Michael Parnwell | University of Leeds (original) (raw)

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Papers by Michael Parnwell

Routledge eBooks, Jun 9, 2023

Journal of Rural Cooperation, 2002

Farmer innovation involves communication on both the vertical (between farmers and outsiders) and... more Farmer innovation involves communication on both the vertical (between farmers and outsiders) and horizontal (among farmers) planes. When faced with barriers to vertical communication, small farmers in marginal areas have to depend on their own communication networks for knowledge diffusion and sharing. It leads to "farmer self-organizing innovation" (FSI)-an innovation process which is initiated, controlled and implemented by farmers themselves. This paper attempts to indicate: (1) what position the FSI has taken in innovation studies; (2) how farmers use and develop their communication network (FCN) for technology learning and innovation cooperation; and (3) what lessons and policy implications can be learnt from farmer innovation and self-organization. Based upon an integrated survey in Zhidan, a poor county of the Loess Plateau, it is argued that the innovative capacity of the rural poor in China might be difficult to strengthen unless more attention is paid to the promotion of farmer communication and cooperation. This paper also draws attention to the policy implications of promoting farmer innovation and building selforganizing networks in respect of rural sustainability in China in the 21st century.

Global ecology and biogeography letters, Nov 1, 1997

The great diversity, 2014

Journal of Biogeography, 1988

This paper aims to identify some of the pressures being exerted by rural poverty, development and... more This paper aims to identify some of the pressures being exerted by rural poverty, development and modernization in a fragile, ecologically marginal environment. Environmental factors have been sig- nificant in the underdevelopment of North-East Thailand, resulting in widespread rural poverty. The problems presented by the physical environment have in recent years been compounded by a high rate of population growth and the growing scarcity of cultivable land. The increas- ing marginalization of land holdings which has followed the encroachment of agriculture into upland and swampy areas has contributed both to declining levels of agricultural productivity and to widespread environ- mental depredation. Changing attitudes towards the natural environment can be explained by the physical environment in which farmers operate: the high levels of risk and uncertainty which beset agriculture in North-East Thailand in some ways preclude the investment of scarce financial resources for protec- tion, notwithstanding the longer-term impact on rural productivity. The paper identifies the need to confront simultaneously the factors which are contributing to environmental degeneration in North-East Thailand, but stresses the need for the economic plight of the rural poor to be also considered.

Elsevier eBooks, 2001

This article outlines the evolution and changing character of Southeast Asian geography. It start... more This article outlines the evolution and changing character of Southeast Asian geography. It starts by briefly identifying the historical origins of geographical interest in Southeast Asia before going on to show how the field's changing fortunes have quite closely mirrored those of regional geography within the discipline as a whole. A selective overview of Southeast Asian geography around the world today is then followed by a short assessment of the future prospects for this field of study.

Routledge eBooks, Jun 9, 2023

Journal of Rural Cooperation, 2002

Global ecology and biogeography letters, Nov 1, 1997

The great diversity, 2014

Journal of Biogeography, 1988

Elsevier eBooks, 2001