Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agricultural Economics / Jason S. Bergtold / The adoption of new technologies on-farm is affected by socio-economic, risk management behavior, and market factors. The adoption of cellulosic biofuel feedstock enterprises and conservation practices plays an important role in the future of Kansas agriculture. No set markets currently exist for bioenergy feedstocks and farmers may be reluctant to produce the feedstocks without contracts to mitigate uncertainty and risk. Adoption of conservation practices to improve soil productivity and health may be affected by risk considerations also. The purpose of this dissertation is to study how market mechanisms and risk influence Kansas farmers’ willingness to adopt cellulosic biofuel feedstock enterprises and conservation practices on-farm. The first essay examines farmers’ willingness to grow switchgrass under contract using a stated choice approach. Data were collected using an enumerated survey of Kansas farmers and analyzed using latent class logistic regression models. Farmers whose primary enterprise is livestock are less inclined to grow switchgrass. In addition, shorter contracts, greater harvest flexibility, crop insurance, and cost-share assistance increase the likelihood farmers will grow switchgrass. The second essay examines how farmers’ risk perceptions impact conservation practice adoption. Factor analysis of survey data was used to identify primary risk management behaviors of Kansas farmers. A multinomial logit model of conservation practice adoption incorporating these risk behaviors was developed. Estimation results indicate that different risk management factors may have no significant impact on practice adoption. Farmers may not consider certain aspects of risk significant in their adoption decision. The third essay examines the effect of different risk management behaviors on farmers’ willingness to produce alternative cellulosic bioenergy feedstocks under contract. Data were collected using a farmer survey with a set of stated choice experiments and analyzed using factor analysis and latent class logistic regression models. While farmers approach risk management differently, the risk management behaviors identified have no significant impact on farmers’ willingness to produce corn stover and switchgrass but have a negative impact on farmers’ willingness to produce sweet sorghum as a biofuel feedstock. These results may indicate that farmers are indifferent toward adopting new bioenergy cropping enterprises when traditional crop production is profitable and more certain.

Magister Artium - MA / Cape Town has arguably the most diversified urban agriculture sector across the country. Nevertheless, the desired gains of urban agriculture are barely realized. The organization of urban agriculture, specifically the nature in which urban farmers are organized in relation to supporting actors, is identified as a significant factor in influencing the success of the activity. Surprisingly, the literature on the organization of urban farmers and supporting actors in Cape Town is scanty. It is on this basis that this study aimed to investigate the organization of urban farmers and their relationship with supporting actors in Mitchells Plain. Informed by the social capital theory, a case-study approach was employed where both the qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis were utilized to meet the study objectives. A random sampling technique was used in the selection of the 60 respondents for a questionnaire survey. Purposive sampling was employed to select the key informant respondents which included knowledgeable urban farmers, Non-Governmental Organization officials, a Research official and a Provincial Department of Agriculture official. Secondary data collection was achieved through a systematic review of scholarly literature and policy documents. The statistical software IBM SPSS 25 was employed to process and analyze quantitative data through descriptive and inferential techniques. For qualitative data, thematic analysis was conducted to process the transcribed interviews whilst a hermeneutic approach was used to analyze secondary data. The study findings show that urban farmers are organized into loose and largely fragmented informal networks within Mitchells Plain. Although these forms of networks in their current state are beneficial to household farmers, community farmers require more formal networks to operate optimally and receive resources beyond non-governmental organization assistance. Moreover, the study discovered a lack of meaningful coordination of activities between the supporting actors involved in urban farming initiatives which militate against the success of urban agriculture activities in the community. Consequently, the study recommends that supporting actors need to develop functional partnerships to enhance the impact of urban agriculture activities. Also, community farmers are encouraged to affiliate with formal networks while household farmers simply need to enhance informal networking amongst themselves to improve activity coordination and resource access from supporting actors.

