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Contents
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Biography
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About this book
The corporate driven GM food revolution has had little positive effect on farm livelihoods or food security. This book calls for farm policies founded on farmer-led food security and a democratization of the global institutions that have had such detrimental effects.
Contents
1. The Declining State of the World's Farmers; The Importance of Farmers; The Erosion of Farmers; Key Periods; The Farm Policy Regime; Key Regions; 2. Farm Erosion: Population, Poverty and Environment; Farm Saturation and Depopulation; Pushing Farmers Out: Farm Poverty and Inequality; The Eroding Farm Environment; Conclusion; 3. The Farm Market Squeeze; The Farm Price Squeeze; The Farm Production Squeeze; External Inputs Raise Crop Production; Conclusion; 4. Farm Trade and Trade Liberalisation; Farm Trade Contemporary Strategies of Farm Liberalisation; Regional Economic Agreements and the WTO; Conclusion; 5. The Technology Treadmill; Technology, Institutions and the Farm; The Rise and Fall of Public Institutions and the Green Revolution; The Gene Revolution and the Rise of Transnational Corporations in Agriculture; Conclusion; 6. A Farmer-Led Approach to Food Security; Putting First Things First; Re-visioning the Farm; Health and Food Security; The Way Forward; A Farmer-Led Food Security Approach; National Support for Farmer-Led Food Security; International Support for Farmer-Led Food Security; Conclusion; Bibliography; Glossary; Appendix Key Organisations Working with Farm Health and Food Security Issues
Customer Reviews
Biography
Professor Jerry Buckland teaches international development studies (IDS) at Menno Simons College at the University of Winnipeg. From 1986-90 he worked in agricultural research in Bangladesh.
By: Jerry Buckland
224 pages
'A tour de force. It presents a comprehensive analysis of problems facing global agriculture, the perverse workings of the market and corporatization in this sector, and suggests possible solutions for sustainable agriculture with a human face.' - John Loxley, author of Alternative Budgets: Budgeting as if People Mattered and former Chair of the Board of the North-South Institute 'An authoritative and highly readable account of one of the most crucial issues of our time. Its thorough analysis, facts and figures will make it a valuable source book.' - John Madeley, author of Food for All: the Need for a New Agriculture 'This thorough and illuminating examination of the farming crisis is long overdue. Jerry Buckland applies fresh eyes, sound data, and rigorous analysis to the paradox of deepening poverty among the world's food producers. The book addresses questions that need urgent solutions: why small farms and agricultural biodiversity are sacrificed in the name of progress; why powerful countries and public institutions promote a free market in agriculture in the South but protect rich Northern markets; why large agribusiness corporations will not solve the food insecurity of the poor; why technology can be a trap rather than a solution. Buckland tackles complex economic and political questions with a wealth of evidence and convincing logic. His clear prose sweeps the reader through the intricate world of international trade and global politics. The argument for a re-visioning of food policies in the context of healthy societies and environments is compelling and should be compulsory reading for policy makers. This book is a must for all concerned with farming, food, poverty or development.' - Barbara Dinham, Director, Pesticide Action Network UK