Download or read book Shifting Cultivation and Environmental Change written by Malcolm F. Cairns and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-01-09 with total page 1405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shifting cultivation is one of the oldest forms of subsistence agriculture and is still practised by millions of poor people in the tropics. Typically it involves clearing land (often forest) for the growing of crops for a few years, and then moving on to new sites, leaving the earlier ground fallow to regain its soil fertility. This book brings together the best of science and farmer experimentation, vividly illustrating the enormous diversity of shifting cultivation systems as well as the power of human ingenuity. Some critics have tended to disparage shifting cultivation (sometimes called 'swidden cultivation' or 'slash-and-burn agriculture') as unsustainable due to its supposed role in deforestation and land degradation. However, the book shows that such indigenous practices, as they have evolved over time, can be highly adaptive to land and ecology. In contrast, 'scientific' agricultural solutions imposed from outside can be far more damaging to the environment and local communities. The book focuses on successful agricultural strategies of upland farmers, particularly in south and south-east Asia, and presents over 50 contributions by scholars from around the world and from various disciplines, including agricultural economics, ecology and anthropology. It is a sequel to the much praised "Voices from the Forest: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into Sustainable Upland Farming" (RFF Press, 2007), but all chapters are completely new and there is a greater emphasis on the contemporary challenges of climate change and biodiversity conservation.
Download or read book Cassava in Shifting Cultivation written by Louise O. Fresco and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cum laude graduation (with distinction).
Download or read book The Future of Shifting Cultivation in Africa and the Task of Universities written by Arthur Hugh Bunting and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 1984 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sponsored by FAO and the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Download or read book Farming Systems of the African Savanna written by A. Ker and published by IDRC. This book was released on 1995 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Farming Systems of the African Savanna: A continent in crisis
Download or read book Lost Crops of Africa written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1996-02-14 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scenes of starvation have drawn the world's attention to Africa's agricultural and environmental crisis. Some observers question whether this continent can ever hope to feed its growing population. Yet there is an overlooked food resource in sub-Saharan Africa that has vast potential: native food plants. When experts were asked to nominate African food plants for inclusion in a new book, a list of 30 species grew quickly to hundreds. All in all, Africa has more than 2,000 native grains and fruitsâ€""lost" species due for rediscovery and exploitation. This volume focuses on native cereals, including: African rice, reserved until recently as a luxury food for religious rituals. Finger millet, neglected internationally although it is a staple for millions. Fonio (acha), probably the oldest African cereal and sometimes called "hungry rice." Pearl millet, a widely used grain that still holds great untapped potential. Sorghum, with prospects for making the twenty-first century the "century of sorghum." Tef, in many ways ideal but only now enjoying budding commercial production. Other cultivated and wild grains. This readable and engaging book dispels myths, often based on Western bias, about the nutritional value, flavor, and yield of these African grains. Designed as a tool for economic development, the volume is organized with increasing levels of detail to meet the needs of both lay and professional readers. The authors present the available information on where and how each grain is grown, harvested, and processed, and they list its benefits and limitations as a food source. The authors describe "next steps" for increasing the use of each grain, outline research needs, and address issues in building commercial production. Sidebars cover such interesting points as the potential use of gene mapping and other "high-tech" agricultural techniques on these grains. This fact-filled volume will be of great interest to agricultural experts, entrepreneurs, researchers, and individuals concerned about restoring food production, environmental health, and economic opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa. Selection, Newbridge Garden Book Club
Download or read book Institutional Aspects of Shifting Cultivation in Africa written by and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 1984 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Slash and burn Agriculture written by Cheryl Ann Palm and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Alternatives to Slash and Burn (ASB) consortium was formed in 1992 by a group of concerned national and international research institutions to address the global and local issues associated with this form of agriculture. With contributions from scientists, economists, ecologists, and anthropologists, this book synthesizes the first decade of ASB's work. It assesses the environmental, economic, and social impact of deforestation and the needs of small-scale farmers who rely on slash-and-burn agriculture for their livelihood.