The study was conducted to explore the role of social capital in the implementation of Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Programs (FVIP) through a case study of the Appalachian Farmacy (AF) program and to fill a gap in literature on social capital utility in the implementation and evaluation of FVIPs. The study was guided by a conceptual model adopted from Berkman et al. (2000) to identify the mechanisms through which social networks can impact health. A qualitative content analysis was conducted retrospectively on secondary data from the evaluation of AF program to identify social capital attributes. In addition, the study conducted two focus groups with AF participants and four interviews with AF program administrators to explore their perceptions on the role of social capital in the implementation of FVIPs using a phenomenological approach. The study utilized both inductive and deductive analysis techniques with the conceptual model as the guide for analysis. The Bengtsson’s four steps for conducting content analysis were used for AF content analysis and Tracy’s (2013) two-level coding was used to analyze the focus groups and interviews. All the findings were triangulated and mapped on the study’s framework to identify the main and emergent themes. The findings revealed the main avenues for social networks were: cooking classes, farmers markets, recruitment sites, and a low-income housing complex. The main social capital 3 mechanisms were: instrumental and informational social support; social participation and engagement; and social influence. The main actors in the networks were the program administrators, market vendors, and other participants. Lastly, the health pathways identified were the changes in perceptions towards diet and health. The emergent themes revealed that barriers to access and individual characteristics were potential moderating themes, and case management by the program administrators was a potential mediating theme to program implementation. The study showed that the model was effective in exploring social capital in FVIPs. It highlighted the role that social networks, program actors and social capital play in implementation of public health interventions. Social capital may play an important role in health promotion and more research is needed to identify the mediating influences of the model.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg 2016. / Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) occurs when wild animals depredate crops and livestock and threaten human safety, which subsequently results in retaliatory or deliberate persecution of wildlife by farmers. The aim of my study was to establish how subsistence and commercial farmers that ranched or cultivated in the same geographic area were affected by and responded to problem animals in selected localities of north-eastern South Africa. I first conducted a global meta-analysis of the scientific literature concerning HWC, which revealed several findings. 1) Local communities contiguous with protected areas worldwide were affected by the highest number of damage-causing wildlife (49 species) compared with subsistence farmers and commercial farmers. 2) Contrary to my prediction, subsistence farmers did not experience the highest number of depredation incidences, instead, commercial farmers were more prone to HWC, possibly due to a greater research focus on commercial agri-pastoral farming. 3) Consistent with the prediction that developing countries could potentially experience regular encounters with wildlife, rural people in Africa and Asia experienced conflict with the broadest diversity of mammals. 4) South Africa offers a regional exemplar of global patterns in HWC. Subsequently, I investigated how subsistence and commercial farmers that operated concurrently in selected localities of north-eastern South Africa were affected by and managed damage-causing wildlife. In addition, I gauged the attitudes and opinions of subsistence and commercial farmers to wildlife and conservation issues, and assessed the attitudes and opinions of conservation practitioners towards people living on protected area boundaries. Finally, I investigated the movement patterns of African wild dog (wild dog) Lycaon pictus in areas where they are lethally persecuted, as a case study of HWC. To achieve these aims, I employed a combination of methods and approaches to acquire information regarding the demographic and physical attributes (such as fencing and use of irrigation) of subsistence and commercial farms, in addition to respondent attitudes and opinions that were collectively important predictors of the scale of HWC. These included semi-structured questionnaire interviews, site inspections on farms and subsistence gardens to verify farm attributes, geographic information system attitude indexes (methods to visualise the spatial distribution of respondent attitudes) and satellite or radio-collared wild dog individuals. Several variables, such as large households (≥ seven occupants per household) and environmental-related challenges (e.g. insect pests, soil erosion, and