Emerson and the agricultural midworld

The metaphor of the midworld refers to Emerson's conception of the realm between the human process and nature. In his earlier writings, poetry served as a linguistic midworld that made it possible for the self to relate to the innumerable orders of nature. By the 1840's Emerson's thought had taken a much more skeptical turn and had moved decisively away from his earlier linguistic idealism. As a consequence, his conception of the nature of the midworld changed. The more humble work of the farmer came to represent more clearly the actual development of the midworld. In agricultural production, the basic features of nature became more directly available to the self. By the 1870's Emerson recognized that the farmer and the poet were both representatives of the midworld that made nature actual to the human process.Robert S. Corrington has taught at The Pennsylvania State University and The College of William and Mary. In the Fall of 1990 he will become Visiting Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology in the Theological and Graduate Schools of Drew University. He has published over 25 articles in such areas as American Philosophy, theology, semiotics, and Continental Philosophy. He is co-editor of:Pragmatism Considers Phenomenology (1987), Justus Buchler'sMetaphysics of Natural Complexes, Second Expanded Edition (1989), andNature's Perspectives: Prospects for Ordinal Metaphysics (1990). He is author ofThe Community of Interpreters (1987). He has just completed his second book,Nature and Spirit: An Essay in Ordinal Phenomenology. He is the recipient of the Church Divinity, Greenlee and John William Miller Prizes.     

运用中医传承辅助平台对庞鹤教授治疗慢性下肢静脉性水肿用药规律的分析研究

目的 分析庞鹤教授治疗慢性下肢静脉性水肿的用药规律。方法 收集庞鹤教授治疗慢性下肢静脉性水肿的医案,将信息录入中医传承辅助平台,进行数据分析。结果 共纳入处方256首,涉及中药113味,使用药物以温性药、寒性药为主,多用甘、苦、辛味药,以肝、脾、肺、心、肾、胃经为主,使用频次最高的前5位药物是黄芪、当归、茯苓、车前子、丹参;使用频率最高的用药模式和关联规则是黄芪-当归和黄芪-茯苓。结论 庞鹤教授治疗慢性下肢静脉性水肿温补脾肾为先,兼顾补益肺气、调肝养血,以益气健脾、活血化瘀、利水渗湿药物为主,随症加减。     

中国小黄黝鱼种群遗传结构和分化研究

小黄黝鱼(Micropercops swinhonis)是广布于中国长江及北方各水系的一种小型淡水虾虎鱼类。本研究采集了来自松花江(哈尔滨)、辽河(沈阳)、海河(北京)、黄河下游(濮阳)、高邮湖、长江水系(邵阳资水、洪湖、荆州、靖江市、巢湖、太湖、郎溪、洞庭湖)和云南腾冲的88个样品。通过分析线粒体细胞色素b(Cyt b)和控制区D-loop基因序列的变异研究小黄黝鱼不同地理种群的相互关系,并探讨其遗传结构和物种分化。Cyt b和D-loop的序列串联共得到63个单倍型,133个变异位点。AMOVA、SAMOVA、网络图以及贝叶斯建树分析结果都支持将其分为邵阳资水种群(A种群)、太湖种群(B种群)、其他地区种群(C种群)3个差异较大的分支,其中C种群又大致可以分3个子种群。错配分布分析表明靖江(Fu’s FS:-4.119,P=0.009)和洪湖(Fu’s FS:-2.814,P=0.016)两地的种群历史上发生过种群扩张。     

Rural livelihoods in the arid and semi-arid environments of Kenya: Sustainable alternatives and challenges

The improvement of the welfare of inhabitants of arid and semi-arid lands, either through the enhancement of existing livelihoods or the promotion of alternative ones, and their potential constraints are discussed. Alternative livelihoods are discussed under regenerative and extractive themes with respect to environmental stability. Regenerative (i.e., non-extractive) livelihoods include activities like apiculture, poultry keeping, pisciculture, silkworm production, drought tolerant cash cropping, horticulture, community wildlife tourism, processing of livestock and crop products, agro-forestry for tree products, and micro-enterprises in the informal sector. Examples of livelihoods that are extractive or potentially so include timber production, woodcarving, basketry, brick making, sand scooping, and charcoal making. Suggestions to improve these livelihoods in a sustainable manner are offered.Robinson K. Ngugi, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in Biosystems Analysis whose specialty is animal resources in the rangelands. He has taught at the University of Nairobi, Department of Range Management for about 15 years and is widely published on various aspects of animal resources in arid and semi-arid lands.Dickson M. Nyariki, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Agricultural Economics whose specialty is Range Resource Economics. He has taught at the University of Nairobi, Department of Range Management for about 15 years and is widely published on various aspects of range resource use and development. Currently, he heads the University of Nairobis Department of Range Management.     