Download or read book Cover Crops in West Africa written by International Development Research Centre (Canada) and published by IDRC. This book was released on 1998 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cover Crops in West Africa Contributing to Sustainable Agriculture
Download or read book Farmers in the Forest written by Peter R. Kunstadter and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2019-03-31 with total page 599 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Farmers in the Forest, while using examples chiefly from northern Thailand, is concerned with complex problems found in all tropical countries. In these areas rapid population growth, increasing demands for food, and burgeoning international markets for forest products and other raw materials are associated with active competition for land and natural resources in upland areas. This book brings together studies by administrators, agronomists, anthropologists, forest ecologists, geographers and jurists, who describe a variety of swidden systems and their effect on soil, forest, society, and economy. They point to conflicts between traditional farming systems and modern legal and administrative constraints now being imposed, and they describe special and technological conditions that contribute to a marginal, stagnant upland economy, increasing socio-economic disparities with the lowlands, and the serious ecological consequences of these conditions. Several possible solutions are suggested to solve these problems.
Download or read book Improved Production Systems as an Alternative to Shifting Cultivation written by and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 1984 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eight papers from an informal meeting, dealing with examples from Asia, Africa and Latin-America
Download or read book Resource Management by West African Farmers and the Economics of Shifting Cultivation written by and published by IITA. This book was released on with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Farming Systems and Poverty written by John A. Dixon and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2001 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.
Download or read book Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization A Framework for Africa written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-03-13 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.
Download or read book The Miombo in Transition written by Bruce Morgan Campbell and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 1996-01-01 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Miombo woodlands and their use: overview and key issues. The ecology of miombo woodlands. Population biology of miombo tree. Miombo woodlands in the wider context: macro-economic and inter-sectoral influences. Rural households and miombo woodlands: use, value and management. Trade in woodland products from the miombo region. Managing miombo woodland. Institutional arrangements governing the use and the management of miombo woodlands. Miombo woodlands and rural livelihoods: options and opportunities.
Download or read book Properties and Management of Soils in the Tropics written by Pedro A. Sanchez and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-10 with total page 685 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Long-awaited second edition of classic textbook, brought completely up to date, for courses on tropical soils, and reference for scientists and professionals.
Download or read book Growing Greener Cities in Africa written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). This book was released on 2012 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Second Global Plan of Action addresses new challenges, such as climate change and food insecurity, as well as novel opportunities, including information, communication and molecular methodologies. It contains 18 priority activities organized in four main groups: In situ conservation and management; Ex situ conservation; Sustainable use; and Building sustainable institutional and human capacities.
Download or read book The Dry Forests and Woodlands of Africa written by Emmanuel N. Chidumayo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-09-23 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dry forests and woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa are major ecosystems, with a broad range of strong economic and cultural incentives for keeping them intact. However, few people are aware of their importance, compared to tropical rainforests, despite them being home to more than half of the continent's population. This unique book brings together scientific knowledge on this topic from East, West, and Southern Africa and describes the relationships between forests, woodlands, people and their livelihoods. Dry forest is defined as vegetation dominated by woody plants, primarily trees, the canopy of which covers more than 10 per cent of the ground surface, occurring in climates with a dry season of three months or more. This broad definition - wider than those used by many authors - incorporates vegetation types commonly termed woodland, shrubland, thicket, savanna, wooded grassland, as well as dry forest in its strict sense. The book provides a comparative analysis of management experiences from the different geographic regions, emphasizing the need to balance the utilization of dry forests and woodland products between current and future human needs. Further, the book explores the techniques and strategies that can be deployed to improve the management of African dry forests and woodlands for the benefit of all, but more importantly, the communities that live off these vegetation formations. Thus, the book lays a foundation for improving the management of dry forests and woodlands for the wide range of products and services they provide.
