Angora goat surveys did not perform any feasibility analyses prior to beginning their non-traditional enterprises. The farmers rated production and marketing as their major problems. In general, the majority of biological and organic farms and Angora goat farms were not profitable in 1993, and the income from these enterprises contributed very little to household income. However, it was found that biological and organic enterprises have played an important role in the economic survival of farmers with financial obstacles. The majority of farmers in the samples saw a bright future for their products. / Master of Science

Orientador: Maura Seiko Tsutsui Esperancini / Banca: Silvia Angélica Domingues de Carvalho / Banca: Ricardo Ghantous Cervi / Resumo: Um dos grandes desafios dos produtores agrícolas é elevar os níveis de produção e produtividade das plantações e ao mesmo tempo atender aos anseios da sociedade para que os sistemas de produção sejam mais sustentáveis. Neste cenário, a adoção do sistema de sucessão de culturas surge como uma opção conservacionista ao convencional sistema de monocultura, graças às vantagens como a melhoria das propriedades físicas, químicas e biológicas do solo, melhora o aproveitamento de fertilizantes, reduz os riscos de mercado, entre outras. Entretanto, a adoção contínua do sistema de sucessão de culturas traz malefícios ao solo, como erosão, compactação e esgotamento de nutrientes, os mesmos efeitos do uso contínuo do sistema de monocultura. O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi avaliar a rentabilidade e os riscos econômicos para a adoção do sistema de sucessão de culturas anuais (cultivos de verão seguidos de cultivos de inverno) em relação ao sistema em monocultura no estado do Mato Grosso. Como objetivos específicos, buscou-se identificar quais as principais fontes potenciais de risco para cada cultura e avaliar como elas influenciaram os resultados finais das simulações de cada sistema. Foram realizadas simulações de cenários para ambos os sistemas por meio do método de simulação de Monte Carlo e as culturas selecionadas para esta análise foram a soja, o algodão e o milho dada sua relevância para a economia local e nacional. Para cada sistema foram feitas as análises estatística, de sen... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: One of the greatest challenges of agricultural producers is to raise production levels and productivity of plantations and additionally meet the yearnings of society for the production systems more sustainable. In this scenario, the adoption of the crop succession system emerges as a conservationist option front of conventional monoculture system, to the advantages as improvement of physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil, improves the use of fertilizers, reducing market risks, among others. However, the continuous adoption of the crop succession system brings harm to the ground effects, such as erosion, compaction and nutrient depletion, the same effects of the use of the monoculture system. The general goal of this research was to evaluate the profitability and the economic risks for the adoption of the crop succession system for annual crops (summer crops followed by winter crops) regarding to the monoculture system in the State of Mato Grosso. The specific goals of this study were to identify the main potential sources of risk for each culture and evaluate how they have influenced the final results of each system simulations. Scenarios were carried out for both systems by Monte Carlo simulation method and the crops selected for this analysis were soybean, cotton and maize, due to their relevance to the local and national economy. For each system the following analyses were obtained: statistical, sensitivity and percentiles of risk, using the profitability indicators, net income (NI) and profitability index (PI), for three scenarios, pessimistic, medium or higher occurrence and optimistic, for the variables of production. The results of the simulations indicated that the monoculture of soybean is the activity with the most conservative performance analyzed, with the lowest probability of losses in the pessimistic scenario and the lowest probable return on medium and ... / Mestre

In Japan’s postwar era, agriculture has become highly industrialized, involving heavy machinery, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, all in the name of “progress.” Through employing such practices, humans have attempted to improve upon nature’s way of doing things, and in turn have degraded the soil’s fertility, natural ecosystems, and human health. In response to this, Shizen Nōhō has emerged in Japan as an alternative way of cultivating food. Shizen Nōhō practitioners challenge the notion that we need chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery to farm successfully. Rather, they advocate for a way of growing food that functions seamlessly with natural ecosystems. This thesis explores the value of Shizen Nōhō in sustaining the natural environment, providing food for communities, and catalyzing a shift towards a more harmonious relationship with nature. By drawing on the research I conducted in central Japan, I illustrate how Shizen Nōhō offers a solution that can reunite people to the ecosystems that sustain them. Placing Shizen Nōhō within the larger context of Japan’s food system, I detail ways in which the priorities of the Japanese government and agricultural industry are not compatible with Shizen Nōhō. Therefore, if Shizen Nōhō is to be more widely adopted in Japan, communities must drive this change, rather than governmental and industrial entities. If adopted, Shizen Nōhō may serve as a vehicle for transforming the way humans interact with and view themselves in relation to nature.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s the popular movements reorganize themselves bringing to the fore the need to rethink the agricultural model and present solutions to the crisis of industrial agriculture. In this context arises the movement of alternative agriculture that, in the 1990s, takes Agroecology as a benchmark for its acting. So, it put for this movement the challenge of building a new agriculture (more sustainable), which required the creation of new references.This research seeks to understand the determinants and dynamics of references generation processes within agroecological NGOs. Specifically, it covers: Identify and analyze the importance attached by agroecological NGOs to referrals generation; Characterize the nature of the references constructed by agroecological NGOs; and describe the conditions and the dynamics of referrals generation process by agroecological NGOs from a case study. To meet these purposes was carried out a literature review aimed to characterize the historical context and understand the institutional mission of agroecological NGOs and the importance of the generating references on it, systematic review of articles published in Agroecology y Desarrollo and Agriculturas magazines with a view to identifying the nature of the generated references and case study of CETAP (RS) to describe the conditions and the dynamic of the generation of references. The research suggests the need to interpret the references generation as a social and dymamic learning process that occurs in the agroecological network. / No final da década de 1970 e durante toda a década de 1980 se reorganizam os movimentos populares, trazendo à tona a necessidade de se repensar o modelo agrícola e apresentar soluções para a crise da agricultura industrial. Neste contexto nasceu o movimento da agricultura alternativa que, na década de 1990 assumiu a Agroecologia como referencial para sua atuação. Assim, se colocou para esse movimento o desafio de construir uma nova agricultura (mais sustentável), o que requeria a geração de novos referentes. A presente pesquisa procurou compreender os condicionantes e a dinâmica dos processos de geração de referentes no âmbito das ONGs agroecológicas. Especificamente, abrangeu: Identificar e analisar a importância concedida pelas ONGs agroecológicas à geração de referentes; Caracterizar a natureza dos referentes gerados pelas ONGs agroecológicas; e Descrever os condicionantes e a dinâmica do processo de geração de referentess pelas ONGs agroecológicas a partir de um estudo de caso. Para atender esses propósitos foi realizada revisão bibliográfica visando a caracterização do contexto para compreensão da importância da geração de referências frente a missão institucional das ONGs agroecológicas, analise sistemática de artigos publicados nas revistas Agroecologia y Desarrollo e Agriculturas com vistas a identificação da natureza dos referentes gerados e estudo de caso do CETAP (RS) para descrever os condicionantes e a dinâmica do processo de geração de referentes. A pesquisa propõe a necessidade de interpretar a construção de referentes como processo que se dá no movimento, e que está em permanente movimento fruto de aprendizagem.