scholarly journals Amplifying Agroecological Farmer Lighthouses in Contested Territories: Navigating Historical Conditions and Forming New Clusters in Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. McGreevy ◽  
Norie Tamura ◽  
Mai Kobayashi ◽  
Simona Zollet ◽  
Kazumasa Hitaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Organic Agriculture ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Community Leadership ◽  
Agrarian Change ◽  
Contested Spaces ◽  
Previous Generation ◽  
Amplifying Effect ◽  
On Farm

Individual agroecological farms can act as lighthouses to amplify the uptake of agroecological principles and practices by other farmers. Amplification is critical for the upscaling of agroecological production and socio-political projects emphasizing farmer sovereignty and solidarity. However, territories are contested spaces with historical, social, cultural, and economic contexts that can present challenges to the effectiveness of farmer lighthouses in catalyzing localized agrarian change. We explore these amplification dynamics through fieldwork in a particular region of Japan employing interviews and data derived from an assessment of nine farms using ten amplification indicators. The indicators include social organization, participation in networks, community leadership, and degrees of dependency on policies or markets among others, as well as degree of adoption of on-farm agroecological practices, all of which capture farmer lighthouses' potential to amplify territorial upscaling. At the same time, we trace the historical development of a previous generation of Japanese farmer lighthouses practicing organic agriculture in alignment with agroecological principles that experienced, to varying degrees, push-back, co-option, and successful territorialization in rural communities. We find that many of the same social and cultural territorial dynamics are still influential today and affecting the amplifying effect of agroecological farmer lighthouses, but also find examples of new clustering around lighthouses that take advantage of both the historical vestiges of the previous generation's efforts as well as contemporary shifts in practice and agrarian orientation. This research calls for a detailed dissection of the dynamic and contrasting processes of agroecological territorialization and the ways in which diverse contexts shape agroecological upscaling.

scholarly journals Economic Effects of Biofuel Production on States and Rural Communities

2006 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe L. Parcell ◽  
Patrick Westhoff
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Ethanol Production ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Local Taxes ◽  
Current Production ◽  
Corn Prices ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Production Industry ◽  
Incentive Payments

This study summarizes research on farm-, local-, regional-, and macro-level economic effects of ethanol production. Given current production levels, the ethanol production industry annually employees approximately 3,500 workers, pays out nearly $132 million in worker salaries, generates over $110 million in local taxes, and takes in some $2 billion in government incentive payments. Projections for a 60 million gallon per year ethanol plant indicate an annual increase in corn usage of 21 million bushels, a one-time capitalization of $75 million, an increase in local corn prices of between $0.06/bushel and $0.12/bushel, a 54 direct and a 210 indirect jobs created, an increase in local tax revenues of $1.2 million, a decrease in federal commodity program outlays of $30 million, and an increase in ethanol production incentives (federal only) of around $30.5 million.

scholarly journals Land Grabbing and the Axis of Political Conflicts: Insights from Southwest Cameroon

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frankline A. Ndi ◽  
Simon Batterbury
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agrarian Change ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
Inclusive Process ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Land Use Practices

Large-scale land acquisition (LSLA) by foreign interests is a major driver of agrarian change in the productive regions of Africa. Rural communities across Southwest Cameroon are experiencing a range of political conflicts resulting from LSLA, in which commercial interests are threatening local land-use practices and access to land. This paper shows that the struggle to maintain or redefine livelihoods generates tension between inward competition for and outward contestation of claims to land. In Nguti Subdivision, the scene of protests against a particular agribusiness company, there is continued debate over ideas about, interests in, and perceptions of land and tenure. The authors show how top-down land acquisition marginalises land users, leading to conflicts within communities and with the companies involved, and conclude that for an agro-project to succeed and avoid major conflicts, dominance by elite interests must give way to a more inclusive process.

scholarly journals PERILAKU PETANI MUDA DALAM AGRIBISNIS HORTIKULTURA DI KABUPATEN BANDUNG BARAT

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Rani Andriani Budi Kusumo ◽  
Gema Wibawa Mukti ◽  
Endah Djuwendah
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Production Process ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Quantitative Approach ◽  
Managerial Skills ◽  
Previous Generation ◽  
Business Opportunities ◽  
On Farm

Horticultural commodities are considered to have promising business opportunities. This has attracted the interest of young people to try in agriculture, both in the on farm and off farm sectors. This study aimed  to describe the behavior of young farmers in doing  horticultural agribusiness in  Bandung Barat Regency. This research was conducted with a quantitative approach. Respondents in this study were 120 people and were farmers under the age of 40 with randomly selected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results showed in general the behavior of young farmers in running horticultural agribusiness was not different from the previous generation. But the prominent character of young farmers in running horticultural agribusiness is the ability of farmers to find information and be responsive to change by taking innovative steps. To run a business, farmers are required not only to be experts in the production process, but also to have managerial skills in a results-oriented business.

