Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 199 Document Number: D09929
Notes:
NCR-90 Collection, From Document D09924, "Department of agricultural journalism University of Wisconsin-Madison: Faculty and graduate student research, 1990". Page 6.
9 pages., via online journal, Since 2014, the Chinese government has initiated new-type urbanization under the guidance of ‘the National New-type Urbanization Plan (2014–2020)’, which embarks on a significant transformation of the model of urbanization in post-reform China. To understand the origin and outputs of this policy, this article demonstrates the context of China’s new-type urbanization. The paper proposes a conceptual framework of new-type urbanization, which mainly includes four aspects: humanism, people-oriented urbanization; inclusivism, benefits sharing for urban and rural; sustainability, development without sacrifice of resources and environment; and harmonism, coordination. This is followed by an examination of the case of Anhui province, as a pilot province of China’s new-type urbanization. Anhui has performed a lot of related work to promote citizenization of peasant workers and has made great progress on the reform of the household registration system. The study found that despite a special emphasis on people-oriented urbanization, the pressures and costs of citizenization of peasant workers are growing fast, accompanied by rising housing prices in cities. This insight suggests there are benefits and costs of promoting China’s new-type urbanization. Despite the advantages of institutional innovation, the unexpected side effects such as rapid rising housing prices actually undermine the success of plan implementation.
18 pages., Via online journal., The study asserts that rural villages which have developed relatively complex communication systems have extensive local knowledge and practice systems. Using the knowledge and community-based perspective, the study departs from past works of development communication scholars, who have focused their attention mainly on the transfer of information. The study is concerned with how meaning is created and shared in rural communities through the use of communication. It looks at how small homogenous farming communities in Thailand – world’s number one rice exporter – utilize communication to improve rice crop production. It asks: what roles does communication play in the formation of collective definitions (perspectives) and the construction/management of local knowledge and practices on rice farming? To explore the plausibility of this paper’s assertion, ethnographies of two rice farming villages were conducted – Baan Sap Som Boon (irrigated) in Chainat province (Central Region) and Baan Hua Hae (rainfed) in Ubon Ratchathani province (Northeast Region). Data generation period was from October 2004 to July 2005. Research results indicate that Baan Sap Som Boon has both an extensive knowledge of rice farming methods and procedures and an elaborate community-based communication system. Baan Hua Hae, on the other hand, practices more traditional means of rice production and divides time with other livelihood activities. In both villages, communication plays a central role in improving crop production via facilitating the formation of collective definitions on rice farming, labor, economics and agriculture-related institutions.
7 pages., via online journal article, The complexities of Melanesian customary land tenure greatly influence the adoption of community-based reforestation (CBR) in Papua New Guinea (PNG). CBR has recently become a focus for the PNG government due to declining yield from native forests which has renewed attention on developing timber plantations to augment villagers' livelihoods. In this paper, we investigate the factors which affect adoption of timber tree-growing by farmers and communities. We assess the efficacy of a policy frequently employed by non-government organisations (NGOs) in which single or multi-clan based seedling nurseries are used to encourage tree growing. A key finding is that people's need for technical assistance is subordinate to social and cultural factors, principally the need for community harmony. Farmers' motivation to plant trees is adversely influenced by uncertainties inherent in PNG's system of customary land tenure. Interventions – in this case extension assistance to grow trees – may create or exacerbate intra- and inter-clan conflict by bringing long term uncertainties into short term focus. For villagers in PNG, as in other cultures, we conclude that key enabling conditions for collective action revolve around strengthening villagers' bridging social capital in a manner which is sensitive to their longstanding social traditions. Targeted, do-it-yourself, family assistance may be as effective as attempts to encourage collective action. The implications of our findings for Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) which envisages a participatory approach to community engagement, are that cross-community initiatives may not be feasible without extensive investment in building social capital. Initiatives targeted at families or family-groups may be most successful.
10 pages., Smallholder farmers in Afghanistan are already facing various risks in agricultural production due to past continuous insurgencies. Climate change is likely to amplify the risk and make them even more vulnerable. The present study attempted to evaluate the vulnerability profiles of smallholder farmers due to climate change using the IPCC Framework. Primary data on relevant parameters for assessing climate change-led social vulnerability in the region were collected by classifying study region into two zones: the plain and the hills of Yangi Qala District in Takhar province, Afghanistan. Thirteen villages from each zone were selected at random, and face-to-face interviews were conducted with ten randomly selected households in each of the selected villages in both zones based on a pre-tested questionnaire. The questionnaire contained indicators for all three dimensions of vulnerability: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. The collected data were subjected to a proposed vulnerability index, after estimating the indices of the three dimensions of vulnerability. The Iyenger and Sudershan weighting method was used to assess the contribution of each vulnerability dimension. Vulnerability was classified according to different categories based on beta distribution to evaluate the villages’ vulnerability status. The results showed that about 23% of all 26 sampled villages in both zones had low exposure, 26% moderate exposure and 51% high exposure to climate-change hazards and extreme weather events. High sensitivity was observed in 51%, moderate sensitivity in 7%, and low sensitivity in 42% of villages. High adaptive capacity to climate change was observed in 38% of villages, 19% were moderately adaptive and 42% showed a low adaptive capacity. High vulnerability was observed in 50% of villages, 4% were moderately vulnerable, and 46% had low vulnerability. A high proportion of smallholder farmers in the hilly zone in the sampled district were highly vulnerable, exposed and sensitive with a low adaptive capacity to climate change compared to the plain zone. The high vulnerability in the hilly zone was attributed to limited resources with a low adjustment capability to counter the disturbances, especially in crop cultivation, in response to climate change. A handful of low-cost and local approaches such as improving farmer extension services, introducing small-scale local infrastructure projects, reinforcing informal safety nets and protecting natural ecosystems could be viable cost-effective options that would also be sustainable given their low recurring costs and the limited maintenance required.
Kerry J. Byrnes Collection, International Fertilizer Development Center, Muscle Shoals, Alabama. 7 pages., The use of the Guttman-type scale of community differentiation provides a means to measure the community environment which, although lying beyond the farm, nevertheless influences the farmer's decision making.
