Agribusiness And The Small Scale Farmer

Based on case histories from nine Third World countries, this study examines the successful cooperation between private agribusiness firms and small farmers to increase agricultural production and income in developing countries. In such ventures, small farmers are organized around a core private company that buys their output and provides manageria

"My advice is as old as the plow." So says author, Karl Schwenke of his guide to making a full- or part-time living on the land, a book for anyone who plans to own a small farm. With sections on soil management, farm practices, cash crop selections, machinery, and many other topics, as well as comprehensive series of appendices, the author touches upon the basics of getting started with one's own small-scale farm. Schwenke, himself a small farm owner, has provided a great practical resource for the beginning cash crop grower. Get started on acquiring "the hodgepodge of knowledge blended with a plethora of skills" necessary to becoming a successful organic farmer.

"A powerful polemic against agricultural technology." —Nature A major new book that shows the world already has the tools to feed itself, without expanding industrial agriculture or adopting genetically modified seeds, from the Small Planet Institute expert Few challenges are more daunting than feeding a global population projected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050—at a time when climate change is making it increasingly difficult to successfully grow crops. In response, corporate and philanthropic leaders have called for major investments in industrial agriculture, including genetically modified seed technologies. Reporting from Africa, Mexico, India, and the United States, Timothy A. Wise's Eating Tomorrow discovers how in country after country agribusiness and its well-heeled philanthropic promoters have hijacked food policies to feed corporate interests. Most of the world, Wise reveals, is fed by hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers, people with few resources and simple tools but a keen understanding of what and how to grow food. These same farmers—who already grow more than 70 percent of the food eaten in developing countries—can show the way forward as the world warms and population increases. Wise takes readers to remote villages to see how farmers are rebuilding soils with ecologically sound practices and nourishing a diversity of native crops without chemicals or imported seeds. They are growing more and healthier food; in the process, they are not just victims in the climate drama but protagonists who have much to teach us all.

Making Local Food Work is an ideal introduction to what local food means today and what it might be tomorrow. By listening to and working alongside people trying to build a local food system in Iowa, Brandi Janssen uncovers the complex realities of making it work. She asks how Iowa's small farmers and CSA owners deal with farmers' market regulations, neighbors who spray pesticides on crops or lawns, and sanitary regulations on meat processing and milk production. How can they meet the needs of large buyers like school districts? Is local food production benefitting rural communities as much as advocates claim? In answering these questions, Janssen displays the pragmatism and level-headedness one would expect of the heartland, much like the farmers and processors profiled here. It's doable, she states, but we're going to have to do more than shop at our local farmers' market to make it happen.

Part of a series which treats polity-economy dialectics at global, regional and national levels and examines novel contradictions and coalitions between and within each. This book looks at small farmers, and topics covered include expanding the agricultural frontier in Peru.

Full of practical everyday advice, this guide explains how a natural, organic approach to livestock farming produces healthy animals, reduces costs, and increases your operation’s self-sufficiency. Livestock expert Carol Ekarius helps you create a viable farm plan, choose suitable livestock, care for your animals’ health, and confidently manage housing, fencing, and feeding. Case studies of successful farmers provide inspiration as you learn everything you need to know to run a prosperous livestock farm and make the lifestyle of your dreams a reality. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.