NOTE: Here's an important new book by Dr Miguel Altieri, a Professor of Agroecology at UC Berkeley.

While GM crops are often held up by the biotech industry and its supporters as critical to helping poor farmers in the developing world, the recently concluded International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), which has already been endorsed by 58 of the world's governments, seriously questioned GM's claims to be the solution to global poverty and hunger. The report favoured instead the kind of innovative approaches to improving agriculture and increasing food production found in agroecology.

Unlike GM, these farming methods have met with remarkable success, both in the developing and developed world, significantly increasing productivity for poor farmers while enhancing sustainability, with community-wide economic, social, health and environmental benefits.
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Title : New Book Release
Date : 10 October 2008

Contents:

THIRD WORLD NETWORK
http://www.twnside.org.sg

New Book Release

TWN Environment & Development Series no. 7

Small Farms as a Planetary Ecological Asset: Five Key Reasons Why We Should Support the Revitalisation of Small Farms in the Global South

by Miguel A Altieri

Publisher: TWN (ISBN: 978-983-2729-56-3)

Year: 2008 No. of pages: 24

ABOUT THE BOOK

Humanity is quickly realising that the fossil fuel-based, capital-intensive, industrial-agricultural model is not working to meet the global food demands. Soaring oil prices are increasing production costs and food prices, and the problem is aggravated by other factors such as farmland being turned from food production to biofuels and climate change reducing crop yields.

This book argues that small, biodiverse, agroecologically managed farms in the global South are the only viable form of agriculture that will feed the world under the new ecological and economic scenario.

Five reasons are given for supporting the maintenance and revitalisation of small farms:

* Small farms are the key to the world's food security;
* Small farms are more productive and resource-conserving than large-scale monocultures;
* Small traditional and biodiverse farms represent models of sustainability;
* Small farms represent a sanctuary of GMO-free agrobiodiversity;
* Small farms cool the climate.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DR MIGUEL A ALTIERI is a Professor of Agroecology at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California, Berkeley, USA.

Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

2. WHY WE SHOULD SUPPORT SMALL FARMS
a) Small farms are the key to the world’s food security
b) Small farms are more productive and resource-conserving than large-scale monocultures
c) Small traditional and biodiverse farms present models of sustainability
d) Small farms represent a sanctuary of GMO-free agrobiodiversity
e) Small farms cool the climate

3. CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

PRICE

US$8.00 for First World countries
US$6.00 for Third World countries
RM8.00 for Malaysia

Prices are inclusive of postage costs by airmail.

How to Order the Book

Order your copy from our online bookstore:
http://www.twnside.org.sg
or
Contact Third World Network at 131 Jalan Macalister, 10400 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-2266159
Fax: 604-2264505
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information