Systems Theory Applied to Agriculture and the Food Chain

About this book

Agricultural systems have developed from a research tool in agricultural biology to a discipline that encompasses the whole of the food chain and into institutional and extended education. In this book the current state of agricultural systems is summed up by 14 figures who each deal with their particular specialities. The definitive summaries are now available in book form having been prepared for a conference to commemorate the retirement of a pioneer of agricultural systems, Colin Spedding. The first section deals with the techniques used to develop understanding of plants, animals and the interactions between the two. The book then goes on to discuss systems covering research allocation of the enterprise and farm level, the development of food markets, agricultural strategy formation and insititutional and extension education. Following on from the present state of development each contributor tries to predict the direction which the subject will take in the future.

Contents

Biological and physiological systems; animal sciences. Plant-animal interactions in northern temperate sown grasslands and semi-natural vegetation. Exploitation of the systems approach in technical design of agricultural enterprises. Application of systems theory to farm planning and control; modelling resources allocation. Optimizing the mixture of enterprises in a farming system. Farming systems research extension. Food policy and food security planning: insititutional approaches to modelling grain markets and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. A systems view of commercial supply and marketing links. Agroecosystems. Understanding and managing changes in agriculture. Agricultural sector modelling for policy development. Of agricultural systems and systems agriculture: systems methodologies in agricultural education. Extension education : top(s) down, bottom(s) up and other things.

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