Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Communication, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-51).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 304 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-304). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis PlanA (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

A região de Capanema já foi polo nacional de produção orgânica, entretanto, enquanto a produção orgânica mantém uma elevada procura, a oferta está em crise hoje em dia. A partir da abordagem da Velha Economia Institucional esta dissertação procura perceber quais são as instituições presentes na produção orgânica de soja, quais mudanças ocorreram e levaram os produtores a uma mudança de comportamento, neste caso,o de abandonar a produção orgânica. Para tanto, procura-se neste trabalho: (1) identificar as diversas etapas históricas da produção de soja orgânica na microrregião de Capanema; (2) diagnosticar as escolhas dos agricultores e os elementos que caracterizam a diminuição da produção de soja orgânica na região; e (3) analisar o papel da associação de produtores na mudança institucional dos produtores orgânicos. Para todos os agricultores dessa região, o reconhecimento como produtores orgânicos foi a reinterpretação de um comportamento técnico que habitualmente manifestavam no não uso que faziam de defensivos e adubos químicos na década de1980. As entrevistas revelam que foram requeridos poucos esforços para se adaptar aos primeiros selos orgânicos, pois, pesava mais na decisão o fator da remuneração. Nesta fase a agricultura orgânica era muito próxima da convencional e trabalhar mais de oito horas na lavoura sob o sol era atividade comum. Entretanto, o desenvolvimento tecnológico da agricultura convencional fez esse comportamento mudar. Os novos pacotes tecnológicos possibilitaram diminuir a penosidade do trabalho agrícola, tornando-o mais fácil e ágil. O que antes era normal passou a ser considerado muito penoso. E a produção orgânica passou a se distanciar do habitual. Essa alteração levou muitos agricultores a abandonar a produção orgânica pela nova convenção tecnológica. Essa mudança de comportamento também se refletiu por uma mudança de percepção de gerações, pois, os agricultores se mantiveram orgânicos enquanto tinham força de trabalho suficiente para manter o hábito. Assim, no momento atual, percebe-se que o principal entrave à produção orgânica é sua menor praticidade e seu maior e inconveniente trabalho. / The region of Capanema-PR was a national reference of organic production. Despite it keeps maintaining a high demand, supply is in crisis today. From the Old Institutional Economics approach, this dissertation seeks to understand what the institutions represent in organic soybean production, which changes occurred, and How they led producers to change their behavior, in this case, leaving the organic production. The aim of this work is: (1) Identify organic soybean production historical stages in the micro region of Capanema; (2) Identify farmers choices and the elements that characterize organic soybean production decrease,and; (3) Analyze the role of farmers associations in the institutional change of soybean organic production. For all farmers assessed, recognition as organic producers was a technical performance reinterpretation, that habitually was manifested in avoid pesticides and chemical fertilizers of the1980s.The interviews revealed that little effort was required to adapt to the 1st organic certification labels, once the remuneration factor was the major influence in the decision. In late agriculture, farmers needed to hard work more than eight hours in the fields, however, conventional agriculture technological development allowed this situation to change: new technological packages decreased conventional agriculture hardship, making it easier and faster. What once was considered normal, now is taken as very painful, and the organic production conditions started to distance from the common concept. This change led many farmers to leave organic production looking for the new technological convention. This habit change also reflected in a generation perception change, in which farmers just remained organic while they had sufficient manpower to maintain the production system. Thus, nowadays the major obstacle to organic production is lower practicality and its bigger and inconvenient work.

'Terroir' is a concept that is used in France, and increasingly elsewhere, to evoke character and quality in food and drink in relation to the place it comes from. In this thesis, I investigate how terroir has attained its present-day economic value and cultural resonance; how it is subject to multiple forms of articulation across France; and how it is put to use as part of the philosophies and practices of environmentally sustainable modes of production. I use cultural and historical modes of enquiry and I draw upon interviews, participant observation, discourse and archive analysis carried out on fieldwork in three production chains in eastern France; being wine production in Burgundy, walnut production in the Isère valley, and Reblochon cheese production in the Alps. In the course of this thesis, I elucidate the cultural significance and epistemology of the concept, and make arguments that propositions for terroir consist of both specific geographical extent and historical density of explanation; that the rhetorical assembly of stories about terroir permits claims for continuity in production and tradition; and that the adoption of organic and biodynamic methods of farming troubles inherited understandings of what terroir is, through the intervention of the lively propensities of biotic actors. This is a story about food, farming and culture in France that I tell to critically examine the local, loyal and constant predicates of terroir, and to make an original contribution to our understanding of the cultural and historical background to the French and European systems of geographical protection in food and drink.

This diploma thesis is focused on mapping of organic farming in the South Region particularly in terms of spatial distribution of organic farms, their production and deployment of processing capacities organic production. South Bohemia region is due to its geographical conditions suitable for organic farming. It is one of the largest in amount of organic farms. However the diversity of production is not too different. There is mainly dominating extensive cattle farming in areas of permanent grassland.This dissertation was elaborated in terms of explorational purpose of University of South Bohemia ? Economical Faculty MSM 6007665806, focusing on support of development concerning higlands and uplands areas in the region of south Bohemia.

This thesis i concerned with the assesment of current situation of organic farming in the Czech Republic, or more precisely with identification of problems of this sector and their causes. There is made identification of fundamental problems which slow down the current develpoment of the sector in the Czech Republic. These problems are analysed and possibilities of their solutions sketched.

This dissertation follows up a mapping of agricultural enterprises which keep rural tourism in the district Jindřichův Hradec. Based on data obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture (www.eagri.cz) own investigations and other sources has been compiled the list of farms carrying on rural tourism. In this thesis has also been made SWOT analysis for the development of agro-tourism in the district Jindrichuv Hradec, and four selected farms. Enterprises were chosen so that each firm focused on another form of agrotourism. The analysis of these companies derive proposals and measures to improve and increase traffic. The work also includes a questionnaire that could provide a pilot study. The customers of four selected farms answered the questions about agrotourismus.

In this thesis analyzes the problem of possible uses and cultivation of emmer and its suitability for cultivation in organic farming. It is solved by creating revenue emmer just in terms of organic farming. It has also been solved by making a survey of varieties and varieties of emmer across Europe. In this work are summarized practical knowledge gained from field experiments were conducted with wheat genetic resources in terms of organic farming on habitats in the Czech Budejovice in South Bohemia area. All varieties used in an attempt to come from the Gene Bank in VÚRV in Prague-Ruzyne. The experiments were varieties of wheat and emmer wheat.