Systems Research for Agriculture PDF Download

Author: Laurie E. Drinkwater
Publisher: Department of Agriculture
ISBN: 9781888626162
Category : Agricultural systems
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author: Jules N. Pretty
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136529276
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

Author: Clayton Campanhola
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128121351
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 611

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Book Description
Sustainable Food and Agriculture: An Integrated Approach is the first book to look at the imminent threats to sustainable food security through a cross-sectoral lens. As the world faces food supply challenges posed by the declining growth rate of agricultural productivity, accelerated deterioration of quantity and quality of natural resources that underpin agricultural production, climate change, and hunger, poverty and malnutrition, a multi-faced understanding is key to identifying practical solutions. This book gives stakeholders a common vision, concept and methods that are based on proven and widely agreed strategies for continuous improvement in sustainability at different scales. While information on policies and technologies that would enhance productivity and sustainability of individual agricultural sectors is available to some extent, literature is practically devoid of information and experiences for countries and communities considering a comprehensive approach (cross-sectoral policies, strategies and technologies) to SFA. This book is the first effort to fill this gap, providing information on proven options for enhancing productivity, profitability, equity and environmental sustainability of individual sectors and, in addition, how to identify opportunities and actions for exploiting cross-sectoral synergies. - Provides proven options of integrated technologies and policies, helping new programs identify appropriate existing programs - Presents mechanisms/tools for balancing trade-offs and proposes indicators to facilitate decision-making and progress measurement - Positions a comprehensive and informed review of issues in one place for effective education, comparison and evaluation

Author: Ingrid Oborn
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317212010
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Sustainable intensification has recently been developed and adopted as a key concept and driver for research and policy in sustainable agriculture. It includes ecological, economic and social dimensions, where food and nutrition security, gender and equity are crucial components. This book describes different aspects of systems research in agriculture in its broadest sense, where the focus is moved from farming systems to livelihoods systems and institutional innovation. Much of the work represents outputs of the three CGIAR Research Programs on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics, Aquatic Agricultural Systems and Dryland Systems. The chapters are based around four themes: the conceptual underpinnings of systems research; sustainable intensification in practice; integrating nutrition, gender and equity in research for improved livelihoods; and systems and institutional innovation. While most of the case studies are from countries and agro-ecological zones in Africa, there are also some from Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sustainable agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Author: Edwards
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9780935734218
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 718

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A unique look at how the adoption of sustainable farming methods is being pursued throughout the world. This comprehensive book provides clear insight into research and education needs and the many points of view that come to bear on the issue of sustainability. Essential for agricultural leaders in research, education, conservation, policy making, and anyone else interested in creating an economically and environmentally sustainable agriculture worldwide.

Author: A Zaman
Publisher: New India Publishing Agency
ISBN: 9387973727
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 12

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Book Description
The book entitled, “Integrated Farming System and Agricultural Sustainability” is an endeavor of the author to consider the sustainability in agriculture befitting with relevant chapters that the agricultural resilience would take place without affecting the social causes. The book is organized into sixteen chapters. A brief description of each of the chapters follows: Chapter 1 identifies the concept of importance and definition as basic requirement to know the challenges in the management of information security in the new millennium; Chapter 2 identifies the types of farming system and factors affecting farming system; Chapter 3 envisages sustainable agriculture, its problems and its impact in cropping system; Chapter 4 takes historical background of agriculture, its changing scenario and its resilience over the years. Chapter 5 delineated sustainable agriculture, its importance and its impact in cropping system; Chapter 6 describes the agro-climatic and agro-ecological zones that need for model of integrated farming system to be developed as a policy perspective to ensure the crop cultivation the highest level of protection against all sorts of threats. Chapter 7 takes history of agriculture, its changing scenario and its resilience over the years. Chapter 8 reviews the rejuvenation, modernization and mechanization of agriculture, its present bottlenecks on ethical elements of security such that trust could be promoted to outburst the explosive population; Chapter 9 reviews the information on soil resource in the context of problematic security threat; Chapter 10 reviews issues on external input based sustainable agriculture surrounding low land utilization as existing resource mobilization and utilization. Chapter 11 presents the importance of organic farming well as organic agriculture to get the best results in sustainable agriculture; Chapter 12 addresses the issue of water management and planning, with particular reference to irrigation management and judicious water application in crop cultivation. Chapter 13 presents gaps and problems in each of the current approaches in rainfed agriculture, rainwater harvesting as well as rainwater management in growing crops in best possible manner; Chapter 14 discusses management of lowland areas towards sustainable agriculture; Chapter 15 refers the land degradation and land treatments in the way of effective utilization of land resources through tillage, conservational tillage and other suitable measures; Chapter 16 concludes the present principle of remedies, the economic equity, social security along the future task and presents pragmatic, formal, informal and technical principles necessary for managing food security in the new millennium.

Author:
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
ISBN: 9789251084717
Category : Food supply
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Sustainability is at the heart of FAO's new Strategic Framework and is the specific focus of Strategic Objective 2, which aims at sustainably increasing the provision of goods and services from agriculture, forestry and fisheries. This report is the outcome of intensive consultations and discussions aimed at developing a common approach to FAO's work on sustainability. That process was conducted in a climate of cross-sectoral collaboration that drew on the contributions of leading FAO and external specialists in crops, livestock, forestry, capture fisheries, aquaculture and natural resources. The report provides the vision, the key principles and indications on the way forward to transition towards sustainable food and agriculture. It builds on the Organization's long experience in developing sustainability concepts, approaches and tools, and offers a common platform for a vision of the agriculture sector and of the inter-sectoral synergies that will eventually make agriculture more productive and sustainable."--Publisher's information.

Author: P. Parvatha Reddy
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9811027021
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
This book outlines a new paradigm, Sustainable Intensification of Crop Production (SICP), which aims to produce more from the same area of land by increasing efficiency, reducing waste, conserving resources, reducing negative impacts on the environment and enhancing the provision of ecosystem services. The use of ecologically based management strategies can increase the sustainability of agricultural production while reducing off-site consequences. The book also highlights the underlying principles and outlines some of the key management practices and technologies – such as minimum soil disturbance; permanent organic soil covers; species diversification; selection of suitable cultivars, planting time, age and spacing; balanced plant nutrition; agro-ecological pest management; efficient water management; careful management of farm machinery; and integrated crop-livestock production – required to implement SICP. The green revolution (by using high-yielding crop varieties, mono-cropping, fertilization, irrigation, and pesticides) has led to enormous gains in food production and improved world food security. In many countries, however, intensive crop production has had negative impacts on production, ecosystems and the larger environment, putting future productivity at risk. In order to meet the projected demands of a growing population expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050, farmers in the developing world must double food production, a challenge complicated by the effects of climate change and growing competition for land, water and energy. This book will be of immense value to all members of the scientific community involved in teaching, research and extension activities concerning sustainable intensification. The material can be used for teaching post-graduate courses, or as a useful reference guide for policy makers.

Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309045789
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 456

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Book Description
Interest is growing in sustainable agriculture, which involves the use of productive and profitable farming practices that take advantage of natural biological processes to conserve resources, reduce inputs, protect the environment, and enhance public health. Continuing research is helping to demonstrate the ways that many factorsâ€"economics, biology, policy, and traditionâ€"interact in sustainable agriculture systems. This book contains the proceedings of a workshop on the findings of a broad range of research projects funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The areas of study, such as integrated pest management, alternative cropping and tillage systems, and comparisons with more conventional approaches, are essential to developing and adopting profitable and sustainable farming systems.