Development without Intervention: A Successful Self‐Reliance Initiative of Rural Development and Urban Growth in The Sudan

We investigate the complex relationship between small‐scale farming, urban‐rural remittances and rural development. We highlight a successful, innovative self‐reliance approach in which traditional farmers changed their mode of production, improved their income, and enhanced rural development, including urbanization, in Shubbola village of western Sudan. The major initial driver was investment from remittances by family members who had migrated to urban centers, thus overcoming the problem of access to credit/capital. Consequently, the increased use of tractor technology helped farmers overcome agricultural labor shortages, and increase their farm size and productivity. Increased income from remittances and farming broadened economic and social improvements, including lifestyle and the built environment. In the process, Shubbola has grown into a viable and vibrant town, providing its residents with diverse socioeconomic services and modern infrastructure. This case illustrates the potential of development from within with minimal direct input from the government, nongovernmental organizations, and international donors.     

Human and Environmental Factors Affect Patterns of Crop Diversity in an Ethiopian Highland Agroecosystem

The Ethiopian highlands are a center of diversity for numerous globally important crops. Heterogeneous landscapes, traditional agricultural practices, and inaccessibility have created and maintained diverse subsistence agroecosystems. We surveyed sixty-three farms in twelve communities of the Gamo highlands and found high levels of on-farm diversity of crop species and varieties. The extent and nature of this diversity are related to both ecological factors, namely elevation, and anthropogenic factors such as land-use history, accessibility to markets and extension, and strength and scale of farmer exchange networks. These human landscape features have the potential to both enhance and mediate effects of elevation and other environmental factors on crop diversity. The interaction of environmental and anthropogenic forces on the diversity of crops grown by farmers affects the strategies farmers employ to adapt their farming to changing conditions.     

Scales and Sales: Changing Social and Spatial Fish Trading Networks in the Siiphandone Fishery, Lao PDR

The Siiphandone wetland in Khong district, Champasak province, Lao PDR, is one of the most important fisheries in the Mekong River basin. The resource, situated along the Laos‐Cambodia border, supports the livelihoods of around 65,000 inhabitants, mainly semi‐subsistence rice farmers or fishers. In January 2000, the provincial authority was given a special dispensation by the Lao government to allow the importation of Cambodian fish through Khong district, for export to Thailand. Previously, in large part due to the government's policy of food self‐sufficiency, the export of Lao fish was illegal. This paper examines how the implementation of this law has influenced existing legal and illegal trade networks from the Siiphandone fishery by comparing the findings of two studies, one conducted before and the other after the change in the law. In doing so, the transition of the fishery from a local, food‐important resource to an increasingly regional, market‐oriented resource is examined. Conclusions are drawn as to the impact this change has had on the livelihoods of fishers and traders involved in the fishery.     

POWER, NATURE AND NEOLIBERALISM: THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF WATER IN CHILE

Since the 1990s, international water sector reforms have centred heavily on economic and market approaches. In regard to water resources management, tradable water rights have been promoted, often supported by the neoliberal model adopted in Chile. Chile's 1981 Water Code was reformed to comprise a system of water rights that could be freely traded with few restrictions. International financial institutions have embraced the Chilean model, claiming that it results in more efficient water use, and potentially fosters social and environmental benefits. However, in Chile the Water Code is deeply contested. It has been criticised for being too permissive and has produced a number of problems in practice. Moreover, attempts to modify it have become the focus of a lengthy polemic debate. This paper employs a political ecology perspective to explore the socio‐environmental outcomes of water management in Chile, drawing on a case study of agriculture in the semi‐arid Norte Chico. The case illustrates how large‐scale farmers exert greater control over water, while peasant farmers have increasingly less access. I argue that these outcomes are facilitated by the mode of water management implemented within the framework of the Water Code. Through this preliminary examination of social equity and the environmental aspects of water resources management in Chile, I suggest that the omission of these issues from the international debates on water rights markets is a cause for concern.     