Rural income generation through improving crop-based pig production systems in Vietnam: Diagnostics,interventions, and dissemination

Sweetpotato-pig production is an important system that generates income, utilizes unmarketable crops, and provides manure for soil fertility maintenance. This system is widely practiced from Asia to Africa, with many local variations. Within this system, pigs are generally fed a low nutrient-dense diet, yielding low growth rates and low economic efficiency. Our project in Vietnam went through a process of situation analysis, participatory technology development (PTD), and scaling up over a seven-year period to improve sweetpotato-pig production and to disseminate developed technologies. The situation analysis included a series of pig production assessments in several provinces in northern and southern Vietnam, and pig supply-market chain identification was conducted in 13 provinces. The analysis of these studies informed the project of the following: (1) appropriate locations for our activities; (2) seasonal available feedstuff and farmers feeding practices; (3) market fluctuation and requirements; and (4) feeding and management improvement needs based on which the subsequent phase of PTD was designed. The PTD involved a limited number of farmers participating in sweetpotato varietal selection, sweetpotato root and vine silage processing, seasonal feeding combination, and pig feeding with balanced crop-feed diet and silage. Six years of multi-location and multi-season sweetpotato selection resulted in a few promising varieties that yielded up to 75% more dry matter and have since been formally released. The most significant results of silage processing and feeding trials include improved growth, higher feeding efficiency, increased year-round local feedstuff, and considerable labor reduction from eliminated cooking and vine cutting. Once these technologies were developed, a farmer-to-farmer training model was designed for scaling up the adoption and impact. Farmer trainers from seven communes in seven provinces received training in these technologies. In turn, they undertook the responsibility of training other farmers on sweetpotato selection, processing, and feeding. An impact study was also administered to monitor and evaluate (M&E) the dissemination process and to document the impact of the new technologies and farmer-to-farmer training model on pig growth and farmer income generation. The results showed that both participating and non-participating farmers have taken up the technologies, although the former demonstrates higher rates of adoption than the latter. The participants also generated more income and saved more labor from the adoption of the technologies. While the scaling up and M&E activities are on-going, the project has since broadened from a sweetpotato-pig system perspective to a pig-cropfeed system perspective based on farmers needs. It has included other crop feeds such as cassava and peanut stems in the research portfolio. New technologies based on on-going PTD will continuously be incorporated into the future training curriculum.Dai Peters is currently a senior scientist with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) based in Hanoi, Vietnam. This publication is based on research conducted while she was a research scientist with the International Potato Center (CIP). She holds a PhD from North Carolina State University. Her research interests include on-farm participatory research methodologies, agroenterprise development, and sweetpotato-pig farming systems in Vietnam and Papua, Indonesia. Her recent publications include a manual on crop-based pig feed systems, post-harvest fermentation of sweetpotato roots and vines, and agroenterprise development.Nguyen Thi Tinh is currently a coordinator of the sweetpotato-pig improvement project at the International Potato Center in Vietnam. Ms. Tinh holds a Masters degree in animal nutrition from Wageningen University, Netherlands. She participated in the project on pig feeding trials for five years.Mai Thach Hoanh is a sweetpotato breeder with the Root Crop Research Center of Vietnam Agricultural Science Institute (VASI). He holds a PhD in sweetpotato breeding from the same institute. He participated in the project for seven years on sweetpotato selection. Nguyen The Yen is a crop scientist in the Food Crop Research Institute of Vietnam. He holds a PhD in sweetpotato breeding from VASI. He participated in the project for five years on sweetpotato selection.Pham Ngoc Thach is a lecturer with the Hanoi Agricultural University. He holds a PhD in veterinarian science from the same university. He participated in the project for five years in controlling pig diseases during the feeding trials.Keith Fuglie is a regional coordinator and research scientist in the International Potato Center based at Bogor, Indonesia. He holds a PhD in agriculture economics from the University of Wisconsin. He designed the impact study for the project.     