the absence of electrified fencing) exacerbated HWC, especially regarding carnivores. Maize Zea mays, was the most frequently raided crop (by primates) on both subsistence and commercial farms. Poultry and young livestock were most often depredated throughout the study sites, with caracal Caracal caracal, wild dog and leopard Panthera pardus being the main depredators. My findings supported the prediction that commercial farmers more readily shot and poisoned wildlife compared to subsistence farmers. Commercial farmers most frequently persecuted carnivores, while subsistence farmers mainly persecuted primates. Subsistence and commercial farmers held positive and negative attitudes towards wildlife for different reasons. Collectively, positive attitudes related to ecocentric values (concern for the ecosystem) such as environmental education, tourism and a willingness to learn about non-harmful damage-causing animal control, while negative attitudes pertained to stray wildlife and resource damage, specifically to crop and livestock depredation. Although conservation practitioners held positive attitudes of local human communities (relating to community-conservation oriented values), negative attitudes also existed (pertaining to a disinterest and indifference towards the socio-economic needs of local human communities and poaching). My study of wild dogs showed that although the home range of free-ranging packs intersected with lethal-controlling commercial farmers, one pack in the Waterberg, Limpopo Province, reduced potential encounters with farmers by utilising vegetation thickets as refugia. I concluded that subsistence farmers and commercial farmers were similarly affected by HWC but differed in the type of farming commodity depredated. While commercial farmers may be able to discourage depredation by using fencing and lethal control, such resources are unaffordable or unavailable to subsistence farmers. Instead, they utilised passive methods to deter wildlife (e.g. chasing, guarding fields). The loss of household food to depredation coupled with adverse environmental factors may compromise the food security of poor households. Although tensions between local human communities and conservation authorities exist, the positive attitudes and opinions of subsistence and commercial farmers towards biodiversity, as well as the reported alacrity of conservation authorities for community conservation, may provide the basis for future discussions on joint wildlife management. In the absence of such collaborations, wildlife will continue to experience conflict in farmed areas, or they might adapt by modifying their behaviour, as demonstrated in one wild dog pack. / LG2017

ABSTRACT The Rock Art of southern Africa represents the single most informative surviving artifact of the social and symbolic lives of many hunter-gatherers, herders, farmers and settlers who have lived and marked our land. Unlike many other forms of archaeology, rock art has always been in the public domain and of late has become a defining element of social identity. Farmer settlement engravings based on concentric circles joined by meandering lines are particularly intriguing images in southern African Iron Age rock art tradition. This study focuses on a large engraved Iron Age site on the farm Boomplaats 29 JT in Lydenburg District, Mpumalanga province, republic of South Africa. This site contains a variety of engravings ranging from concentric circles, animal motifs, drilled holes, spread-eagle designs and a Mhele/ Morabaraba game board. Although the general characteristics and overall distribution of this art are known, the issue of authorship of this art is till unknown. This research, therefore, goes deeper into both the historical and archaeological evidence from Mpumalanga province to investigate and ascertain the authors of these engravings. This study hopes to advance our knowledge of this art by focusing on the specific issue of authorship, and examining the relationship between the engravings and settlement ruins in the area.

No intuito de compreender os impactos da economia global sobre a agricultura familiar, particularmente sobre a juventude rural do interior do Estado de São Paulo, foi concebida esta tese de doutorado no município de São Pedro-SP. O Alto da Serra de São Pedro, como território analítico, historicamente há mais de duas décadas é apoiado por iniciativas de extensão rural. Nas últimas décadas esta comunidade rural foi densamente analisada pelo Departamento de Economia, Administração e Sociologia (LES) da ESALQ em suas múltiplas atribuições agrárias e sócioprodutivas. Porém, um fenômeno, que pontua as discussões sobre o esvaziamento dos espaços rurais, chamou a atenção para estes agricultores familiares: o freqüente êxodo-rural, especialmente da população jovem para os centros urbanos, em ordem crescente e significativa. A partir desta constatação, foi lançado um olhar crítico às motivações da juventude local acerca do destino das migrações. Buscou-se então, à luz de pressupostos interdisciplinares, entender porque é ínfima a parcela de jovens que se destinam