Alternative and Virtual Rurality: Agriculture and The Countryside as Embodied in American Imagination

Affection for agrarian livelihoods and rural and small‐town environments has long been held by residents in many of the world's “more developed” countries. Although the rural proportion of the U.S. population has shrunk to a minority over the last century, fondness for rurality continues to manifest itself in a number of ways. Attachment to the rural ideal or rural idyll can be considered as attachment to the idea of a type of place, rather than specific place attachment. Based on literature, field observation, computer searches, and data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture, connections to idea(l)s of rurality apparent in popular culture are identified and illustrated. These include rural and agricultural tourism, small‐scale farming and large‐lot rural subdivisions, urban agriculture, farmers’ markets and community‐supported agriculture, creation of housing developments around farm activities, and rural‐named housing and business developments. Idealized relationships with rurality call upon health and well‐being, connecting to nature, aesthetics, privacy, and respect and nostalgia for rural livelihoods.     

Same Disease—different research strategies: Bananas and Black Sigatoka in Brazil and Colombia

Fungal disease epidemics have the potential to bring about drastic innovations. However, in the case of the Black Sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis) fungus in bananas, producers and international traders are still awaiting a breakthrough in crop protection research. Using the cases of Brazil and Colombia, this paper examines different agricultural research responses to the disease. Brazil opted to replace susceptible varieties with resistant ones, whereas in Colombia chemical control by private actors dominated. We argue that these different responses result from at least three interrelated factors. First, producer type—smallholder farmers or larger export‐oriented plantations—influences the setting of crop protection research priorities. Second, a central, state‐led role versus a private sector response influences the size and time perspective of research activities. Third, domestic markets with multiple crop varieties versus Cavendish‐only export markets leads to differences in control practices and research responses. From this case study, we argue that the currently proposed innovation systems approaches in international agricultural research should adopt a broader perspective that assesses how research is interwoven with agrarian dynamics, commodity chains and particular state roles to elucidate how state–producer–researcher networks perform disease control and where and how to find new solutions.     

An Investigation of the Role of Social Dynamics in Conversion to Sustainable Integrated Mangrove‐Shrimp Farming in Ben Tre Province,Vietnam

In the coastal area of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, much of the mangrove forest has been cut to make space for expansion of industry and aquaculture. Export‐oriented shrimp farming is a particularly fast‐growing business. Nonetheless, the importance of tropical mangrove forest ecosystems for coastal protection and marine biodiversity is widely recognized. The Vietnamese government, supported by non‐governmental organizations and donors, has sought to restore mangrove forest. To this end, the government has promoted mixed or integrated mangrove‐shrimp systems in which farmers maintain at least 40 per cent of their area under mangrove cover. Since 2012, mangrove reforestation, care and protection has benefited from local authority stimulus as well. Multiple studies have examined the condition of the mangrove forest in Ben Tre and other coastal provinces of the Mekong Delta. However, no research has investigated the role of social dynamics in farmers’ willingness to shift to, or maintain, integrated mangrove‐shrimp systems. Specifically, the influence of information, group dynamics and social learning on farmer decision‐making is poorly understood and, indeed, hardly investigated in Vietnam. This article reports on a study of social processes in three communes in Binh Dai District, Ben Tre Province, Vietnam. We conducted 42 semi‐structured interviews (with 34 farmers and eight local officials) and used secondary data. Our preliminary findings indicate that social dynamics in these communes were issue‐driven and played an important role in farmers’ decisions to adopt, or convert to, the integrated mangrove‐shrimp farming system. Television, radio, the internet, books, neighbours and training courses all had some influence in farmer decision‐making processes. However, our findings suggest that the accessibility, usefulness, relevance and approach of these communication methods must be improved if they are to adequately inform and support local farmers.     

