[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: Small-farmer Sust. Agric. Economics



On Apr 22,  1:15pm, Inter-American Fndt Office for Central America wrote:
> Subject: Small-farmer Sust. Agric. Economics
> The Economics of Small-Farmer Sustainable Agriculture. 
> 
> This is a request for information and/or ideas about  documenting
> the microeconomic aspects of peasant farmer organic and sustainable
> agriculture and marketing (as opposed to the high cash-cost green
> revolution model characterized by high dependence on external                   
> resources, chemical contamination, etc.) in
> Honduras, Central America, Latin America, and elsewhere in the
> world. 
> 
> We are looking for literature, studies, papers, reports, cases,
> etc. that  document the costs, changes in production, labor
> requirements, transition times, etc. of moving
> towards more sustainable agricultural practices such as those that
> conserve and improve soil quality, conserve and improve water
> management, reduce harmful chemical use, increase crop and other
> biodiversity, depend more on local resources,
> etc.  
> 
> The purpose of this request is to help us at the Inter-American
> Foundation (IAF) assist grassroots organizations and NGOs that we
> support in Latin America to better document the economics of
> small-farmer sustainable agriculture.  One purpose of this 
> documentation effort is to attract increased interest and support
> from national and international funders, banks,  and other
> agencies, and make the case for a small-farmer agroecological
> development model that strengthens food security, provides
> income/jobs, reduces rural emigration, and recognizes the unique
> social, economic,food security, and environmental role peasant
> farmers play in Central America and other rural societies  - in
> contrast to the current structural adjustment, privatized,
> economies-of-scale, export oriented, free-trade, model that
> currently dominates policy
> circles. 
> 
> In Honduras we have done some initial consultation with a variety
> of NGOs and sustainable agriculture networks which have told us
> that documenting the economics of peasant farmer sustainable
> agriculture (of which there are many good examples in Honduras) is
> vital for increasing outside support but few groups are doing it
> and there are a variety of pitfalls and difficulties in the
> documentation process.  For this reason we are looking for examples
> of other attempts at documentation so as to pass on lessons
> learned. 
> 
>-- End of excerpt from Inter-American Fndt Office for Central America


You can find a lot of information on this topic by doing a search of ABSTRACTS
ON TROPICAL AGRICULTURE (called TROPAG & RURAL in electronic format). This
database cites over 6000 references per year from interantational literature on
tropical and subtropical agriculture from journals, monographs, proceedings,
theses, conference papers and extension publications. Topics covered include
crop production, soils, fertilizers, plant and animal nutrition, animal
sciences, pest management, aquaculture, agricultural economics, and rural
development.  Emphasis is on Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the
Caribbean.  The printed editions had a name change this year 1996 to
Agriculture and Environment for Developing Countries.  

You should also do a search of AGRINDEX (called AGRIS INTERNATIONAL in
electronic format) . This databases is produced by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations. It cites international literature in
agriculture, food, nutrition and rural development in developming countries.
Nearly two million records are entered into AGRIS each year from periodicals,
monographs, reports, patents, dissertations, conference proceedings etc.  Over
130 national centers and 18 regional centers enter records into AGRIS.

Contact your nearest agriculture library or university library and ask about
these two sources. I think you will find them quite useful in locating the
information you need.


Irwin Weintraub
Stephen and Lucy Chang Science Library
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey  08902
iweintra@rci.rutgers.edu