às atividades agroalimentares familiares nas propriedades da região. Logo, o objetivo aqui foi analisar os dilemas e desafios da juventude rural atual, e validar os principais fatores intervenientes nos processos migratórios identificados. Neste escopo trabalhou-se com as hipóteses: (I) a juventude do Alto da Serra encontra-se em pleno processo de êxodo rural; (II) o território agroalimentar evidencia certa resiliência na contra-vertente do êxodo-rural juvenil, se definindo como um espaço agrário multifuncional e pluriativo na diversificação de produtos, atividades e ocupações primárias; (III) a perspectiva de inclusão de políticas públicas voltadas às reivindicações da juventude permite refletir sobre novas oportunidades rurais para esta categoria, assim como sobre a legitimação de demandas sociais específicas das quais dependem, em grande parte, o futuro dos territórios rurais. A metodologia utilizada baseou-se em um estudo de caso com 26 jovens rurais residentes do Alto da Serra de São Pedro, adotando-se a observação investigativa, complementada por entrevistas estruturadas com os jovens entre 14 e 29 anos encontrados no local e com aqueles que já realizaram algum tipo de migração. Como resultado observou-se que o esvaziamento dos espaços rurais não é recente e as migrações ocorrem cada vez mais precocemente âmbito juvenil quando comparadas as faixas etárias dos fluxos migratórios das décadas de 1950 à 1990. Conclui-se, dentre outros fatores que comprometem o desenvolvimento regional, que a carência de oportunidades educacionais e de geração de renda, como a alocação de novas alternativas de trabalho no campo, vem limitando as possibilidades das populações jovens. / In order to understand the impacts of the global economy on family farming areas, particularly on the rural youth of São Paulo State, this thesis was designed in São Pedro- SP. The subject of this study, the region of Alto da Serra de São Pedro-SP, surrounded by neighboring cities of Piracicaba and Águas de São Pedro. As analytical territory historically it has been studied by ESALQ university students. In this trajectory, currents outcomes on rural development provided evidences that this agroterritory has been defined around the pluriativity, among others functions, not strictly agricultural. It is observed in this area, the cohesive dairy cattle production drives the processing of other regional products, as well the agritourism. In fact, this spot was heavily examined by the Department of Humanities ESALQ in those multiple functions. But a fairly frequent phenomenon, which scores the discussions about the emptying of rural areas, drew attention to these farmers: the frequent rural migration, especially of young people to urban centers, in significantly amount. Also according to IBGE data, in the last two decades, the number of youngsters until 29 years old who left the countryside is about three million. Most due to lack of access to educational and way of live in home town in accordance with the data for the period 1996 to 2006. From this finding, it was released a critical look around the motivations of rural youth about the fate of migrations. Was sought by the interdisciplinary approach to understand why it is so tiny portion of young people who intended activities agrifood family properties in the region. Therefore, the aim here was to analyze the dilemmas and challenges of rural youth nowaday´s, and validate the main factors involved in the migration processes identified. This scope has been worked out with the hypotheses: (I) the youth is in the full process of rural exodus, (II) this agrifood territory shows resilience against the rural youth exodus, defining this space as multifunctional, with huge diversification of activities and primary occupations; (III) the prospect of inclusion of public policies geared to the demands of youth allow to reflect on a new rural opportunities for this category, as well as on the legitimacy of social demands which depend, in large part, the future of rural areas. The methodology was based on a case about 26 young people from Alto da Serra de São Pedro, where we adopted the rural investigative observation , complemented by semi - structured interviews with young people between 14 and 29, residents and those that have had some type of migration. Overlooking all aspects discussed in this thesis, the emptying of rural areas is not new and is still growing in the youth context. We conclude, among other factors, that the lack of rural educational opportunities, essential to understanding the modernization directions, including the agricultural innovations, as well the allocation of new types of jobs in the field, has limiting the possibilities to young people. An important aspect highlighted in the case focuses on the decisions of public power, which still moves students from rural schools for completion of studies in urban centers, which increase the early youth exodus, and consequently the fast extinction of a variety of São Paulo state rural areas, which also proves certain negligence in recognizing the demands of rural youth as a social category.