Antagonistic Synergy: Process and Paradox in the Development of New Agricultural Antimicrobial Regulations

There is currently great controversy over the contribution antimicrobial use in animal agriculture has made to antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic bacteria with negative consequences for human health. In light of this, the approval process for antimicrobials used in US animal agriculture, known as New Animal Drug Application or NADA, is currently being revised by the federal government. We explore the public deliberations over the development of these new policies focusing our attention on the interaction between pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. What appears to be an antagonistic public discourse is examined in terms of its ability to simultaneously legitimate the roles of the Food and Drug Administration as the official arbiter of policy on antimicrobial use in animal agriculture and as a protector of the public welfare, as well as the role of pharmaceutical companies as the producers of safe and effective products necessary for the protection of public well-being. Wesley R. Dean is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy at Texas A & M University. His PhD is in Sociology from the University of Alberta where he wrote a dissertation on the Canadian HIV-tainted blood scandal. He is currently engaged in research on USDA-CSREES National Integrated Food Safety Initiative, a project to systematically characterize antimicrobial decision-making in US animal agriculture. H. Morgan Scott earned a DVM from the University of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Guelph. He is an assistant professor at Texas A&M University in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences. He is currently conducting epidemiological research on the transference of resistant genes from swine to human host populations and he is the principal investigator on the USDA-CSREES National Integrated Food Safety Initiative.     

Sustainability and multifunctionality in French farms: Analysis of the implementation of Territorial Farming Contracts

Sustainable agriculture and ways to achieve it are important issues for agricultural policy. However, the concept of sustainability has yet to be made operational in many agricultural situations, and only a few studies so far have addressed the implementation process of sustainable agriculture. This paper provides an assessment of the Territorial Farming Contracts (TFC) – the French model for implementing sustainable agriculture – and aims to give some insights into the ways to facilitate the development of sustainable farming. Using a systems approach, the founding concept of the TFC model, an analysis has been made of the TFCs signed in the Midi-Pyrenees Region in south-western France. The results show that the first aspect of sustainability apparent in farmers’ projects referred to economic objectives. The environmental and social aspects were not foremost in the farming changes undertaken. In addition, the territorial dimension of the TFC was under-addressed. The majority of TFCs reveal a moderate or even low convergence with territorial priorities. These results are explained partly by the dominance of professional farming organizations in the implementation of TFC, and they imply that the organizational social dimensions of sustainability must not be neglected. Mohamed Gafsi is an assistant professor of farm management at the National School of Agronomic Training. He received his PhD in management science at the University of Bourgogne. His research interests include farm management and protection of natural resources, corporate environmental management, sustainable agriculture, and African family farms. Geneviève Nguyen is assistant professor in rural economics at the National Polytechnique Institute – National Superior School of Agronomy, in Toulouse. Her research interests include the dynamics of agrarian institutions in uncertain economies, the supply and organization of services in remote rural areas. Her research has been carried out in Europe, Africa, and Asia. She received her MA in Economics and her PhD in Agricultural Economics from the Ohio State University. Bruno Legagneux is assistant professor of farm management at the National Polytechnique Institute – National Superior School of Agronomy, in Toulouse. His research interests include farm management and the entry of young farmers into farming. Patrice Robin is an engineer agronomist. He received his diploma from the National Superior School of Agronomy, in Montpellier. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Toulouse. His research interests include agriculture and rural development, environmental issues, and food quality.     

Traditional Mexican Agricultural Systems and the Potential Impacts of Transgenic Varieties on Maize Diversity

The discovery of transgenes in maize landraces in Mexico, a center of diversity for this crop, raises questions about the potential impact of transgene diffusion on maize diversity. The concept of diversity and farmers’ role in maintaining diversity is quite complex. Farmers’ behavior is expected to have a significant influence on causing transgenes to diffuse, to be expressed differently, and to accumulate within landraces. Farmers’ or consumers’ perceptions that transgenes are “contaminants” and that landraces containing transgenes are “contaminated” could cause these landraces to be rejected and trigger a direct loss of diversity. Mauricio R. Bellon is a human ecologist working in the Economics Program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Texcoco, Mexico. He received his MSc and PhD in ecology at the University of California, Davis. His current research includes projects that deal with on-farm conservation of maize, gene flow in traditional farming systems, and the impact of improved germplasm in the livelihoods of poor farmers. Julien Berthaud is a population geneticist working for the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD). He received his PhD in plant science at the University of Paris 11. His current research includes projects related with the dynamics of genetic diversity, especially in traditional maize farming systems.     

