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Intensification, and Alternative Approaches to Agricultural Change
Author(s) -
Brookfield Harold
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
asia pacific viewpoint
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.571
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1467-8373
pISSN - 1360-7456
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8373.00143
Subject(s) - diversification (marketing strategy) , livelihood , agriculture , investment (military) , adaptation (eye) , capital investment , context (archaeology) , reductionism , economics , natural resource economics , economic system , business , political science , geography , marketing , philosophy , physics , archaeology , optics , finance , epistemology , politics , law
The context of the intensification debate is widened by calling attention to two aspects that have been insufficiently taken into account in the large post‐Boserup literature. These are farmers' use of capital investment of all forms, and the importance of organisational skills, as distinct from the technical skills on which the literature has concentrated. It is suggested that diversification of production and livelihood opportunities, investment, and finding new ways of using and managing resources are important roads to agricultural change and that ‘intensification’, explained in a reductionist manner as a response to pressures, is only a part of the story. Adaptation, innovation, and the seizing of opportunity can take place within a wide range of social, demographic and environmental conditions.