EBookClubs

Read Books & Download eBooks Full Online

EBookClubs

Read Books & Download eBooks Full Online

Book Knowledge Generation and Technical Change

Download or read book Knowledge Generation and Technical Change written by Steven Wolf and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Knowledge generation and transfer mechanisms are being transformed in important and controversial ways. Investment in research and development has increased in response to recognition that scientific productivity is tightly connected to economic dynamism. Patent protection has been expanded in order to stimulate higher levels of private investment. Intellectual property rights held by public organizations and researchers are now increasingly transferred to private organizations to accelerate the diffusion and enhance the value of knowledge produced by public agencies and universities. Additionally, new institutions such as university offices of technology transfer, venture capital markets, and a variety of consortia in knowledge-intensive industries are being established throughout the United States and in other parts of the world. These changes have led to a repositioning of the state in systems of innovation and an increase in the proprietary character of technical information. The purpose of this book is to review and analyze i) contemporary transitions in agricultural knowledge generation and extension arrangements from an empirical perspective, and ii) emerging and contradictory perspectives as to how knowledge systems can be assessed effectively. The authors aim to provide the reader with a better understanding of the implications of new biotechnologies and new intellectual property rights regimes on public-private relations in science, the extent to which benefits from scientific knowledge are being appropriated by private sector actors, the diversity and possible outcomes of privatization initiatives in extension, and prospects for public goods production and ecological sustainability given contemporary trends. The book presents contrasting views on the degree of complementarity and substitution between private and public sector investments in research and extension. Recognizing that the labels `public' and `private' are incomplete and at times misleading descriptions of the structure and function of coordinating bodies in social systems, the analyses highlight ways in which public and private spaces and modes of functioning combine. In addition to illustrating a broad range of analytic methodologies useful for studying organizational questions in knowledge systems, the authors identify the implications of a range of past and potential institutional innovations.

Book Knowledge Driven Development

Download or read book Knowledge Driven Development written by Yuan Zhou and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2015-05-30 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Knowledge Driven Development: Private Extension and Global Lessons uses actual cases written specifically to study the role and capacity of private companies in knowledge sharing and intensification through agricultural extension. Descriptions of specific models and approaches are teased out of complex situations exhibiting a range of agricultural, regulatory, socio-economic variables. Illustrative cases focus on a particular agricultural value chain and elaborate the special feature of the associated private extension system. Chapters presenting individual cases of private extension also highlight specific areas of variations and significant deviance. Each chapter begins with a section describing the background and agricultural context of the case, followed by a description of the specific crop value chain. Based on understanding of this context, extension models and methods by private companies receive deeper analysis and definition in the next section. This leads to a discussion of the private extension with respect to its relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, equity, sustainability and impact. Following that, comparison with public extension, the uniqueness of the knowledge intensification model, and lessons for its replication and scaling up are elaborated. The final chapter summarizes the major results from the ten cases presented, looking at the trends, commonalities and differences of various extension approaches and the general lessons for success or failure. It concludes with a set of messages around value creation, integrated services, market links, inclusive innovation, and capacity development. - Provides understanding of different knowledge sharing and intensification models of extension delivery and financing by private companies across the agricultural value chains - Assesses the factors leading to successes or failures of various approaches - Draws lessons and recommendations for future endeavors relating to private extension policies and programs

Book Getting Ready for the Twenty first Century

Download or read book Getting Ready for the Twenty first Century written by Charles H. Antholt and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1994 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The productivity growth of farming in Asian countries over the past few decades highlights the high returns on investments in agricultural research and extension made in the region. This publication examines the performance of agricultural research and extension programmes in Asia, including the World Bank's training and visit (TandV) system, the challenges they face, and ways of improving their relevance, responsiveness, and cost- effectiveness. Conclusions reached include the importance of raising agricultural productivity through new technology in order to promote long- term growth and poverty reduction, and the need for less intensive and more environmentally sound agricultural practices.

Book Public and Private Agricultural Extension

Download or read book Public and Private Agricultural Extension written by Dina Umali-Deininger and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1994-01-01 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World Bank Discussion Paper 236. Agricultural support services play an important role in increasing agricultural productivity. Given the importance of agriculture to developing countries, governments have taken the lead in providing such services.

Book Agricultural Extension

Download or read book Agricultural Extension written by Charles Ameur and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1994-01-01 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recommends the adoption of multiple strategies for agricultural extension and a flexible attitude by governments in addressing the issue. Agriculture contributes significantly to the growth of many developing countries. Its development is closely linked to several key interrelated factors such as infrastructure, research, extension, farm inputs, rural credit, price policies, and marketing. This paper examines agricultural extension within this context, drawing on a variety of ongoing cases throughout the world. The author stresses the need for governments to define a specific strategy for extension and to re-examine the role of the public sector.

