<p>The aim of this field study was to analyze, by taking into consideration the small farmers' perspective, the possibilities and obstacles for an implementation of a Green Revolution in southern Niassa, Northern Mozambique.</p><p>We also highlighted the following question:</p><p>In what sense are the findings in Asia, presented by Djurfeldt, relevant for the situation in southern Niassa?</p><p>The analytical framework used is based on the scheme developed by Nitsch and Åkesson. This scheme has been used to understand the small farmer's relationship toward the technology linked to the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution is a result of an initiative to resolve the food crisis by increasing crop yields and augmenting aggregate food supplies. By the 1970s it become known as a 'package' consisting of improved seeds, farm technology, better irrigation, and chemical fertilizers.</p><p>We have chosen to use Göran Djurfeldt's, a Swedish professor at the University of Lund, concept of the Green Revolution in Asia. Through his findings, he concludes that the success of the Green Revolution in this area is not only due to the technology but also that the strategy was a state-driven, small-farmer based, and market-mediated which arose due to particular domestic and geopolitical factors.</p><p>By taking this in consideration we conclude that neither the state, market nor the geopolitical context are working in favor of a Green Revolution in Mozambique, however the factors are vital if a Green Revolution will succeed in Niassa. The small farmers have to deal with many obstacles if a Green Revolution will be possible. To summarize the small farmer’s attitude toward the Green Revolution we look at the individual circumstances, the direct surrounding and the society in general. We first concluded that the small farmer does not have much knowledge about the Green Revolution. This makes it hard for her or him to have an opinion neither about it nor about the techniques related to the Green Revolution. Secondly, the small farmer have several reason to why she or he do not want to implement the Green Revolution, due to risk taking, tradition, former bad experiences with new technique etc. Thirdly, there are also numerous obstacles that hinder the small farmer to implement the Green Revolution technology. Those are the small farmer's health and time, the lack of extension workers, the international and the domestic agricultural politics, and the lack of inputs and credits etc.</p>

Efforts to reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign petroleum encourage the production of fuels from bioenergy crops. Recent energy mandates have therefore “opened doors” for alternative feedstock sources for ethanol production. Switchgrass is a candidate feedstock. Under the University of Tennessee’s Biofuels Initiative, the University of Tennessee, partnering with DuPont-Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC, contracted for the production of switchgrass with local farmers to guarantee biomass feedstock supply for an ethanol conversion research facility. This study used methods borrowed from the social psychology literature in combination with economic theory to analyze factors influencing switchgrass farmers’ intentions to continue growing switchgrass after contracts with the granting agent expired. Understanding what motivates producers to make long term commitments to switchgrass production as an energy crop may be important information for private investors who will rely on a fixed supply of switchgrass.A probit model was used to determine the factors affecting producers’ intentions to continue producing switchgrass after their contract expires. Results suggest that community perceptions about the production of switchgrass as a dedicated energy crop may have an important impact on farmers’ intentions to make a long-term commitment to produce switchgrass. Therefore, educating and involving community and extension personnel may have a positive impact on farmers’ decisions to make long-term commitments to grow switchgrass as a dedicated energy crop.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2003.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2003. / Title from title page screen (viewed Sept. 23, 2003). Thesis advisor: Randol G. Waters. Document formatted into pages (ix, 93 p.). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-72).

Thesis (doctoral)--Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [369]-397).

This thesis aims to investigate the attitudes towards organic farming and how agricultural space is understood among organic farmers in the Swedish region of Halland and then to relate this to the ongoing discussion on multifunctional agricultural transition. The research is based on a field study on nine different organic farms in Halland, where qualitative interviews have been conducted for the creation of the empirical results. Using the theory of planned behavior and the concept of the “good farmer”, the thesis has revealed that the organic farming community in Halland is heterogeneous and different perspectives and attitudes are expressed about organic farming and agriculture. While the farmers are driven by many aspects of organic farming, the attitudes towards agriculture are often in line with traditional productivist ideals highlighting clean fields and high yields, even though many organic farmers have started to question the traditional norms often due to the different conditions met by organic farmers. Due to the various attitudes represented, the range within the multifunctional agricultural spectrum is rather wide were some organic farmers understand agricultural space more in line with productivist ideals while others express attitudes in line with organic farming principles, suggesting a strong multifunctional understanding of agricultural space.

Thesis (DTech. degree in Business Informatics) / South Africa's post-apartheid Black farmers commonly referred to nowadays as "emerging farmers" need knowledge support to be successful in agricultural productions. Web-based learning enables knowledge users and knowledge providers to actively engage interactively, and provides a dynamic platform of knowledge support with unparallel flexibility and convenience. However, this technology is yet to be adequately harnessed to the benefit of South Africa Black emerging farmers, who urgently requires knowledge support that could enable their transformation into market oriented farming. In this study we present a model to solve this problem.

D. Tech. Business Administration / The study attempts to identify and quantify socio-economic factors that are influence the production and distribution of biofuels products in Zimbabwe. It also seeks to provide an empirical analysis of the importance of stakeholders in Biofuel production and distribution and how their perceptions and influences tend to affect production and distribution.

No description available.