Farming systems approaches to international technical cooperation in agriculture and rural life

A farming systems approach to development has meant many things over the past 15 years, depending on its institutional and ecological setting, its target populations, and the goals motivating its implementation. Despite the diversity of approaches, and the sometimes rancorous discussion over which was best and why, the approach is now recognized in many places as the only one that can identify and respond to the needs of limited resource farm families, especially those in marginal ecosystems. Involving an iterative process of diagnosis, design, testing and extension, the farming system approach to date has done more to change research objectives at national and international institutions than to change actual farmer practices. By legitimizing what limited resource farmers do and why they do it, a farming systems approach lends itself to policy analysis as well. Recent research in farming systems suggests greater attention should be payed to exogenous variables, including policy and infrastructure, as well as to development of technology that really responds to the felt needs of limited resource farmers in improving their level of living.     

Gender related issues in international development assistance for agriculture and rural life

In this paper, the author points out that although by-passed by international development assistance in many parts of the world, women have been providing skill and labor for agricultural production, as well as subsistence of food, water and firewood for their families. Some of the assumptions which have contributed to the marginal attention to women as agriculturalists in international development assistance programs are reviewed. Factors contributing to these assumptions, examples of achievements in development projects and persistent problems are discussed. Some issues which continue to challenge national policy makers in developing countries as well as donors are identified. The author notes that while various donors and organizations address bits and pieces of the issues intermittently, a systematic, organized and universally shared approach to the issues, within a nation state or on a global basis is lacking. She concludes that just as agricultural production inputs and information need to be modified to fit the unique constraints of any ecological niche, similarly, modifications must be made in development assistance programs to fit the specific needs of women in their agricultural roles and cultural settings.     

International technical interventions in agriculture and rural development: Some basic trends,issues, and questions

This paper presents some of the basic trends, issues, and questions regarding the last four decades of international development cooperation in agriculture. The impact of technical cooperation tends to account for only a small proportion of change; the bulk of the variance being caused by internal, rather than external, forces and events. The paper reviews both multilateral and bilateral technical cooperation, and then illustrates with the case of U.S. universities in international technical cooperation. It goes on to question the difference between “development” and “merely change,” and asks who are the real beneficiaries? Finally, the paper suggests the following factors affecting continuity and change as forces to be analysed with respect to any attempt at technical cooperation: biological, physical, cultural, social, economic, administrative, political, and diplomatic. The world experience of the past four decades confirms that without consideration of such a human ecology of continuity and change, well-meaning interventions in international technical cooperation are likely to have unintended consequences for both “donors” and “recipients.”     

Historical forces in world agriculture and the changing role of international development assistance

The first part of this paper discusses five sets of forces that have had a major influence on world agriculture in the post-World War II period. These include (1) high rates of population growth in the developing countries; (2) a steady increase in economic integration world-wide, driven by technological breakthroughs in the communication and transportation sectors; (3) major realignments in the values of national currencies; (4) growing distortions in economic policies in both the industrialized and developing countries; and (5) growing diffusion of new production technology from the industrialized to the developing countries. The second part reviews the changing role of international development assistance in support of agriculture in light of these historical forces. Such assistance successively stressed the development of extension services, food aid, institutional development of higher level education institutions, the development of research capacity, and rural development. A look to the future is the subject of the third part of the paper. This includes a discussion of the difficulties in sustaining U.S. foreign assistance, especially when that nation is letting its own economic house fall into such disarray.     

论农业综合开发科技推广的作用及实施措施

农业综合开发科技推广对高校发挥自身优势、推广转化科技成果、提升农业综合开发总体水平具有重要作用.本文从河北农业大学近年来承担河北省农业开发科技推广项目的实践,论述了农业综合开发推广是加速高校先进技术、高新成果推广转化的重要途径;并阐述了领导重视,筛选合适成果申报,加强项目及经费管理,及时总结验收是搞好农业综合开发推广项目的关键措施。     