De nos jours, l'épidémiologie des bactéries multi-résistantes a évolué et ne se limite plus aux milieux hospitaliers. En effet, les animaux sont désormais considérés comme d’importants réservoirs de bactéries multi-résistantes, notamment des Bacilles à Gram négatif sécréteurs de bêta-lactamases et/ou résistant à la colistine. L'émergence de ces bactéries chez les animaux est due principalement à l’utilisation excessive d’antibiotiques en tant que prophylaxie et facteurs de croissance. Le transfert d’organismes multi-résistants aux antibiotiques provenant d’animaux vers les humains est un problème majeur pouvant entrainer de graves infections. La transmission zoonotique se fait par contact direct/indirect mais aussi par voie environnementale. Au Liban, plusieurs études ont été menées dans les hôpitaux et ont montré une prévalence élevée de bactéries multi-résistantes. En revanche, ces études sont rares dans le milieu vétérinaire. Le but de ce travail de thèse est de décrire l'épidémiologie des organismes multi-résistants dans les animaux d’élevage destinés à la consommation au Liban. Le typage des bactéries par MLST et le séquençage du génome entier ont été utilisés pour décrire la prévalence des organismes multi-résistants et les mécanismes de résistance chez les souches isolées. Nous pouvons ainsi conclure que les élevages de poulets et de porcs sont de puissants réservoirs de gènes de résistance BLSE et mcr-1 au Liban. La dissémination de la résistance semble être polyclonale et liée à la propagation de plasmides porteurs de gènes de résistance. Par conséquent, l'utilisation de la colistine en médecine vétérinaire au Liban doit être interdite. / Nowadays, the epidemiology of multi-drug resistance has changed and is no more confined to the hospital settings. Food producing animals are increasingly regarded as potent reservoirs of multi-drug resistant organisms i.e. beta lactamase producers and colistin-resistant Gram-negative bacilli. The emergence of multi-drug resistance in animals is thought to be mainly driven by the overuse of antibiotics as growth promoters and prophylaxis. The dissemination of resistant organisms in animals is sparked by the concern of being transferred to humans where they can be candidates for infections with limited therapeutic options. The zoonotic transmission of resistant organisms from animals to humans occurs mainly via direct/indirect contact but also via environmental routes. In Lebanon, several studies were conducted in hospitals and showed a high prevalence of multi-drug resistance; unlikely, these studies are scarce in animals. The aim of this thesis research was thus to describe the epidemiology of multi-drug resistant organisms in Lebanese Livestock Multi-locus sequence typing and whole genome sequencing were used to describe the prevalence of multi-drug resistant organisms and the corresponding mechanisms of resistance in the isolated strains from chicken, pigs, farmers and environment. Chicken and swine farms showed to be potent reservoirs of ESBL and mcr-1 genes in Lebanon. The dissemination of multi-drug resistance appears to be multi-clonal and related to the spread of plasmid carrying resistance genes. Colistin use in veterinary medicine in Lebanon should be banned.

