Browsing by Author "Shaxson, F."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    New Concepts and Approaches to Land Management in the Tropics with Emphasis on Steeplands
    Shaxson, F. (Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1999)
    Small farmers living on steeplands in the tropics comprise a large sector of the world population. They operate in subsistence agricultural systems using traditional technologies designed to achieve sustained crop production at very low yield and income levels. Thus, most steeplands have relatively stable, sustained production systems with minimum land degradation. However, there is growing awareness that sustainability of subsistence agriculture on steeplands is steadily deteriorating as a result of rapidly growing population and overexploitation of the land resource base. Given the various limitations affecting steeplands agriculture, few soil management and conservation options remain. This bulletin attempts to explore potential avenues for developing strategies to maintain sustainability of steeplands agriculture. To maintain sustainability, however, signficant improvements in crop production on steeplands must come from improved soil management practices focusing on soil and water conservation, improved crop management, and use of cropping systems designed to reduce soil erosion and maintain soil productivity.
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    Optimizing soil moisture for plant production: The significance of soil porosity
    Shaxson, F.; Barber, R. (Rome, Italy: UN-FAO, 2003)
    This publication discusses the processes above, within and below the soil that enable water to move and crops to grow, and is intended to help land users make better use and take better care of these basic resources. The document will contribute to raising awareness of possibilities for better use of rainwater and improved management of soils. It will be useful to anyone concerned with maintaining and improving the productivity, quality and health of land, including farmers, advisory staff, trainers and their students, as well as technical decision-makers in governmental and non-governmental agencies. It should also encourage multidisciplinary approaches and dialogue among stakeholders of different backgrounds.
  • Production systems for sustainable intensification: Integrating productivity with ecosystem services
    Kassam, Amir H.; Friedrich, Theodor; Shaxson, F.; Reeves, T.; Pretty, Jules; Moraes Sá, J. C. (Herausgeber: Institut für Technikfolgenabschätzung und Systemanalyse (ITAS), 2011)
    Most agriculture is conducted through an ‘interventionist approach’ in which the application of synthetic mineral fertilizers for plant health and technological developments (such as weed and pest control with agrochemicals, soil tilling, etc.). However, “Conservation Agriculture,” an ecosystem approach to farming characterized by fertile soils, is becoming more common. This Conservation Agriculture approach is sustainable through both its ecological impacts and its capacity to produce food and raw materials economically. The article calls for formation of knowledge-diffusion, technologies, policies, research, funding and institutional arrangements that promote the spread and development of Conservation Agriculture.
  • The spread of conservation agriculture: Justification, sustainability and uptake
    Kassam, Amir H.; Friedrich, Theodor; Shaxson, F.; Pretty, Jules (2009)
    This paper argues that conservation agriculture has both environmental and agricultural benefits, but is knowledge intensive because it requires fundamental change in our thinking and approach to agriculture. The purpose of the paper is to justify why a transition to conservation agriculture is necessary, setting up discussion in a subsequent paper of the conditions for the spread of conservation agriculture.