国际有机农业运动的发展历程对中国有机产业的启示

为深入探讨国际有机农业和中国有机产业的发展历程,以其整体发展情况为研究对象,利用对比研究法和经验总结法,对国际有机农业和中国有机产业的发展历程进行了回溯和对比。结果表明：1）20世纪初,科学和技术的发展推动了现代农业的发展进展。在整体论和还原论这2种不同观点指导下,现代农业分化成有机农业和常规农业2大体系,两者既矛盾又统一;2）国际有机农业理念多样,经历了起源、发展壮大和迈向主流化等3个发展阶段,分别称为有机1.0、2.0和3.0阶段。3）20世纪90年代,有机农业主要以农产品认证的形式正式被引入国内,国内对其理念、政策、人才和技术尚未成体系。因此,中国有机产业虽然市场发展快速,但是面临生产端需要更高质量发展的境况;4）基于还原论的常规农业是机械唯物主义在农业领域的表现,与以辩证唯物主义与历史唯物主义为指导的中国特色的社会主义农业农村现代化终将存在分歧。中国农业现代化不能只是侧重常规农业,更必须发展以整体论为指导的有机农业。总之,有机产业在中国取得了优异的成果,同时也正面临巨大挑战。在新常态下,中国有机产业应着力建立起全面的科学哲学、科学与技术以及产业与实践体系,以满足消费者对有机理念到产品与服务的多维度需求。     

Re-embedding global agriculture: The international organic and fair trade movements

The international organic agricultureand fair trade movements represent importantchallenges to the ecologically and sociallydestructive relations that characterize the globalagro-food system. Both movements critique conventionalagricultural production and consumption patterns andseek to create a more sustainable world agro-foodsystem. The international organic movement focuses onre-embedding crop and livestock production in ``naturalprocesses,' encouraging trade in agriculturalcommodities produced under certified organicconditions and processed goods derived from thesecommodities. For its part, the fair trade movementfosters the re-embedding of international commodityproduction and distribution in ``equitable socialrelations,' developing a more stable and advantageoussystem of trade for agricultural and non-agriculturalgoods produced under favorable social andenvironmental conditions. The international market forboth organic and fair trade products has grownimpressively in recent years. Yet the success of thesemovements is perhaps better judged by their ability tochallenge the abstract capitalist relations that fuelexploitation in the global agro-food system. While theorganic movement currently goes further in revealingthe ecological conditions of production and the fairtrade movement goes further in revealing the socialconditions of production, there are signs that the twomovements are forging a common ground in definingminimum social and environmental requirements. I arguefrom a theoretical and empirical basis that what makesfair trade a more effective oppositional movement isits focus on the relations of agro-food trade anddistribution. By demystifying global relations ofexchange and challenging market competitiveness basedsolely on price, the fair trade movement creates aprogressive opening for bridging the wideningNorth/South divide and for wresting control of theagro-food system away from oligopolistic transnationalcorporations infamous for their socially andenvironmentally destructive business practices. This revised version was published online in May 2006 with corrected author information     

闽台有机农业发展概况与启示

发展有机农业是福建省实现农业产业化和现代化的重要途径,海西战略使两岸的交流更加紧密,两岸关系翻开崭新的一页。因此借鉴台湾有机农业发展的有益经验,对加快福建省有机农业发展和促进海西经济建设与交流具有重要意义。     

农业科技创新中人才约束与破解

农业科技人才是农业现代化的主导力量。分析发现,农业比较劣势和产业间推力与拉力共同作用,农业吸纳人才能力不强;农业兼业性分散经营引致农业科技人才有效需求不足,人才流失现象严重。破解人才约束需要贯彻实施国家农业科技人才中长期规划,建立“双轮驱动”人才培养机制,调整利益分配格局,实施高层次人才推进工程,引导高校毕业生农业回归和实行农民终生职业教育等。     

借鉴台湾休闲农业经验 推动晋江乡村休闲发展——赴台休闲农业考察报告

通过分析台湾休闲农业的发展历程及发展趋势,结合本人考察体会,提出晋江发展乡村休闲产业的政策建议。     

西南地区节水农业的特点和技术模式

干旱是制约西南地区农业生产发展的重要因子.本文从集雨开源、节水灌溉、农艺抗旱和工程保水等方面,对该区节水农业的主要技术模式进行了总结,并对今后节水农业发展提出了一些建议.     

