Book Description




Traditional Food Production and Rural Sustainable Development


Book Description

The worldwide interest in sustainable development has not only prompted ecological developments in policy and research in key sectors such as industry or transportation, but also in the management and assessment of new lifestyles such as healthy food consumption and sustainable use of products. In this context, agriculture is an important example because of its dual nature as both a high-tech sector producing modern mass products and also a traditional sector producing environmentally-friendly goods. Illustrated by a range of case studies from across Europe, this volume examines the interface of agricultural - and sometimes rural - development and the social and economic feasibility of traditional modes of production and consumption. It provides an overview of the various strategies and policies concerning sustainable agriculture, presenting a critical review of the opportunities of traditional production modes, from local, regional, national and global perspectives.




The World's Challenge


Book Description




Quantitative Traits Breeding for Multifunctional Grasslands and Turf


Book Description

Grasslands are among the largest ecosystems in the world and consequently are of great importance to mankind. The genotypes of the species which are the main components of the grasslands have great influence on total outcome and successful utilization of grasslands. Therefore fodder crops and turf swards should be constantly improved to follow modern trends in agriculture production and landscape architecture. The wide range of breeding programs for forage and amenity species, as well as new breeding methods and techniques, is rapidly expanding the boundaries and is making it possible to achieve outstanding breeding results. This book includes papers presented at the 30th EUCARPIA Fodder Crops and Amenity Grasses Section Meeting. The challenging title of the book focuses on breeding of quantitative traits, which directly impact the profitability and sustainability of grasslands and fodder crops production, as well as on multidisciplinary approach in grassland research and utilisation. Included papers offer a unique collection of ideas and breakthroughs in the fields of fodder crops and amenity grasses breeding and genetics, as well as in the creative and innovative application of new tools in practical breeding.




Fruits and Vegetable Wastes


Book Description

This book puts together all aspects of valorization of vegetable and fruit wastes (VFWs) into different biocommodities and platform chemicals using fermentation and non-fermentation processes. VFWs are a special group of solid waste (biomass) that needs to be characterized to understand the nature of applications as raw materials and to propose an appropriate methodology for bioprocessing into value-added commodities. VFWs provide favorable conditions for the growth of microorganisms, and this opens up great opportunities for their use in fermentation processes. For example, VFWs can be used as a solid support, carbon, and nutrient source in fermentation for the production of a variety of value-added biocommodities such as enzymes, single-cell proteins, bioadsorbents, phenolic bioactive compounds, aroma and flavor compounds, and platform chemicals like lactic acid, bioethanol, and biobutanol. Researchers and academics in the area of environmental science and engineering, chemical engineering, biotechnology, life science, and food science and technology, undergraduate and graduate students, industry professionals, and policymakers will find this publication useful. Bioprocessing of agro-wastes is a recent technology for developing novel bioproducts. This book will also be of interest to the general public as a reference for all those interested in waste management.




Semences et plants (2e éd.)


Book Description

Produire des semences et des plants certifiés, c’est concourir au progrès agricole que permet l’évolution constante de la génétique et de ses applications. Cinquante pour cent de la productivité des principales productions agricoles lui sont redevables. Cependant, la législation actuelle fait débat : en effet, elle tend à se durcir afin d’apporter des garanties pour l'utilisateur sur la qualité germinative, la pureté spécifique, la pureté variétale, l'état sanitaire, et à encadrer la production des semences commerciales. Cette nouvelle édition de Semences et plants a pour vocation de faire un point sur l’état actuel de la production de semences et de plants certifiés au vu des récentes évolutions de la réglementation. Les bases scientifiques et les données techniques inhérentes à cette production sont largement développées. Documenté et complet, cet ouvrage s’adresse aux étudiants et aux formateurs de l’enseignement agricole, aux agents du développement agricole et aux agriculteurs – qu’ils soient multiplicateurs ou usagers – qui y trouveront les connaissances techniques et économiques qui leur sont indispensables.