Le changement climatique est manifeste et son impact sur l’agriculture est indéniable, surtout dans les pays d’Afrique subsaharienne qui restent les plus vulnérables. Cette étude analyse la représentation sociale du changement climatique chez les agriculteurs au Cameroun. Le cadre théorique est celui de l’approche structurale des représentations sociales. Ainsi, il est question d’examiner l’organisation et la structuration de l’objet changement climatique auprès de ce public spécifique que sont les agriculteurs. Trois enquêtes ont été réalisées à cet effet. La première étude est une enquête exploratoire ; deux groupes d’agriculteurs (N= 60) issus de deux contextes géo-climatiques différents ont été interrogés par le biais du test d’associations libres. On observe que le changement climatique est bel et bien un objet porté en représentation chez les agriculteurs et présente deux noyaux centraux différents articulés autour d’éléments naturels et fonctionnels. La seconde étude a été réalisée quatre ans plus tard auprès de deux groupes d’agriculteurs (N=95), toujours dans les mêmes contextes géo-climatiques. Le test d’associations libres a été complété par le questionnaire de caractérisation. Tout comme la première enquête, on observe également deux représentations sociales différentes du changement climatique. Pour un groupe, l’absence des pluies apparaît plus sailllante et l’avancée du désert plus caractéristique ; tandis que pour l’autre, le changement des saisons semble plus central. La lecture diachronique de l’étude montre des évolutions dans la représentation. La troisième étude s’est intéressée au discours de la presse sur le changement climatique par l’analyse lexicométrique. Trois journaux et quotidiens ont été analysés. On observe une potentielle influence du discours de presse dans le champ représentaionnel. Au-delà de la variable contextuelle qui différencie fortement les deux groupes d’agriculteurs en induisant des représentations sociales différenciées, l’étude montre une représentation sociale décrite essentiellement à travers ses effets, structurée autour des éléments naturels liés à la pratique agricole et qui évolue progressivement. Les résultats sont discutés au regard des caractéristiques climatiques de chaque zone et de l’adaptation au changement climatique par l’adoption de nouvelles pratiques agricoles. / Climate change is obvious and its impacts on agriculture in undeniable especially in sub-saharan african countries which remain the most vulnerable. This study analyzes the social representation of climate change among farmers in Cameroon. The theoretical framework is the structural approach of social representations. Thus, it was question of examining the organisation and the structuring of the object climate change within the specific public which are the farmers. Three surveys were conducted for this purpose.The first study in an exploratory survey ; three groups of farmers (N=60) were interviewed through the free association test. It is observed that climate change is indeed an object of representation for farmers and has a dual structure with two different core centers that have functional elements.The second study was condutued four years laters within two groups of farmers (N=95) still in the same geo-climatic contexts. The free association test was completed by the characterization questionnaire. As with the first survey, there are also two different social representations of climate change. For one group, the absence of rain appears more salient and the advance of desert mor characteristic ; while for the other, the change of season seems more central. A diachronic reading of the study shows changes in the representation.The third study focused on the press release on climate change through lexicometric analysis. Three newspapers and dailies were analyzed. There is a potential influence of the press discourse in the representation field.Beyond the contextual variable that strongly differentiates the two groups of farmers by inducing differentiated social representations, the study shows a social representation described essentially through its effects, structured around natural elements related to agricultural practice and evolving gradually. The results are discussed in terms of the climatic characteristics of each zone and adaptation to climate change through the adoption of new agricultural practices.

Essa dissertação consiste em um aprofundamento do conhecimento sobre a agricultura biodinâmica, com especial consideração ao caminho do conhecimento que a deu origem, às suas principais características e ao seu desenvolvimento prático dentro do contexto brasileiro. Além da pesquisa bibliográfica acerca dos principais temas deste trabalho, que são o paradigma agrícola convencional, a questão socioambiental na agricultura, a antroposofia, a agricultura biodinâmica e o movimento biodinâmico brasileiro, também foi realizado levantamento de dados primários através de pesquisa de campo, com imersão no universo antroposófico e biodinâmico por meio de cursos, vivências, conversas e entrevistas semiestruturadas que contribuíram para uma maior compreensão sobre o desenvolvimento da agricultura biodinâmica em território brasileiro. As entrevistas foram realizadas entre o fim de 2017 e começo de 2018 com dez consultores(as) e treze agricultores(as) biodinâmicos(as) em três estados brasileiros Minas Gerais, São Paulo e Rio Grande do Sul. Diante desses objetivos e procedimentos metodológicos, a agricultura biodinâmica foi abordada desde a sua origem filosófica na antroposofia, passando