Southern University's agriculture and mechanical departments: Descriptive analysis of the New Orleans years, 1880–1913

This is an analysis of the shift in educational emphasis at the first state supported Black institution of higher education in Louisiana during its first three decades. The national emphasis on Agricultural and Mechanical training with the expanded Morrill Act of 1890 was embraced by the University. Thus it qualified and received the Land Grant funding and developed a progressive, well-attended program in Agriculture and Mechanical Arts. This article closely reviews and describes its inner workings, facilities, curriculum, and funding.Charles Vincent, Ph.D. is professor of History at Southern University and A & M College (Baton Rouge). He has served as visiting professor of History at Louisiana State University, and Eminent Scholar at Virginia State University (Petersburg). He is the author ofBlack Legislators in Louisiana Reconstruction; andA Centennial History of Southern and A & M College 1880–1980 and numerous articles in professional journals.     

欧阳修、曾巩滁州“三亭三记”一体论

欧阳修知滁期间建三亭：醉翁亭、丰乐亭和醒心亭，留三记：自作《醉翁亭记》和《丰乐亭记》，嘱曾巩作《醒心亭记》。欧阳修自号"醉翁"，戏笔抒怀，自乐其乐；恪守知州之责，正论言志，与民同乐；借曾巩之笔以自醒自警，并彰显儒学宗师的自信自励。合而观之，"三亭三记"遵循"建亭—作文"的相同模式，建构了欧阳修醉翁、太守、儒学宗师"三位一体"的人格形象，反映了欧阳修贬滁期间思想的变化和深化，是其践行儒家"与民同乐"政治教化的文化文学表达。     

Rethinking the commons

Common property has been theoretically linked to environmental degradation through the metaphor of the tragedy of the commons, which discounts local solutions to commons dilemmas and typically posits the need for strong states or privatization. Though neither solution is theoretically or empirically adequate—because of the nature of states and nature in the real world—local arrangements for averting the tragedy suffer certain lacunaeas well, including stringent boundary conditions and overlapping/overarching commons situations that necessitate larger scale cooperation than is possible in the face-to-face communities that are conducive to cooperation. Second-order or meta-commons issues expand the scope of inquiry necessarily beyond conservationto preservation.The Sundarbans illustrates the contradictory implications of the Leviathan solution to comons dilemmas, as well as the centrality of alternative perceptual framings of natural systems. Ron Herring teaches political science at Northwestern University. His concern with environmental issues emerges from work on land systems, agriculture, and land reform in South Asia, some of which has appeared asLand to the Tiller (Yale, 1983). He is currently organizing work on the environment through the SSRC.     

Against the neoliberal steamroller? The Biosafety Protocol and the social regulation of agricultural biotechnologies

Through a discursive and organizational analysis we seek to understand the Biosafety Protocol and the place of socioeconomic regulation of agricultural biotechnology in it. The literature on the Protocol has been fairly extensive, but little of it has explored debates over socioeconomic regulation during the negotiation process or the regulatory requirements specified in the final document. This case is especially important at a time when the spread of neoliberalism is increasingly associated with deregulation, because it sheds light on the conditions under which circumvention of the market is deemed legitimate and socio-economic regulation of agricultural technology is possible. Daniel Lee Kleinman is a professor in the Department of Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he is also affiliated with the Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies and the Integrated Liberal Studies Program. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including Impure Cultures: University Biology and the World of Commerce (2003). Abby J. Kinchy is a PhD candidate in the Departments of Sociology and Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her current research examines the controversies surrounding the genetic “contamination” of Mexican maize and Canadian canola.     