RICE PRODUCER‐PROCESSOR NETWORKS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE*

ABSTRACT. Pressured by structural adjustment loan conditions, Côte d'Ivoire reduced state support for rice production and processing during the 1990s. In this article we examine how various actors in the rice commodity chain adapted to the macroeconomic reforms. Following a brief history of the rice sector, we present the results of fieldwork based on interviews conducted in 2002 of farmers, millers, traders, and workers in the state extension service and nongovernmental organizations. We found that, in the absence of state supports for farmers, private millers became the focal point of regional producer‐processor rice networks. The four networks identified became the sole source of domestic commercial rice when the state removed subsidies for fertilizer and modern seeds, privatized extension, and liberalized prices and imports. To increase their role in the national rice supply, the rice networks may need support through microlending and a focus on niche markets.     

Competitive Productivism and Australia's Emerging ‘Alternative’ Agri-food Networks: producing for farmers' markets in Victoria and beyond

This paper advances the theoretical argument for moving beyond the conventional/alternative divide in the analysis of emerging ‘alternative’ agri-food networks (AAFNs). In order to understand how ‘place’, ‘nature’ and ‘quality’-based food networks emerge and develop, we argue that careful attention needs to be paid to the way in which specific political-economic environments shape the options available to farmers and consumers. Australia's ‘competitive productivism’ is the outcome of an export-oriented economy and a neoliberal political orientation, and this environment affects the development of AAFNs in various ways. Most notably, a case study of farmers that sell at farmers' markets in the State of Victoria shows that the competitive-productivist policies pursued by Australian governments entice some farmers who participate in AAFNs to develop their ideas into higher output businesses tailored to compete in emerging export markets. Other farmers deliberately choose to keep marketing through alternative channels despite competitive-productivist pressures to expand. These findings demonstrate the centrality to the experience of AAFN participants of negotiating productivist pressures, adding nuances to the story of the complex relations between AAFNs and conventional supply chains.     

Agribusiness and farmers in Mexico: the importance of contractual relations

In recent decades contract farming as a mechanism that integrates and subordinates agricultural production to export oriented agribusiness has expanded in Third World countries. In Mexico contract farming dominates the production of horticultural crops for processing and export. It is also used for barley and to grow some varieties of wheat for Cargill . The contract farming labour agreement represents an institution that links local and global processes where agribusiness is the key actor that integrates local farmers to national and world markets. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the implications of contract farming for productive relations by examining its impact upon farmers and firms. The study found that despite the disadvantages of contract farming for growers, and the disproportional risks born by producers, they enter into contract farming labour agreements because they lack alternatives for financing, technical assistance and access to markets. The experience of contract farming in Mexico and several Third World countries shows that its growth is related to the implementation of neo-liberal policies that are accompanied by the withdrawal of state support and regulation of agricultural production. In this context, contract farming represents a livelihood strategy for many Mexican growers.     

Resource management and agriculture in the periurban interface of Kumasi,Ghana: Problems and prospects

This paper outlines pressures on agricultural land in periurban Kumasi, Ghana. A survey of agricultural practices underlines the recent and rapid transition from agricultural to urban land use in the periurban interface, and shows how farmers are reacting by reducing fallow periods. Farmers are also intensifying agriculture near streams and rivers through increased use of irrigation, in response to growing urban markets for a wider range of vegetables. We identify specific problems of water resource pollution and waste management, with particular reference to farmland irrigation. We report results of composting interventions as a community‐based waste management strategy. We consider integrated organic waste recycling as a generic strategy to help protect periurban natural resources, to enhance food production through nutrient recycling, and to improve community sanitation.     

Agribusiness,contract farmers and land‐use sustainability in North‐West Tasmania

The core questions pertaining to contract farming or ‘vertical co‐ordination’ relate to the ownership of decision‐making. Where decision‐making is partly removed from farmers there arise issues of sustainability which are inadequately addressed by current practice. A mail questionnaire conducted in North‐west Tasmania in 1990–91 obtained responses from 310 farmers, a 68 per cent return rate from the 456 valid cases initially identified. At the time of the survey, 119 respondents were involved in contract cropping, and a majority of these responses indicated a need for greater co‐ordination in farm planning. This co‐ordination requires a re‐think of the roles of both agribusiness firms and farmer organisations, as well as acceptance by farmers that long‐term planning for crop rotation and soil management has associated self‐benefit. Responsibility for soil erosion is seen to lie partly at the feet of processing firms which relegate production tasks to farmers under contract, but frequently appear to ignore the impact of short‐term planning horizons upon farmer capacity to manage soils for erosion minimisation. With few exceptions, such as the processor firm specialising in the perennial crop pyrethrum and one onion processor that encourages soil conservation, in North‐west Tasmania processing firms generally play no part in planning for sustainable land use.     