Book International Agricultural Development

Download or read book International Agricultural Development written by Carl K. Eicher and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 1998-11-20 with total page 636 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Other topics include market failures, food insecurity, rural poverty, environmental degradation, income and asset inequality, fiscally sustainable organizations, the changing roles of the public and private sector in research, input delivery systems, marketing and low rates of agricultural growth in much of sub-Saharan Africa.

Book Agricultural Extension

Download or read book Agricultural Extension written by Gershon Feder and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: May 1999 - The agriculture sector must nearly double biological yields on existing farmland to meet food needs, which will double in the next quarter century. A sustainable approach to providing agricultural extension services in developing countries-minimal external inputs, a systems orientation, pluralism, and arrangements that take advantage of the best incentives for farmers and extension service providers-will release the local knowledge, resources, common sense, and organizing ability of rural people. Is agricultural extension in developing countries up to the task of providing the information, ideas, and organization needed to meet food needs? What role should governments play in implementing or facilitating extension services? Roughly 80 percent of the world's extension is publicly funded and delivered by civil servants, providing a range of services to the farming population, commercial producers, and disadvantaged target groups. Budgetary constraints and concerns about performance create pressure to show the payoff on investment in extension and to explore alternatives to publicly providing it. Feder, Willett, and Zijp analyze the challenges facing policymakers who must decide what role governments should play in implementing or facilitating extension services. Focusing on developing country experience, they identify generic challenges that make it difficult to organize extension: The magnitude of the task; Dependence on wider policy and other agency functions; Problems in identifying the cause and effect needed to enable accountability and to get political support and funding; Liability for public service functions beyond the transfer of agricultural knowledge and information; Fiscal sustainability; Inadequate interaction with knowledge generators. Feder, Willett, and Zijp show how various extension approaches were developed in attempts to overcome the challenges of extension: Improving extension management; Decentralizing; Focusing on single commodities; Providing fee-for-service public extension services; Establishing institutional pluralism; Empowering people by using participatory approaches; Using appropriate media. Each of the approaches has weaknesses and strengths, and in their analysis the authors identify the ingredients that show promise. Rural people know when something is relevant and effective. The aspects of agricultural extension services that tend to be inherently low cost and build reciprocal, mutually trusting relationships are those most likely to produce commitment, accountability, political support, fiscal sustainability, and the kinds of effective interaction that generate knowledge. This paper-a joint product of Rural Development, Development Research Group, and the Rural Development Department-is part of a larger effort in the Bank to identify institutional and policy reforms needed to promote sustainable and equitable rural development. The authors may be contacted at [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].

Book Globalization and Agriculture

Download or read book Globalization and Agriculture written by Antônio Márcio Buainain and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2017-11-08 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Globalization and Agriculture: Redefining Unequal Development focuses on the development of national agriculture of nine countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia from two different and complementary angles. One angle is the opportunities created by globalization for agricultural production and how the countries have dealt with the expansion of the world, as a consequence of the world market. The other angle is the social and economic consequences of globalization for agricultural and rural development. The case studies included in this book prove that the contradictory meanings referred above are indeed representative of different facets and features of globalization.

Book Training for Agriculture and Rural Development

Download or read book Training for Agriculture and Rural Development written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 1996 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Agronomy for Development

Download or read book Agronomy for Development written by James Sumberg and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-07-06 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- CONTENTS -- List of abbreviations -- List of contributors -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Knowledge politics in development-oriented agronomy -- 2 On the movement of agricultural technologies: packaging, unpacking and situated reconfiguration -- 3 South-South cooperation and agribusiness contestations in irrigated rice: China and Brazil in Ghana -- 4 GM crops 'for Africa': contestation and knowledge politics in the Kenyan biosafety debate -- 5 Systems research in the CGIAR as an arena of struggle: competing discourses on the embedding of research in development -- 6 One step forward, two steps back in farmer knowledge exchange: 'scaling up' as Fordist replication in drag -- 7 When the solution became a problem: strategies in the reform of agricultural extension in Uganda -- 8 Sweet 'success': contesting biofortification strategies to address malnutrition in Tanzania -- 9 Crops in context: negotiating traditional and formal seed institutions -- 10 Laws of the field: rights and justice in development-oriented agronomy -- 11 A golden age for agronomy? -- References -- Index

Book Privatization and the Crisis of Agricultural Extension  The Case of Pakistan

Download or read book Privatization and the Crisis of Agricultural Extension The Case of Pakistan written by Ahmed Munir and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-01 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title was first published in 2003. he public sector plays a dominant international role in the provision of agricultural extension and services. This role has been the subject of much debate. Some argue for extension's privatization, claiming that a market driven system provides the most rational and efficient means of information delivery. Based on extensive empirical research from the Punjab (Pakistan), this volume examines the comparative effectiveness of public and private extension services from the perspective of farmers. It also focuses on information from extension agents about their respective organizations and work environments. In so doing, the book expands and elaborates on the practical considerations of privatization and information delivery. It then broadens out into a discussion of alternative means of extension delivery, focusing on participatory approaches, education theory and pluralism.