por aspectos conceituais, contextualização histórica e institucional do movimento biodinâmico no Brasil, até chegar nas principais questões acerca do seu desenvolvimento nesse contexto. Tendo como base o aprofundamento teórico e a pesquisa de campo realizada, em especial as perspectivas que os próprios agricultores(as) e consultores(as) biodinâmicos(as) apresentaram nas entrevistas concedidas, essa dissertação pôde identificar alguns dos principais desafios e potenciais da agricultura biodinâmica em terras brasileiras / This dissertation consists of a deepening of knowledge about biodynamic agriculture, with special regard to the path of knowledge that gave rise to it, its main characteristics and its practical development within the Brazilian context. In addition to the bibliographic research about the main themes of this work, which are the conventional agricultural paradigm, the socio-environmental issue in agriculture, anthroposophy, biodynamic agriculture and the Brazilian biodynamic movement, a survey of primary data was also carried out through field research, with immersion in the anthroposophic and biodynamic universe through courses, experiences, conversations and semi-structured interviews that contributed to a better understanding of the development of biodynamic in Brazilian territory. The interviews were conducted between the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 with ten consultants and thirteen biodynamic farmers in three Brazilian states - Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Rio Grande do Sul. In view of these objectives and methodological procedures, biodynamic agriculture was approached from its philosophical origin in anthroposophy, going through conceptual aspects, historical and institutional contextualization of the biodynamic movement in Brazil, until arriving at the main questions about its development in this context. Based on the theoretical background and the field research carried out, especially the perspectives that the biodynamic farmers and consultants presented in the interviews, this dissertation was able to identify some of the main challenges and potentials of biodynamic agriculture in Brazilian lands

Essa dissertação consiste em um aprofundamento do conhecimento sobre a agricultura biodinâmica, com especial consideração ao caminho do conhecimento que a deu origem, às suas principais características e ao seu desenvolvimento prático dentro do contexto brasileiro. Além da pesquisa bibliográfica acerca dos principais temas deste trabalho, que são o paradigma agrícola convencional, a questão socioambiental na agricultura, a antroposofia, a agricultura biodinâmica e o movimento biodinâmico brasileiro, também foi realizado levantamento de dados primários através de pesquisa de campo, com imersão no universo antroposófico e biodinâmico por meio de cursos, vivências, conversas e entrevistas semiestruturadas que contribuíram para uma maior compreensão sobre o desenvolvimento da agricultura biodinâmica em território brasileiro. As entrevistas foram realizadas entre o fim de 2017 e começo de 2018 com dez consultores(as) e treze agricultores(as) biodinâmicos(as) em três estados brasileiros Minas Gerais, São Paulo e Rio Grande do Sul. Diante desses objetivos e procedimentos metodológicos, a agricultura biodinâmica foi abordada desde a sua origem filosófica na antroposofia, passando por aspectos conceituais, contextualização histórica e institucional do movimento biodinâmico no Brasil, até chegar nas principais questões acerca do seu desenvolvimento nesse contexto. Tendo como base o aprofundamento teórico e a pesquisa de campo realizada, em especial as perspectivas que os próprios agricultores(as) e consultores(as) biodinâmicos(as) apresentaram nas entrevistas concedidas, essa dissertação pôde identificar alguns dos principais desafios e potenciais da agricultura biodinâmica em terras brasileiras / This dissertation consists of a deepening of knowledge about biodynamic agriculture, with special regard to the path of knowledge that gave rise to it, its main characteristics and its practical development within the Brazilian context. In addition to the bibliographic research about the main themes of this work, which are the conventional agricultural paradigm, the socio-environmental issue in agriculture, anthroposophy, biodynamic agriculture and the Brazilian biodynamic movement, a survey of primary data was also carried out through field research, with immersion in the anthroposophic and biodynamic universe through courses, experiences, conversations and semi-structured interviews that contributed to a better understanding of the development of biodynamic in Brazilian territory. The interviews were conducted between the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 with ten consultants and thirteen biodynamic farmers in three Brazilian states - Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Rio Grande do Sul. In view of these objectives and methodological procedures, biodynamic agriculture was approached from its philosophical origin in anthroposophy, going through conceptual aspects, historical and institutional contextualization of the biodynamic movement in Brazil, until arriving at the main questions about its development in this context. Based on the theoretical background and the field research carried out, especially the perspectives that the biodynamic farmers and consultants presented in the interviews, this dissertation was able to identify some of the main challenges and potentials of biodynamic agriculture in Brazilian lands