Soil fertility management in the mid-hills of Nepal: Practices and perceptions

Sustaining soil fertility is essential to the prosperity of many households in the mid-hills of Nepal, but there are concerns that the breakdown of the traditional linkages between forest, livestock, and cropping systems is adversely affecting fertility. This study used triangulated data from surveys of households, discussion groups, and key informants in 16 wards in eastern and western Nepal to determine the existing practices for soil fertility management, the extent of such practices, and the perception of the direction of changes in soil fertility. The two principal practices for maintaining soil fertility were the application of farmyard manure (FYM) and of chemical fertilizer (mainly urea and diammonium phosphate). Green manuring, in-situ manuring, slicing terrace risers, and burning plant residues are rarely practiced. FYM usage was variable with more generally applied to khet land (average 6053 kg fresh weight manure ha^–1) than to bari land (average 4185 kg fresh weight manure ha^–1) with manure from goats and poultry preferred above that from cows and buffaloes. Almost all households (98%) apply urea to khet land and 87% to bari land, with 45% applying diammonium phosphate to both types of land. Application rates and timings of applications varied considerably both within and between wards suggesting poor knowledge transfer between the research and farming communities. The benefits of chemical fertilizers in terms of ease of application and transportation in comparison with FYM, were perceived to outweigh the widely reported detrimental hardening of soil associated with their continued usage. Among key informants, FYM applied in conjunction with chemical fertilizer was the most popular amendment, with FYM alone preferred more than chemical fertilizer alone – probably because of the latters long-term detrimental effects. Key informant and householder surveys differed in their perception of fertility changes in the last decade probably because of differences in age and site-specific knowledge. All key informants felt that fertility had declined but among households, only about 40% perceived a decline with the remainder about evenly divided between no change and an increase. Householders with small landholdings (< 0.5 ha) were more likely to perceive increasing soil fertility while those with larger landholdings (> 2 ha) were more likely to perceive declining fertility. Perceived changes in soil fertility were not related to food self-sufficiency. The reasons for the slow spread of new technologies within wards and the poor understanding of optimal use of chemical fertilizers in conjunction with improved quality FYM may repay further investigation in terms of sustaining soil fertility in this region.Colin Pilbeam graduated from the University of Oxford with an MA in Agriculture and Forest Sciences. He spent 11 years as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Soil Science, The University of Reading researching nitrogen and water dynamics in cropping systems in Kenya, Syria, and Nepal. He is now the manager of research programs at Cranfield School of Management.Sudarshan Bhakta Mathema is a senior agricultural economist based in Kathmandu, Nepal. After serving the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, in Nepal for 23 years, he joined the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization as the Farming Systems Economist for 2years. Currently, Dr. Mathema is the Manager of the Hill Agriculture Research Project with the Department for International Development, UK. Dr Mathema has major expertise in the fields of farming systems research and development, participatory research and development, competitive grant systems, sustainable rural livelihoods, impact assessment, project management and implementation, agricultural extension methods, and various types of socio-economic research. He has worked as a consultant for various national and international institutes. He has published papers and reports in the field of agriculture, particularly focusing on Nepal.Peter Gregory has been the Professor of Soil Science at the University of Reading since 1994. His research focuses on the interactions between plant roots and soils and on the development of sustainable systems of crop production. He has worked in Australia, Syria, Nepal, India, and West Africa and is the chair of Global Environmental Change and Food Systems – an international research project on food security.Padma Bahadur Shakya is an Agricultural Economist who has worked for the Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in Nepal for more than 20 years. He has also been a short-term consultant for various national and international organizations such as FAO, the UNs World Food Programme, Swiss Development Corporation, Asian Development Bank, JICA, HARP, and several local NGOs. Currently, he is affiliated with the Agriculture Perspective Plan Support Programme, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.     