漳州市花卉产业化发展探讨

本文综述了漳州花卉产业的优势、发展现状和当前面临的机遇与挑战,提出应充分利用漳州花卉生产的地理、资源、文化和对台合作优势,引导花卉产业走向科技化、专业化、标准化、市场化和国际化。     

加强培训与示范推进农业标准化

阐述了农业标准化在农业生产中的重要作用,总结了上海实施农业技术标准的主要做法,分析了实施农业技术标准取得的明显成效,阐明了进一步推进农业标准化的思路。     

以色列农业发展战略对广西的启示

本文从宏观战略和核心竞争力打造及其实现途径等角度,分析了以色列的农业发展战略及其主要模式,并对其重点战略实效进行简略的评估。借鉴以色列农业发展战略的经验,得到发展广西农业的三点启示：战略资源合理配置和开发利用是实现农业发展的根本;核心竞争力是农业发展的关键;农技推广是农业持续发展的保障。     

精细农业推进现代农业发展:机理分析和现实依据

精细农业是一种现代化农业理念,也是现代农业的重要板块和有效推手。新时期需要发挥精细农业的功能和作用,推动现代农业精细化发展,实现农业提质增效。精细农业是通过提高农业中生产投入的精细化程度、生产过程的精细化程度和农业产出的精细化程度来推进现代农业发展的。但是,中国农业发展过程中,依旧存在着农业生产要素扭曲错配、现代信息技术应用不足、农村新型经营主体发育不完善、资源环境发展不平衡、农业"三本齐升"现象突出和农产品供给失衡等问题,这些问题倒逼中国加快精细农业的发展。精细农业推进现代农业发展,需要建立精细化农产品基地,建立精细农业的生产体系、产业体系和经营体系,提高农业劳动力素质和培育"三农"工作队伍,加快科技兴农、质量兴农和绿色兴农步伐。     

西藏农业信息化现状与发展措施

农业现代化发展,加快了农业信息化建设,这是现代农业化发展必由的过程。世界各国进入农业信息化建设的时期、方式、速度和类型也是各不相同的,对于农业信息化水平的判断指标也各具特色。西藏农业信息化发展,需据区情因地制宜,掌握农业信息化建设的主动权,加快西藏农业整体协调发展。     

海峡两岸低碳农业发展战略与技术对策——《海峡两岸低碳农业发展战略与技术对策研讨会》论文综述

《海峡两岸低碳农业发展战略与技术对策研讨会》于2010年6月19日在福州召开,两岸学者提交论文近百篇,涉及低碳理论与发展策略、低碳技术与模式、碳汇技术与模式、低碳产业与推广应用等4个方面,其内容包涵了理论、技术和应用等10多个主要方向。会议论文在低碳农业理论研究取得新的突破,认为低碳理论在农业领域应用研究前景广阔,两岸低碳农业协同发展互补优势明显。     

美国有机农业的发展和启示

美国有机农业开始于上世纪40年代，到90年代起得到迅速发展。美国有机农业的发展、现状、有机农业的标准、有机食品的认证、标签、政府支持政策对发展我国有机农业具有有益的借鉴和启示作用。     

Ethnicity: An important consideration in Indonesian agriculture

This paper has two purposes: To report the findings of a study of ethnic differences in cognition in a rural West Sumatran area; and to demonstrate the importance of ethnicity—in at least some contexts—for tailoring agricultural research to farmers' needs. A cognitive mapping technique, called a Galileo, was used to measure people's views of soil and its relation to people among three Indonesian ethnic groups living in the same area. Findings from participant observation and from collaborative agricultural fieldwork with farmers of all three ethnic groups are used to evaluate and interpret the Galileo results.Carol J. Pierce Colfer is currently Associate Professor at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman. She is an anthropologist who served first as the farming systems researcher, and later as Team Leader of the Tropsoils-Indonesia project in Sitiung, with the University of Hawaii.Barbara Newton is Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii, West Oahu. She has had extensive experience with Galileo research and analysis.     

生态农业与农业可持续发展

本文分析了生态家业与农可持续发展的关系。从生态农业的实践历程论证了生态农业是农业可持续发展的重要途径。提出了生态农业发展重点及方向。