Yam Cultivation on the East Coast of New Caledonia: adaptation of agriculture to social and economic changes

Agriculture represents less than 2 per cent of the GDP of New Caledonia where the economy (and wage-earning activities) is dominated by the service sector and the nickel industry. However, family farming remains strong, especially for the Indigenous Melanesian tribes of the east coast of New Caledonia. Yams (Dioscorea spp.) are still one of the pillars of traditional Kanak society despite the social and economic changes that followed colonisation by France. This study of Kanak yam cultivation on the north-eastern coast of New Caledonia underscores the fact that yam cultivation systems have greatly changed since the 1950s, when they were last described. In addition to customary gift exchanges and subsistence consumption, yams are increasingly being grown for market sales. Five cropping systems, three yam production systems, and three Kanak social activity systems are described and their linkages to each other are explained. There are three levels of Kanak market participation: none, transitional, and fully engaged, and the extent of market participation and associated technical choices defines farmers’ levels of cultural activity and the nature and characteristics of yam cultivation.     

Circuits of capital and industrial restructuring: adjustment in the australian clothing industry

Patterns and processes of industrial restructuring in the Australian clothing industry are examined, utilising a ‘circuits of capital’ approach in which the interrelationships between labour markets, labour processes and product markets are emphasised. Changes in product markets (where import competition is intensifying under the trade liberalisation policies of the Hawke government and where an increasingly concentrated retail sector has accrued enormous bargaining power in its dealings with clothing manufacturers) and changes in labour markets (where competition for the industry's traditional inner urban labour supply has intensified considerably) are argued to have provided the driving force behind the process of clothing industry adjustment. This process of adjustment has been characterised by: (i) increased use of outworking, which enables clothing manufacturers to reduce production costs and provides a means for new sources of home‐based labour within the urban labour market to be tapped; and (ii) the evolution of a spatial division of labour, as some of the labour‐intensive components of the industry have been relocated to non‐urban sites where a stable and plentiful labour supply is available. In contrast to experiences in Europe and the United States, there is little evidence in Australia at the present time of significant technical change nor of specialisation in the high quality/high fashion niche of the garment market.     

Markets and women's trade: exploring their role in district development in Ghana

The economic importance of periodic and daily markets as well as the crucial role played by women in these markets has been well noted in the development literature on West Africa. While markets in Ghana have been examined in various aspects, not enough work has been done on their potential role within the context of the current decentralized district development process. This article makes the case for market development with the study of markets in two district capitals in the Central Region of Ghana. In both districts, with little industry and a weak tax base, levies on markets serve as a major source of internally generated revenue to local government, namely District Assemblies. The study also indicated that, for many people, the markets in the district capitals serve as the main avenue for interacting with the ‘centre’ (urban), thereby promoting rural‐urban interactions. However, these markets are underdeveloped. This article emphasizes the need to upgrade the infrastructure in these markets in order to generate more revenue for district development, improve agriculture and income, and reduce poverty, especially among women, and generally provide an alternative means to district development.     