Book Entomology at the Land Grant University

Download or read book Entomology at the Land Grant University written by Kevin M. Heinz and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insects affect the health and well-being of humans every day, everywhere, so the entomology departments that study them make a crucial contribution to many aspects of life. Indeed, agricultural success in the United States and other countries depends upon the work of entomology departments within the land grant system at universities across the nation.Entomology at the Land Grant University is a thorough look at how entomology departments have adapted to shifting demographics, changes in land use patterns, environmental issues, and advances in the life sciences. It also highlights the leadership of entomologists in their multifaceted roles as researchers, teachers, and consultants.With world-renowned contributors from both academia and industry, this volume is the culmination of a series of mini-symposia celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University. The centenary was a time to reflect on past accomplishments and to plan for future challenges, spotlighting the academic, scientific, economic, and social importance of entomology. The result is a broad-brushed picture of a discipline that at its best represents the highest virtues of fundamental and applied science, with topics such as:- fulfilling the land grant university mission- roles of entomology departments- the function of the extension service- the global reach of entomological research- civic education in insect management- genetic engineering- future innovations in pest management and insecticide designNot just for entomologists, this insightful look into the workings of a university department within the context of a rapidly changing scientific, social, and economic climate will appeal to anyone associated with a land grant university, extension or regulatory agency, or related industry.

Book From Agriscience to Agribusiness

Download or read book From Agriscience to Agribusiness written by Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-11-21 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents a state-of-the-art overview of the rapidly evolving field of agribusiness, highlighting the most current issues, concepts, trends and themes in research, practice and policy. With a particular emphasis on technology, product and process innovation, the authors cover a wide array of topics relating to such issues as research and development, technology transfer and patents and licensing, with particular respect to the roles of academic institutions, private organizations and public agencies in generating and disseminating knowledge. Featuring case studies of innovative initiatives across the industry, this book will appeal to researchers, business leaders, university administrators and policymakers concerned with the multi-faceted implications of this dynamic and controversial sector.

Book Agriculture Investment Sourcebook

Download or read book Agriculture Investment Sourcebook written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005-04-08 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investing to promote agricultural growth and poverty reduction is a central pillar of the World Bank's current rural strategy, 'Reaching the Rural Poor' (2003). This 'Sourcebook' addresses how to implement the rural strategy, by sharing information on investment options and identifying innovative approaches that will aid the design of future lending programs for agriculture. It provides generic good practices and many examples that demonstrate investment in agriculture can provide rewarding and sustainable returns to development efforts. It is divided into eleven self-contained modules. Each module contains three different types of subunits that can also be stand-alone documents: I. Module Overview II. Agricultural Investment Notes III. Innovative Activity Profiles. The stand-alone nature of the subunits allows flexibility and adaptability of the material. Selected readings and web links are also provided for readers who seek more in-depth information. The 'Sourcebook' draws on a wide range of experiences from donor agencies, governments, institutions, and other groups active in agricultural development. It is an invaluable reference tool for policy makers, professionals, academics and students, and anyone with an interest in agricultural investments.

Book Governance of Water Related Conflicts in Agriculture

Download or read book Governance of Water Related Conflicts in Agriculture written by F.M. Brouwer and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-14 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book deals with voluntary approaches between farmers and water suppliers as an instrument to meet environmental standards, impacted by agricultural activities, more economically efficient and environmentally effective than by exclusive application of alternative instruments including command-and-control approaches. The book is based largely on the results of the research project 'Co-operative Agreements in Agriculture as an Instrument to Improve the Economic Efficiency and Economic Effectiveness of the European Water Policy', which was supplemented for specific issues by key experts. The research was partly funded by the European Commission under the Specific RTD Programme in the Field of Environment and Climate (Contract No. ENV4-CT98-0782) and partly by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries in the Netherlands, the Environment Agency in England and Wales, the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the Government of the German Bundesland North Rhine Westphalia. Additional funds for preparing the book were obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries in the Netherlands. The financial and technical support received from the different organisations is gratefully acknowledged. The editors appreciate very much the efforts the authors have made in preparing their contributions for the book and for the secretarial assistance provided by Mrs. Tessa van Dongen from LEI who took responsibility for guiding the publication process and preparing the chapters of the book. We also appreciate the support given by Mrs. Henny Hoogervorst and Mrs. Gloria Verhey (Kluwer Academic Publishers).

Book World Agriculture

    Book Details:
  • Author : Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • Publisher : Food & Agriculture Org.
  • Release : 1995
  • ISBN : 9789251035900
  • Pages : 530 pages

Download or read book World Agriculture written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 1995 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study surveys the prospects worldwide for food and agriculture, including fisheries and forestry, for the next 20 years. Emphasis is placed on food security and nutrition, and the improved sustainability of agricultural and rural development.