This article uses the evolving understandings of commercial organic agriculture within two research programmes in New Zealand to address three problematic claims and associated framings that have underpinned analysis of the political economy of commercial organic agriculture. These three framings are: 1) that recent commercial developments in…

This book is the first comprehensive account of developments in open and distance non-formal education in developing countries for over more than 20 years. It includes many instructive and inspiring examples of how international agencies such as UNESCO, FAO, WHO, UNICEF, USAID and the Commonwealth of Learning and national providers are using…

In the 21st century, the rapid pace and complexity of economic, technological and cultural changes require women and men to adapt and re-adapt throughout their lives--all the more so in the context of globalisation. In this era of the knowledge society--where production structure is shifting towards greater knowledge use and away from reliance on…

Samples of farmers who employed indentured apprentices, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college teachers, and trade committee members were asked their attitudes about the Farm Apprenticeship scheme versus agricultural colleges. The results show a high degree of division of labor and mutual recognition between teacher in TAFE colleges and…

Commodity agriculture and civic agriculture represent two distinct types of farming found in the U.S. today. Commodity agriculture is grounded on the belief that the primary objectives of farming should be to produce as much food/fiber as possible for the least cost. It is driven by the twin goals of productivity and efficiency. Civic…

During the past 30 years rural America as a whole has become more diversified, significantly reducing its vulnerability to changes in natural resource markets, commodity prices, and farm polices. This is not the case for farm-dependent rural counties--or for individuals elsewhere--whose economic fortunes are directly tied to agriculture.…

Demand for agricultural commodities, particularly for basic food-stuffs, depends on a household's income, competitive prices, and a set of unique household characteristics which include tastes, location, education, family composition, and farm status. This monograph reviews disaggregated evidence at the national level on the relative contribution…

This report documents a profit-maximizing linear programming (LP) model of a farm typical of a major corn-soybean producing area in the Southern Michigan-Northern Indiana Drift Plain. Following an introduction, a complete description of the farm is provided. The next section presents the LP model, which is structured to help analyze after-tax…

Using data collected from 600 farm families, this paper examines the contribution of education to agricultural production and productivity in Nepal. Results show that F. Welch's approach, involving estimates of engineering production, gross revenue, and value-added functions, underestimates education's influence on productivity in traditional…

The concept of sustainable economics not only examines how to produce what for whom but also how irreplaceable resources can be adequately conserved. Efficient and equitable economic mechanisms are central components of the concept. Analyzing issues complicated by politics, ideology, and nationalism, sustainable economics scholars attempt to…

Presented are policymakers' summaries of the three working groups of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)--science, impacts, and response strategies, the report of the IPCC Special Committee on the Participation of Developing Countries, and a discussion of international cooperation and future work. (CW)

Describes a study that examined bibliographic items from the Indian Science Abstracts to explore the extent of collaborative research in the area of agricultural science. Multiple authorship trends in agricultural science are identified and compared with patterns found in other sciences. (7 references) (CLB)

This directory is a compendium of over 600 scholars and educators in a range of disciplines throughout the United States who are actively involved in research or teaching of rural issues. It is intended as a resource for those individuals and for other professionals, providing access to one another and aiding a multi-disciplinary approach to rural…

Described are the history of three German-heritage groups settled in Pennsylvania: the Solitary of Ephrata Commune, the Amish, and the Harmony Society. Suggested are pastoral, agrarian, and commercial agricultural analogs to life-support strategies of these groups respectively. Faustian agriculture emphasizing the connection of agriculture to…

The results of studies that have calculated projections of food deficits for less developed countries (LDC's) toward the year 2000 are compared. Included in the comparison are: (1) reports entitled "The Global 2000 Report to the President,""The Future of the World Economy," and "The Model of International Relations in Agriculture"; (2) work done…