Family Urban Agriculture in Russia


Book Description

The book results from research carried out by the authors since 1999 on urban gardening collectives in Russia, then from the extension of this research towards collective urban gardening in France, with some investigations in other European Union Member States and Brazil. This research was carried out within the framework of Kazan University (currently, the Institute of Administration and Territorial Development of the Federal University of Kazan) and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA). It enabled the creation of an international research network entitled Sustainable Development of Cities: the Relationship between City-Dwellers and Nature. This research was developed with help from a three-year research contract (October 2009 – September 2012) with the GESSOL programme of the French Ministry of Ecology, on the theme of the use of urban and peri-urban soils for the sustainable development of cities. The final report of this research contract provides the basis for the book.




Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries


Book Description

Innovations of agri-food systems during the last 50 years have been guided by a globalized agro-industrial paradigm, which has contributed to climate change, degradation of natural resources, soil depletion, social inequalities, loss of biodiversity and various food-related health problems. Despite the increasing emphasis of food policies and research to address these issues with ecologically sustainable innovations, there are still no studies that explain how to utilize and integrate ecodesign practices in food products development in a world of finite resources. This book explains how to employ ecodesign in business models to address the economic, social, environmental, and nutritional problems that face the worlds food systems. The lessons of the ÉcoTrophélia project ? a unique program implemented by a group of European agricultural higher education institutions to involve students in designing and developing food ecoinnovation projects ? are explored. Through an analysis of these projects, the authors describe the tools, methods and standards that were developed to institute ecodesign into the business models of 11 ecologically-friendly food products. This book provides operational good practices that can be implemented in educational programs and agri-food industries, to orient learning and practices towards greater sustainability.




Towards Agricultural Change?


Book Description

A Planet for Life 2012 focuses on agriculture and its relation to development, food and the environment. At the end of the 2000s, a consensus has emerged and points to the urgent need for massive investment in the agricultural sector, which is (once again) viewed as one of the prime engines for development and food security, as well as for poverty reduction. But what exactly does this consensus cover?While the idea of investing in agriculture is gaining ground and although several countries or regions appear to be offering opportunities for investment in agricultural land, debates are going on as to which agricultural models to choose and how agricultural policies should be implemented.A Planet for Life called on many highly specialized authors from different countries and perspectives, and invites the reader to discover the sector in all its complexity, upstream and downstream of agricultural production.At the crossroads of the challenges posed by development, food security and the environment, the transformation of the agricultural sector is at the heart of the global stakes of sustainable development. To help steer these changes towards greater sustainability, this book makes us aware of how crucial it is to also change our representations of agriculture, change the visions that guide projects for change and the policies regulating this sector.




Natural Resources, Socio-Ecological Sensitivity and Climate Change in the Volta-Oti Basin, West Africa


Book Description

This book presents the outcome of an interdisciplinary and international workshop supported by the Volkswagen Stiftung (funding line ‘Knowledge for Tomorrow’) on the topic of ‘Natural Resources, Socio-Ecological Sensitivity and Climate Change in the Volta-Oti Basin, West Africa’. The conference was jointly organised by Goethe-University Frankfurt (Germany) and the University of Kara (Togo) held from March 6 to 8, 2019 in northern Togo. It aimed to strengthen capacities of junior scientists from the sub-region, exchange and mobilise theoretical and methodological background from various scientific fields (Botany, Construction, Geology, Geography, Infrastructure, Politics, Remote Sensing, Sociology and Urban Planning). One goal was to deliver reliable elements for ongoing and profound environmental analyses that lie outside the common questions of the academic and civil society stakeholders. Ecosystem fragmentation and deforestation in West Africa are mainly triggered by humans such as agriculture and small-scale forest disturbances for charcoal and firewood production. Increasing population pressure, declining of carrying capacity and demand for agricultural land caused the reduction of land conservation capacities, even in protected areas. The complexity of interactions between environmental and socio-ecological systems and subsequent effects (sensitivity) has raised ongoing international awareness in light of ongoing climate change. By the example of natural resources, land use and stakeholders’ perceptions within the Volta-Oti Basin the book’s proceedings present, discuss and distribute new findings that will sustainably stimulate the international debate. The workshop also intended to overcome national borders and language barriers between the Anglophone (Ghana) and the Francophone (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo) research communities, and supported better West African cooperation and networking. The young as well as the established partners formed new collaborations, and the event at the University of Kara (Togo) was a truly unique opportunity for all involved, not only to discuss science, but also to assess applied and best future management practices for the Oti-Volta Basin in West Africa.