Interactions Between Agroecosystems and Rural Communities

There is an increasing realization among biophysical scientists that human behavior drastically impacts the degree to which sound agroecosystems are implemented. Written by an international team of experts assembled by a leading rural sociologist, Interactions Between Agroecosystems and Rural Communities shows how human behavior impacts agroecosystems both positively and negatively and provides an understanding of alternative ways of working with human communities to increase agroecosystem sustainability.Through a general overview and a series of case studies, this text demonstrates how changes in the economy influence what local people can do to sustain agroecosystems. It also addresses specific community-based actions located in both temperate and tropical zones in Europe, North America, Asia, Central America, and Latin America that have resulted in more sustainable agroecosystems. With 30 diagrams and illustrations, this volume enables the reader to understand fully the impact of exogenous forces on agroecosystems.

Maria De Lourdes Baron and David Barkin are, respectively, Professor of Rural Development at the Universidad Autonoma de Chapingo, Morelia Campus, and Professor of Economics at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco Campus, in Mexico Isaac Bekalo is with the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), Nairobi, Kenya Monica Bendini, sociologist, is a professor in the Department of Social and Political Sciences, researcher and coordinator of the Social Agrarian Studies Group Gary Bentrup is a landscape planner at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agroforestry Center in Lincoln, Nebraska Lorna Michael Butler holds the Henry A. Wallace Endowed Chair for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, and is Professor in the Departments of Sociology and Anthropology Richard Carkner is a professor and extension economist with Washington State University (WSU) Joe P. Colletti is Associate Professor of Forestry: Economics and Quantitative Methods Maria E. Fernandez works on farmer participatory research, focusing on gender and agrobiodiversity management issues Edith Fernandez-Baca is a member of Grupo Yanapai, a nongovernmental organization involved in participatory-action research in the Central Andes of Peru Cornelia Butler Flora is Professor of Sociology and Director of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD), located at Iowa State University Charles A. Francis is Professor of Agronomy and Extension Cropping Systems Specialist at University of Nebraska, Lincoln Stephen Gasteyer is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Iowa University Annemarie Groot is with the International Support Group (ISG), Amersfoort, Netherlands Felix Herzog is a senior researcher at the Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture Daniel James Klooster is Assistant Professor of Geography at Florida State University in Tallahassee Margaret Kroma is an assistant professor in the Department of Education at Cornell University Clive Lightfoot divides his time between chairmanship of the International Support Group (an international nongovernment organization that provides support to local groups in learning approaches to ecologically sound agriculture) and teaching in systems thinking and agroecosystem analysis with the International Center for Development Oriented Agriculture (ICRA) based in Montpellier, France Chris Mayda is an assistant professor of Geography at Eastern Michigan University Gregory McIsaac is an assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Wayne Monsen is the program coordinator for the grant, loan, and whole-farm planning programs for the Energy and Sustainable Agriculture Program at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Daniel C. Mountjoy is Area Resource Conservationist for the USDA--Natural Resources Conservation Service in Salinas, California Anthony Mugenyi is with Development Support Services (DSS), Soroti, Uganda Grace Muro is with the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Center (TFNC), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Reg Noble is with the International Support Group (ISG), Amersfoort, Netherlands Magdalena Barros Nock is a Social Anthropologist Lynette Obare is with the Forest Action Network (FAN), Nairobi, Kenya Anja Oetmann is an agricultural scientist who has done research on grassland ecologic systems, with a special focus on the effect of different ecologic and management conditions on morphologic and genetic diversity of populations Simon Okelabo is with Development Support Servvices (DDS), Soroti, Uganda Ricardo Ramirez is Secretary of the International Support Group (ISG), which links local experience in agroecosystem management Andrew Rianga is with the Kisii Network for Ecological Agricultural Development (KNEAD), Kisii, Kenya Lita C. Rule is Associate Professor of Forestry at Iowa State University Michele M. Schoeneberger is Research Project Leader and Supervisory Soil Scientist at the USDA Forest Service/National Resource Conservation Service (FS/NRCS) National Agroforestry Center, part of the Rocky Mountain Research Station located in Lincoln, Nebraska Francis Shao is with Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Management Research Consultants (FANRM), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania John Soluri is an Assistant Professor of History at Carnegie Mellon University Marcella B. Szymanski is Assistant Extension Professor of Forest and Natural Resource Economics at the University of Kentucky