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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 2003. / Title from title page of source document. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

M.A. (Community Development) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

While previous research on African smallholder agriculture has been criticized of focusing on the sole factor of population pressure as driver of agricultural degradation or intensification, the present study tries to nuance this debate by providing empirically grounded research, exploring the dynamics behind local agro-ecological change. The thesis specifically studies the dynamics behind small-scale farmers’ crop choices in relation to their management of trees in cropland in Gera District, Ethiopia. Drawing on situated landscape interviews and focus group discussions with farmers combined with observations and interviews with agriculture officials, a contextual understanding of local agro-ecological processes emerged. While political ecology was used as an overarching framework, the concept of landesque capital served as an analytical tool to explore how external and local forces interact at the point of the land management decision. It was found that external factors sometimes have a reinforcing effect at the local scale, but when top-down interventions are incoherent with bottom-up priorities, a conflict occurs. In this way, local dynamics and external drivers constitute an interacting dialectic, with a set of unintentional synergies and trade-offs eventually forming agro-ecological landscape change. / Examining mismatches between management and the supply of ecosystem services in Ethiopian agroecosystems across scales in space and time

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Asian Studies / Master / Master of Philosophy

Worldwide, poverty remains to be an obstacle to achieve sustainable development and improve the well-being of people. Microfinance has become a popular tool for poverty alleviation and it can now be found in poor countries across the world. Microfinance is based on the principle that poor people can initiate their own development out of poverty, given they have the starting capital to do so. The capital can be invested in income-generating activities and it is assumed that this will lead to a higher income and additional positive effects, like an increase in well-being, will follow. However others argue that the focus on income is only one aspects of poverty, other forms of deprivation and constraints are excluded. This thesis aims to address how microfinance, the provision of credit in particular, has an influence on the well-being of women. A participatory rural appraisal was conducted in order to explore how women define well-being. The perspectives of four women groups from the urban and peri-urban areas of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania were included in understanding the local definition of well-being, the developments in their lives and the changes in well-being they have perceived. The results show that the group loans may contribute to positive changes in the well-being of women, but these changes cannot be attributed to the loans alone. The changes in well-being caused by the loan intertwine with other factors like group dynamics and family life; therefore the results need to be interpreted considering the specific context. Furthermore the results show that the changes in well-being are not necessarily related to an increase in income, thus contesting the assumptions on which microfinance is based.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Western Australia, 2006.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Waterloo, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-211).

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T18:57:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3514.pdf: 2770120 bytes, checksum: 674d100e898f109b54e36fe202b7674c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-04 / Most of the territorial space of a city is used for agricultural purposes like crops, livestock or forest and a considerable amount of ecological problems are related to such activities, which, as productive processes, are closely linked to the dynamics of ecosystems and certain social relationships of production. In agriculture, sustainability is a guiding element in the search for a new ethic in the relationship between man and nature. A major challenge for farmers and researchers is to know when an agroecosystems is healthy, how healthy is a system after conversion into an agroecological management and, more importantly, how to achieve a sustainable agroecosystem. Thus, studies that examine the sustainability of farms with ecological production systems, from the perspective of agroecology, through methodologies such as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Indicators of sustainability, are extremely important to verify the operation of these systems, their influence on the improvement of environmental resources and the dissemination and encouragement of more sustainable practices in food production and other products. In this study were used six tools of PRA: Semi-structured interview, Maps of the farm, Venn s Diagram, Agricultural Calendar with focus on gender, Commercial Flowchart and Problem Tree, which served as input for obtaining information with a high degree of relevance in the development of forty-four indicators of different dimensions of sustainability (environmental, socio-cultural and economic), which were grouped into four broad themes (Quality and use of land and water, Land use and conservation, Quality of life and Economic vulnerability). The Radar Chart made possible to plot the state of the elements of the ecosystem, promoting an integrated and systemic evaluation. There were an intense exchange of information and experiences in which the views of researchers and farmers complemented themselves and generated responses more suited to the local reality. / A maior parte do espaço territorial de um município é utilizada para propósitos agrícolas, sejam cultivos, criações ou florestas, e uma quantidade considerável dos problemas ecológicos são decorrentes dessas atividades, as quais, como processo produtivos, estão estreitamente vinculadas às dinâmicas dos ecossistemas e a determinadas relações sociais de produção. Na agricultura, a sustentabilidade é um elemento norteador na busca de uma nova ética na relação homem-natureza. Um grande desafio para agricultores e pesquisadores é saber quando um agroecossistema está saudável, o quanto saudável um sistema está depois da conversão para um manejo agroecológico e, mais ainda, como alcançar um agroecossistema sustentável. Desta forma, pesquisas que analisem a sustentabilidade de propriedades rurais de base ecológica, pela ótica da agroecologia, através de metodologias como o diagnóstico rural participativo (DRP) e indicadores de sustentabilidade, são de extrema importância para a verificação do funcionamento destes sistemas, a sua influência na melhora de recursos ambientais e para a difusão e estímulo de práticas mais ecológicas na produção de alimentos e outros produtos. No presente estudo foram utilizadas seis ferramentas do DRP: Entrevista Semiestruturada, Mapas da propriedade, Diagrama de Venn, Calendário Agrícola com enfoque em gênero, Fluxograma Comercial e Árvore de Problemas, que serviram como subsídio para a obtenção de informações com alto grau de relevância na elaboração de quarenta e quatro indicadores de sustentabilidade de diferentes dimensões (ambiental, sócio-cultural e econômica), que foram agrupados em quatro temas amplos (Qualidade e uso do solo e da água, Uso da terra e conservação, Qualidade de vida e Vulnerabilidade econômica). Através do Gráfico de Radar, pôde-se representar graficamente o estado dos elementos do agroecossistema, promovendo uma avaliação sistêmica e integrada dos indicadores. Houve uma intensa troca de informações e experiências no campo, nas quais os pontos de vista de pesquisadores e agricultores se complementaram e geraram respostas mais adaptadas a esta realidade local.

The current study aimed to evaluation of a Rural Development project in this case the (Kabelo Trust), by evaluating the factors that contributes to its sustainability even though 70% of the members did not undergo high school education. Qualitative research methods was employed in gathering accurate information from the project members about the strategies that they are employing in sustaining the project while many government funded project does not last for even a year. The involvement of the stakeholders like Setsoto Local Municipality, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, the role they played in the project was also explored. It was therefore suggested by the researcher that the main stakeholder which is the Department of Agriculture should assist the project in establishing market for products in other countries.