池养罗氏沼虾生长缓慢原因初步分析

通过调查分析池养罗氏沼虾的生长状况、主要病原感染情况、遗传多样性、水质以及感染WSSV罗氏沼虾生长存活试验,探讨池养罗氏沼虾生长缓慢原因。结果表明:2016年生长正常与生长欠佳两类池塘平均有效等位基因介于0.632 2~0.687 2之间,平均多态信息含量介于0.583 1~0.635 4之间,属于高度多态性,两种生长类型池塘罗氏沼虾各遗传参数指标和水质指标间均无显著性差异(P0.05);生长正常池塘罗氏沼虾在养殖50、100和150 d,体长、体质量等指标均显著高于生长欠佳池塘罗氏沼虾(P0.05),EHP、WSSV和IHHNV阳性检出率均显著低于生长欠佳池塘(P0.05),养殖220 d,两类池塘各生长状况指标无显著性差异(P0.05),两类池塘沼虾携带上述病原的阳性检出率显著高于前3次检疫结果(P0.05),同时生长正常池塘阳性检出率更高,雄虾数量更少,与2014、2015年调查塘干塘起捕前结果类似;人工感染WSSV罗氏沼虾,感染15、30和45 d,各浓度组生长状况指标存在显著性差异(P0.05),各生长状况指标均随着感染浓度的上升逐步降低。据此结合养殖中后期每隔10 d左右捕大留小的生产工艺,认为水质、种质差异或退化引起池塘罗氏沼虾生长缓慢可能性很小,而感染特定病原引起罗氏沼虾生长缓慢的可能性较大,且感染特定病原对雄虾生长的影响可能大于雌虾。     

黄河湿地小白河片区优势植物重金属的富集特征

通过对采集的植物和对应土壤的监测分析,研究了包头黄河湿地小白河片区优势植物和土壤对重金属的富集作用。以优势植物虉草(Phalaris arundinacea)、香蒲(Typha orientalis)、芦苇(Phragmites australis)为研究对象,通过对植物和土壤的野外采样分析,检测了黄河湿地小白河片区湿地植物及相应土壤中As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Ni、Pb、Zn等重金属元素含量,对土壤重金属污染程度进行了单因子分析及综合分析,同时分析了3种优势植物对重金属的吸收与富集特征。研究结果表明:三种植被区土壤均受到中度污染,其中As、Cd、Zn污染最为严重。该湿地优势植物富集特征显示:香蒲地上部和地下部对Ni的富集系数均大于1,对土壤中Ni污染具有修复作用;香蒲和芦苇对重金属As、Cd、Zn的转运系数相对较高,耐性较好;三种优势植物对As、Cd、Zn等污染程度高的重金属的富集系数和转运系数均小于1,对土壤中As、Cd、Zn污染没达到修复效果;不同植物体内重金属间的相互作用关系不同,其作用结果会对植物重金属的富集产生一定的影响。     

陈新宇教授运用“五脏整体观”治疗咳嗽临床经验举隅

咳嗽为临床常见病之一,往往反复发作,难以治愈。陈新宇教授提出运用内经“五脏整体观”理论分析病因病机,指出咳嗽不仅与肺相关,肾虚、脾湿、肝火均可引起咳嗽。临床治疗中陈教授多用伤寒原方加减,文中以桂枝汤、小陷胸汤、射干麻黄汤、小青龙汤等为例,系统阐述了陈新宇教授在咳嗽治疗方面的经验心得。     

Social-ethical issues concerning the control strategy of animal diseases in the European Union: A survey

In 2004 a survey was conducted in the member states of the European Union designed to gain greater insight into the views on control strategies for foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever, and avian influenza with respect to the epidemiological, economic and social-ethical consequences of each of these animal diseases. This article presents the results of the social-ethical survey. A selection of stakeholders from each member state was asked to prioritize issues for the prevention and control of these diseases. A majority of stakeholders chose preventive measures as the preferred issue. An analysis was done to determine whether there were differences in views expressed by stakeholders from member states with a history of recent epidemics and ones without such a history, and whether there were regional differences. There were no differences between member states with or without a history of recent epidemics. There were indeed regional differences between the priority orders from Northern and Southern Europe on the one hand, and from Eastern Europe on the other. Nina E. Cohen is a biologist and is a researcher at the Wageningen University. She is specialized in societal and ethical issues in human–animal relationships. Her current research is focused on the social-ethical issues concerning the prevention and control of foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever and avian influenza. Marcel A.P.M. van Asseldonk has studied animal science. Currently he works at the Institute for Risk Management in Agriculture (IRMA) of the Wageningen University. He is specialized in the design and pricing of insurance policies and animal health funds for the main livestock epidemics. Elsbeth N. Stassen is a veterinarian and professor of Animals and Society at the Wageningen University. Elsbeth Stassen is specialized in animal health, animal welfare and human–animal relationships. She was a member of a governmental welfare committee during the avian influenza epidemic in the Netherlands in 2003.     

