Recent transformations in Sri Lanka's agrarian structures have been both complex and uneven. While the overall direction of change has been towards a more capitalist form of organization, the process of transformation has been heterogeneous, contradictory, and, furthermore, varied widely from region to region. This volume explores both the range and the complexity of these processes by bringing together a set of ethnographic studies conducted in six of Sri Lanka's nine provinces. All thirteen essays trace the changes that have occurred in the four decades since independence. Contributors combine enthnographic with historical research and place their respective analysis of agrarian change within local cultural contexts. They treat agrarian change as a dynamic social process and convey a sense of how that change is experienced by the villagers. A number of common themes run through the collection, including the interplay between local initiatives and state policies; the complex ways in which capitalist schemes of production interact with existing agrarian institutions; and the refashioning of local identities as village life is incorporated into ever-widening circuits of economic, political, and cultural relations. With its new research data and unique theoretical perspectives, this volume will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, development economists, social and economic historians, agricultural economists, and those studying rural development and agrarian change in South Asia. "Book as a whole does go beyond accounting for economic changes, and provides multiple and integrated approaches to studying agrarian transformation elsewhere." --Contributions to Indian Sociology "A useful book, providing a wealth of detailed ethnographic evidence concerning the influence of capitalist relations of production on smallholder agriculture in Sri Lanka. It concludes with a helpful glossary giving translations and definitions of local terminology." --Third World Quarterly "The book is an exploration of the process of development and its impact on the lives of people. It is a very useful addition to the literature on Sri Lankan development studies." --Business Standard "What's inside the covers will interest scholars beyond the usual robe, rice, and plough set; this book amply demonstrates why no analysis of agrarian change can ignore the cultural and symbolic dimensions of agrarian activity." --Journal of Asian Studies

American agriculture changed radically between 1820 and 1870. In turning slowly from subsistence to commercial farming, farmers on the average doubled the portion of their production places on the market, and thereby laid the foundations for today's highly productive agricultural industry. But the modern system was by no means inevitable. It evolved slowly through an intricate process in which innovative and imitative entrepreneurs were the key instruments.

This book is a critical examination of the truth behind the stereotype that there is a Green Revolution in agricultural technology. Twenty-one specialists in the field of development studies look at the reality of agrarian change, either through historical analysis, or through in-depth village field-work, or from their experience as development planners.

A food system comprises the entire range of actors and interlinked activities related to food production, processing, distribution, marketing and trade, preparation, consumption, and disposal. When a food system operates without compromising the needs of future generations, it is considered to be a “Sustainable Food System.” The present-day food systems in Sri Lanka are diverse, and the natural and physical environment, infrastructure, institutions, society and culture, and policies and regulations within which the food systems operate, as well as the technologies employed, have shaped their outcomes. Agricultural research is a key factor in terms of innovation and technological advances. Innovation has been the main driver of food systems’ transformation over the past few decades and will be critical to addressing the needs of a rapidly growing population in a context of climate change and scarcity of natural resources. In addition, agricultural research must help meet the rising demand for food at affordable prices. Comprising 17 chapters written by specialist(s) in their respective subject-areas, this Contributed Volume on “Agricultural Research for Sustainable Food Systems in Sri Lanka: A Historical Perspective” shares the scientific knowledge accumulated by the National Agricultural Research System of Sri Lanka, including universities, and offers recommendations on how to make food systems more sustainable in order to address the current needs of Sri Lankan society. It presents perspectives on four key thematic areas, namely: (i) Crop and animal production, management, and improvement, (ii) Agro-product processing technologies, (iii) Natural resource management, and (iv) Socio-economic development and agri-business management.

Shifting cultivation is one of the oldest forms of subsistence agriculture and is still practised by millions of poor people in the tropics. Typically it involves clearing land (often forest) for the growing of crops for a few years, and then moving on to new sites, leaving the earlier ground fallow to regain its soil fertility. This book brings together the best of science and farmer experimentation, vividly illustrating the enormous diversity of shifting cultivation systems as well as the power of human ingenuity. Some critics have tended to disparage shifting cultivation (sometimes called 'swidden cultivation' or 'slash-and-burn agriculture') as unsustainable due to its supposed role in deforestation and land degradation. However, the book shows that such indigenous practices, as they have evolved over time, can be highly adaptive to land and ecology. In contrast, 'scientific' agricultural solutions imposed from outside can be far more damaging to the environment and local communities. The book focuses on successful agricultural strategies of upland farmers, particularly in south and south-east Asia, and presents over 50 contributions by scholars from around the world and from various disciplines, including agricultural economics, ecology and anthropology. It is a sequel to the much praised "Voices from the Forest: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into Sustainable Upland Farming" (RFF Press, 2007), but all chapters are completely new and there is a greater emphasis on the contemporary challenges of climate change and biodiversity conservation.