Developing sustainable agricultural systems for small farmers in Latin America

The great majority of farmers in Latin America are peasants who still farm small plots of land, usually in marginal environments utilizing traditional and subsistence methods. The contribution of the 16 million peasant units to regional food security is however substantial. Research has shown that peasant systems, which mostly rely on local resources and complex cropping patterns, are reasonably productive despite their small land endowments and low use of external inputs. Moreover analysis of NGO-led agroecological initiatives show that traditional crop and animal systems can be adapted to increase productivity by biologically re-structuring peasant farms which in turn leads to optimization of key agroecosystem processes (nutrient cycling, organic matter accumulation, biological pest regulation, etc.) and efficient use of labour and local resources. Examples of such grassroots projects are herein described to show that agroecological approaches can offer opportunities to substantially increase food production while preserving the natural resource base and empowering rural communities.     

Environmental and social implications of waste in U.S. agriculture and food sectors

Because the agriculture/food sectors appear to be driven by short-term economic and political forces, cheap energy, and agricultural-chemical technologies, waste and environmental/social problems in the agricultural/food sectors are estimated to cost the nation at least $150 billion per year. Most of the waste and environmental/social problems can be eliminated through better resource management policies and the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.Based on a paper entitled Waste in U.S. Agricultural and Food Sectors—Environmental and Social Costs presented at the Gross National Waste Product Forum, Washington, D.C.     

泸定县农业资源生态系统评价与决策分析

文章综合分析了影响泸定县农业生态系统因素间的关系,建立了评价与决策分析层次模型。通过层次模型判断矩阵的运算,求出各层次因素相对目标层重要性的合成权值,并在此基础上评价泸定县农业资源生态系统的效益水平和优选该系统建设决策措施实施的最佳顺次结构。     

Soil erosion in developing countries: A politicoeconomic explanation

Soil erosion is accelerating in developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It has threatened the livelihood of millions of peasants, for agriculture is their economic mainstay. A probe into the forces causing erosion reveals that the elite’s resolve to accumulate ever more wealth and to maintain, consolidate, or expand their sociopolitical power and the necessity of the poor to fulfill their requirements of food, fuelwood, and fodder are the two major factors accelerating soil erosion. Unless the vast masses of poor people are integrated into the national mainstream through the implementation of equitable and redistributive development policies, it is impossible to control the accelerating rate of soil erosion and thus to achieve the objective of sustainable development. In this article, the phenomenon “soil erosion” is studied with the sol e focus on causation through anthropogenic factors.     

Ethics,ecology and development: Styles of ethics and styles of agriculture

This paper proposes to test the ethical acceptability of four styles of agricultural resource management: (1) contemporary industrial integrated systems agriculture, (2) modern industrial input dependent agriculture, (3) continuous traditional agriculture and (4) non-continuous (or swidden) traditional agriculture. The test of ethical acceptability is whether or not these styles of agricultural resource management embrace or are even compatible with that pattern of practical reasoning and interaction among ethical agents which we have independent theoretic grounds for preferring. The preferred sorts of practical reasoning and interaction are those which we find operating in ethical theories which are strongly committed to letting the discretion of ethical agents construct what is right for them to do. Thus the discussion distinguishes several different strengths of constructivist ethics relating them to the work of John Rawls, Immanuel Kant and Onora O'Neill. Then it argues for the theoretic preferability of one particular strength of constructivist ethic. The paper winds up by arguing that only traditional continuous agriculture embodies the preferred sort of practical reasoning and interaction among ethical agents. Further, I argue that this is the only style of agriculture which can embody such reasoning and patterns of interaction. Thus, as we consider the role of agriculture in our plans of international development, we have one reason to try to favor traditional continuous agriculture. To do otherwise would ignore the ethical superiority of the practical reasoning and patterns of interaction of traditional agriculturalists.     

LOW-INPUT AGRICULTURE AS A GROUND WATER PROTECTION STRATEGY1

ABSTRACT: Protection of ground water quality is of considerable importance to local, state, and federal governments. This study uses a 15-year mathematical programming model to evaluate the effectiveness of low-input agriculture, under alternative policy scenarios, as a strategy to protect ground water quality in Richmond County, Virginia. The analysis considers eight policy alternatives: cost-sharing for green manures, two restrictions on atrazine applications levels, chemical taxation, a restriction on potential chemical and nitrogen levels in ground water only and in surface and ground water, and two types of land retirement programs. The CREAMS and GLEAMS models were used to estimate nitrate and chemical leaching from the crop root zone. The economic model evaluates production practices, policy constraints, and water quality given a long-term profit maximizing objective. The results indicate that low-input agriculture alone may not be an effective ground water protection strategy. The policy impacts include partial adoption of low-input practices, land retirement, and the substitution of chemicals. Only mandatory land retirement policies reduced all chemical and nutrient loadings of ground water; however, they did not promote the use of low-input agricultural practices.     

充分利用平行岭谷区光热资源发展立体农业

本文通过对川东平行岭谷区光、热、水分资源的立体特性分析，提出调整农业结构和作物布局，发展立体农业的几点建议。     

Clarifying the definition ofSustainable agriculture

A number of distinct definitions ofsustainable agriculture have been proposed. In this paper we criticize two such definitions, primarily for conflating sustainability with other objectives such as economic viability and ecological integrity. Finally, we propose and defend a definition which avoids our objections to the other definitions.     

实施农业清洁生产势在必行

从农业生产及农业污染的特点入手，借鉴工业清洁生产的基本理念，初步界定了农业清洁生产的内涵。从农业可持续发展战略的高度，论述了实施农业清洁生产战略的必要性和可能性，并就全面推行农业清洁生产战略提出建议。     

循环型农业的含义、经济学解读及其政策含义

首先讨论了循环型农业的含义及其特点，并与现代常规农业、生态农业、绿色农业和持续农业进行了比较；然后从经济学角度对循环型农业进行了解读，认为循环型农业可通过区域大循环的规模经济和结构效应以及企业小循环的产业链增值两方面获得效益：并提出，加快科技进步、促进产业结构调整、加强区域处理中心建设以及建立和完善支持政策措施是促进循环型农业顺利发展的重要内容。