Birendra Basnyat - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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Writing acknowledgements has become fashionable in books and theses. It ought to be boycotted, if... more Writing acknowledgements has become fashionable in books and theses. It ought to be boycotted, if its purpose is merely an attempt to return the support, cooperation and generosity of others through a few nicely written words, some adjectives. To me, writing these acknowledgements was as difficult as writing the thesis itself. This was not only because I found no words in the dictionary which could do justice to the support and cooperation extended to me by farmers, projects, friends, colleagues, and all stakeholders, but because this book is, as an emergent property, an outcome of the cooperation and support of many individuals and institutions at the right moment, in the right way, in the right order and in the right place.
This study focuses on intervention processes that support sustainable agriculture. It argues that... more This study focuses on intervention processes that support sustainable agriculture. It argues that we know very little about how to intervene for sustainable agriculture, particularly for those areas where the Green Revolution has passed almost unnoticed and where degradation of natural resources is the normal practices, rather than the exception. As sustainability is a constructed, contextual and complicated concept, it is far from clear what sustainability is, how it comes about, and what it is actually for, although it has been at the top of the agenda for nearly a decade. No substantial biological or socialinstitutional breakthroughs or innovations have yet emerged, despite the considerable efforts that have been devoted so far to sustainable agriculture. Impressively, the word "sustainability" is such a powerful symbol that the very thought of an unsustainable agriculture immediately conjures up images of massive human deprivation and suffering and, ultimately, mass st...
Writing acknowledgements has become fashionable in books and theses. It ought to be boycotted, if... more Writing acknowledgements has become fashionable in books and theses. It ought to be boycotted, if its purpose is merely an attempt to return the support, cooperation and generosity of others through a few nicely written words, some adjectives. To me, writing these acknowledgements was as difficult as writing the thesis itself. This was not only because I found no words in the dictionary which could do justice to the support and cooperation extended to me by farmers, projects, friends, colleagues, and all stakeholders, but because this book is, as an emergent property, an outcome of the cooperation and support of many individuals and institutions at the right moment, in the right way, in the right order and in the right place.
This study focuses on intervention processes that support sustainable agriculture. It argues that... more This study focuses on intervention processes that support sustainable agriculture. It argues that we know very little about how to intervene for sustainable agriculture, particularly for those areas where the Green Revolution has passed almost unnoticed and where degradation of natural resources is the normal practices, rather than the exception. As sustainability is a constructed, contextual and complicated concept, it is far from clear what sustainability is, how it comes about, and what it is actually for, although it has been at the top of the agenda for nearly a decade. No substantial biological or socialinstitutional breakthroughs or innovations have yet emerged, despite the considerable efforts that have been devoted so far to sustainable agriculture. Impressively, the word "sustainability" is such a powerful symbol that the very thought of an unsustainable agriculture immediately conjures up images of massive human deprivation and suffering and, ultimately, mass st...