Cross‐border rubber cultivation between China and Laos: Regionalization by Akha and Tai rubber farmers

This paper is a multi‐sited ethnography of cross‐border rubber cultivation between China and Laos. Smallholder minority rubber farmers from Xishuangbanna (China) have forged successful informal share‐cropping arrangements to grow rubber trees on the land of relatives and friends in neighbouring Laos. By becoming rich and entrepreneurial rural citizens, Akha and Tai farmers have also, in their own eyes, raised their own ‘quality’ (suzhi) and see themselves as ‘modern’. By examining various meanings of ‘modern’ in China, and contrasting the rubber farmers' experience with Jacob Eyferth's notion of rural ‘deskilling’, this paper shows how through learning to plant, cultivate and tap rubber, these farmers have taken on the discipline and technical knowledge of ‘modern’ workers and become ‘skilled’. By rising in ‘quality’, minority farmers on China's periphery challenge the entrenched binaries of urban/rural, modern/backward, prosperous/poor and Han/minority nationality. Xishuangbanna minority farmers acknowledge that they are also ‘backward’ in the Chinese social hierarchy, but their extension of rubber cultivation to kin and others in Laos has confirmed their modernity as dispensers of development, technical know‐how and ‘superior’ Chinese culture to Lao farmers who are ‘backward and poor’. In contrast to large state rubber farms that have failed to establish rubber plantations in northern Laos, minority farmers have created regionalization.     

Culture,Markets, and Agricultural Production: A Comparative Study of the Investment Patterns of Migrant and Citizen Cocoa Farmers in the Western Region of Ghana

Current agrarian reforms in Ghana, sponsored by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, are based on the notion that pricing incentives from markets are the key to agricultural investments. The turnaround in the production of the principal agricultural export, cocoa, seems to vindicate this view. However, this perspective is silent on the question of why many farmers continued to produce cocoa in the period preceding the reforms when prices were at their lowest in the country's history. Based on research on the comparative investment patterns of migrant and citizen cocoa farmers in two districts in the Western region of Ghana, this article suggests a holistic approach to comprehending investments. It indicates that the economic behaviour of cocoa farmers is complexly linked to the politics of land tenure, and cultural expectations and obligations.     

Stall markets in metropolitan Sydney

Stall markets on open air, suburban sites are an important new form of retailing in Sydney. The existing literature on petty commodity forms of production argues that stall markets are conserved in underdeveloped economies for a variety of reasons but the relevance of these ideas to the markets in many cities in advanced economies has not been considered. This paper identifies the basic types of stall markets in Sydney, establishes that these markets are not ephemeral and shows that they have characteristics and parameters which are similar to those of conventional shopping centres. Thus the way is open to compare stall markets with conventional retailing, to assess the role of stall markets in post‐industrial societies and to investigate the reasons for their recent appearance in Sydney.     

Culture,Markets, and Agricultural Production: A Comparative Study of the Investment Patterns of Migrant and Citizen Cocoa Farmers in the Western Region of Ghana

Current agrarian reforms in Ghana, sponsored by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, are based on the notion that pricing incentives from markets are the key to agricultural investments. The turnaround in the production of the principal agricultural export, cocoa, seems to vindicate this view. However, this perspective is silent on the question of why many farmers continued to produce cocoa in the period preceding the reforms when prices were at their lowest in the country's history. Based on research on the comparative investment patterns of migrant and citizen cocoa farmers in two districts in the Western region of Ghana, this article suggests a holistic approach to comprehending investments. It indicates that the economic behaviour of cocoa farmers is complexly linked to the politics of land tenure, and cultural expectations and obligations.     

Agricultural Research and Alternative Farmers’ Information Needs

Research on sustainable agriculture is underfunded in the United States. Therefore, the topical relevance and the dissemination of this research must be carefully targeted to reach farmers. This paper investigates the actual linkages between local alternative farmers and the information dissemination efforts of publicly funded researchers who obtained grants from a federal/regional program. This analysis is based on a mail survey of twenty sustainable farmers in the Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Society, fifty farmers in the Illinois Organic Crop Improvement Association, and forty‐two researchers who received grant funding from the North Central Region of the USDA's (United States Department of Agriculture) Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (USDA‐SARE) program between 1988 and 1996. Appropriate statistical techniques were employed to analyze the relatively small sample sizes. Findings suggest that the local needs of farmers are not being met by the national and regional efforts of USDA‐SARE, although sustainable farmers are somewhat more likely than organic farmers to receive publicly funded research information. Based on this survey research, the USDA should reconsider the focus and goals of its commitment to sustainable agricultural research.