Hands off but Strings Attached: The Contradictions of Policy-induced Demand-driven Agricultural Extension

Although many governments have privatized their agricultural extension services, there is widespread agreement that the public sector still needs to play a role in the “agricultural knowledge market” in order to prevent market failure and other undesirable phenomena. However, appropriate mechanisms for intervention in the agricultural knowledge market are still in their infancy. This article discusses the case of the Nutrient Management Support Service (NMSS), a government-funded support service in The Netherlands designed to optimize the fit between the demand and supply of “agricultural knowledge products” that reduce nutrient emissions into the environment. The activities of the support service were four-fold: (1) distributing vouchers to farmers, (2) establishing mechanisms for quality control, (3) facilitating the articulation of end-users’ needs, and (4) improving market transparency. We analyze the extent to which the NMSS has succeeded in supporting a demand-driven knowledge market for nutrient management issues. We question some of the conceptual and practical assumptions underlying this style of intervention. In addition, we argue that the notion of demand requires considerable refinement before it can be useful for guiding state involvement in demand-driven extension. Laurens Klerkx holds a MSc in Tropical Land Use from Wageningen University. He is currently working on his PhD. His research focuses on how needs are articulated in demand-driven agricultural innovation processes and how newly emerging institutions such as knowledge brokers, knowledge networks, and innovation facilitators support this demand-driven agricultural innovation. Karin de Grip studied Tropical Agriculture (BSc) and, after working for 3 years in Indonesia in development co-operation, joined the MSc program in Management of Agri-ecological Knowledge and Social Change at Wageningen University. Her specific foci and interests include interactive knowledge development processes, learning processes, knowledge exchange and innovation networks, enforcement of knowledge markets, and demand-driven extension. Cees Leeuwis is professor of Communication and Innovation Studies at Wageningen University. He holds a MSc in Rural Sociology and a PhD in Communication and Innovation Studies. His research focuses on (a) the role of new interactive and cross-disciplinary approaches in bringing about coherent innovations, (b) the analysis of social learning and conflict management in networks, and (c) the way in which the privatization of research and extension institutions affects public sphere innovation processes.     

The In Situ Conservation of Rice Plant Genetic Diversity: A Case Study from a Philippine Barangay

The conservation of rice plant genetic diversity is particularly important for resource-poor farmers in economically marginal areas of the Philippines. This paper discusses the state of rice plant genetic diversity in the Philippines and the reasons behind the decrease in diversity witnessed over the last 30 years. A case study describes the in situ management of rice plant genetic diversity by resource-poor farmers from the Philippine island of Bohol, throughout the traditional, green revolution, and post-green revolution periods. This analysis demonstrates that farmers tend to favor genetically heterogeneous varieties that adapt to varied environments. The case study also reviews an NGO-sponsored agricultural biodiversity project that demonstrates that rice plant genetic diversity can be increased by empowering farmers – providing them with access to varieties, knowledge of varietal trials, varietal selection, and varietal breeding, as well as increasing the linkages they have with other farmers and institutions. David Carpenter is a PhD candidate in the School of Resources, Environment and Society at the Australian National University. His current research focuses on organic rice farming, social capital, and agricultural change in the Philippines. He recently published an article in Agriculture and Human Values 20(2) on the transition from high input agriculture to organic agriculture by resource-poor farmers from the Philippine Island of Bohol.     

Multi-party responses to environmental problems. A case of contaminated dairy cattle

This paper presents a framework for exploring the temporal and behavioral aspects of the responses of various involved parties that may lead to governmental intervention in situations involving exposure of the public to hazardous substances. The activities of key individuals are closely scrutinized. Relevance of the framework to agricultural and food concerns is also indicated. The exemplary case is the contamination of livestock in Michigan that began in 1973, but other cases are discussed that conform closely to the pattern described by the framework.George Morren is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Ecology in the Department of Human Ecology at Cook College, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, where he coordinates the International Environmental Studies Program. His areas of interest include tropical human ecology and social responses to hazards. He has done field research in Papua, New Guinea, northern Europe, and the U. S. and is currently studying public participation in environmental affairs in New Jersey and long term forest change in Papua, New Guinea. He is co-author (with Kathleen Wilson) ofSystems Approaches for Improvement in Agriculture and Resource Management, MacMillan, 1990.