Organic Agriculture and Globalization: A Maya Associative Corporation in Chiapas, Mexico

1997 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Nigh
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Organic Agriculture ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Organizational Form ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
Multiple Goals ◽  
Sierra Madre ◽  
Political Challenge ◽  
The Impact

Indigenas de la Sierra Madre de Motozintla (ISMAM), the world's foremost producer of organic gourmet coffee, is a prominent example of an associative corporation, an organizational form combining aspects of traditional Indian social organization and modern capitalist enterprises. The development of ISMAM's organic strategy is analyzed as acheiving multiple goals, including improving soils and improving marketing conditions by permitting greater value-added to growers through direct access to high-value markets. The role of external brokers and the impact of organic marketing on organizational structure are analyzed. Though not typical, ISMAM is an encouraging example of a viable small-farmer strategy for meeting the economic and political challenge of globalization.

Is organic agriculture in line with the EU-Nitrate directive? On-farm nitrate leaching from organic and conventional arable crop rotations

2020 ◽  
Vol 298 ◽  
pp. 106964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Biernat ◽  
Friedhelm Taube ◽  
Iris Vogeler ◽  
Thorsten Reinsch ◽  
Christof Kluß ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Organic Agriculture ◽  
Crop Rotations ◽  
Arable Crop ◽  
On Farm ◽  
The Eu

scholarly journals RURAL DATA DIVIDES: CRITICAL FACTORS OF DIGITAL AGTECH ADOPTION ON AUSTRALIAN FARMS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Marshall ◽  
Krystle Turner ◽  
Carol Richards ◽  
Marcus Foth ◽  
Michael Dezuanni
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Barriers To Adoption ◽  
Agricultural Technologies ◽  
Remote Sensors ◽  
Data Translation ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Digital Farming

This paper details a qualitative investigation of human factors relating to adoption of digital agricultural technologies on Australian farms. We employed an ‘ecosystems’ approach to undertake a case study of a cotton farm’s transition to digital farming. Interviews and participant observation were conducted across the farm’s supply chain to understand how the experiences, perceptions, and activities of different stakeholders constituted a community-level orientation to digital agriculture, which enabled and constrained on-farm adoption. Technology providers installed a variety of data-generating technologies – remote sensors, automation, satellite crop imagery, WiFi/4G connectivity, and a customised data dashboard on the farm. However, the farmers lacked digital and data literacy skills to access, manage and use data effectively and independently. Specialist expertise for data translation was required, and support and resourcing for the farmers to acquire data capabilities was limited. This ‘data divide’ between the generation and application of farm data was complicated by broader issues raised by participants about data ownership, portability, privacy, trust, liability, and sovereignty, which have been observed internationally. The paper raises questions about the level of expertise farmers should be expected to attain in the transition to digital farming, who in the ecosystem is best placed to fill this ‘data divide’, and what interventions are necessary to address significant barriers to adoption in rural communities. It also highlights a tension between farmers’ $2 as decision-makers on their own properties and their $2 on digital technologies – and the ecosystems that support uptake of digital AgTech – to inform on-farm decisions.

Community preferences for tree species for household wood products in Vanuatu: A summary of four surveys

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
S. Siwatibau ◽  
D. J. Boland
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Leucaena Leucocephala ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Open Fire ◽  
House Construction ◽  
Local Construction ◽  
Bischofia Javanica ◽  
Preferred Species ◽  
On Farm

Four surveys which gathered information from rural communities on useful tree species in Vanuatu have been reviewed and summarized. The surveys were undertaken from 1990 to 1993 and concentrated on species used for fuelwood and local construction. One survey also reported tree species useful for other purposes, such as fruit and nuts, edible foliage and customary uses. There were regional differences in species choices that could be related to the Northern, Central and Southern regions of the country. Popular fuelwood species included Macaranga spp., Hibiscus tiliaceus, Kleinhovia hospita, Dysoxylon spp. and the introduced Leucaena leucocephala. In general, people did not perceive any shortage of fuelwood. There were differences in preferences for fuelwood, depending on whether wood was required for open-fire pot cooking, open-fire roasting, or laplap (a kind of earth oven). Popular species for ground poles included Hibiscus tiliaceus, Flueggia flexuosa, Macaranga spp., Pterocarpus indicus, Bischofia javanica and lntsia bijuga, with some variations in preference between regions. Preferred species for aerial timbers for house construction included Macaranga spp., Flueggia flexuosa, Ficus spp., Kleinhovia hospita and Alphitonia zizyphoides. Species providing commercial timbers, such as Endospermum medullosum, Santalum austro-caledonicum and lntsia bijuga, are valued and are being planted, or wildlings cared for, on-farm. Important fruit and nut trees included Barringtonia edulis, Canarium spp., Syzygium malaccense, Pometia pinnata, lnocarpus fagifer, Burckella obovata and Dracontomelon vitiense. Tree species having multiple importance in customary use, such as Hibiscus tiliaceus, Macaranga spp., lntsia bijuga, Casuarina equisetifolia, Flueggia flexuosa, Kleinhovia hospita, Leucaena leucocephala, Barringtonia edulis and Acacia spp., are ranked highly.

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