Conflict and agriculture have a long, shared history. The purpose of this research is to look at the relationships between agriculture, agricultural technologies, and conflict during current and recent conflicts, large scale and localized. Agriculture and its related technologies are often affected by conflict, but rarely acknowledged as a cause or solution to conflict. Literature reviews in six topic areas illustrate various facets of the relationship between agriculture and conflict. Research conducted in Santa Cruz del Quiché, Guatemala illustrates the ways farmers were impacted by the country's civil war. It also examines farmer survival strategies during the war, and reveals the presence of minor localized conflict over water resources. Conflict over land is not a major concern at present. Market access for inputs and outputs are shown to have been a problem for a number of farmers during the civil war. The poverty of Santa Cruz farmers indicates that much could be gained by rural development. Research is unable to support the hypotheses that agricultural technologies have prevented or caused conflict in Santa Cruz del Quiché, or that they have played a large role in recovery from the country's civil war. The author recommends that future research be undertaken in regions with a diverse set of agricultural technologies, and/or a recent history of significant technological change in agriculture. Policy recommendations include providing secure access to markets during war time, increasing capacity for home-based rural production, and continuing research into resilient crops. Finally, the author suggests that the responsible decision to develop, adopt, or introduce an agricultural technology must take into account the social consequences of that decision, including how the new technology may alleviate or contribute to conflict.

This book presents the intellectual production of the first phase of the Cooperative Research Project on Agricultural Technology in Latin America (PROTAAL) and the most relevant papers presented by invitees at a meeting held in San Jose, Costa Rica in September 1981.

This paper considers the impact of an agricultural extension program, The Özyeğin Rural Development Program, implemented in eastern Turkey, on rates of agricultural technology adoption. Using a uniquely designed experimental panel survey collected in treatment and control villages before and after program implementation, the paper analyses the heterogeneous impact of this agricultural extension program, on the adoption rates of different groups in the villages. The main results in the paper are consistent with the predictions of the model presented, whereby in the early stages of adoption, the existence of the agricultural extension program increases the adoption rates in the villages significantly for all households: treatment is associated with an increase in the rate of adoption of inoculation of fruit trees by 26.2-31.4 percentage points depending on the empirical specification. The paper also finds evidence for the "inclusiveness'' of the NGOs efforts by looking at the heterogeneous impact of the program of adoption rates of the "excluded" groups using various economic and political exclusion criteria. the paper also considers the role of social networks in access to information and rates of adoption of new technologies and finds that even in the presence of inclusive policies that reach out to economically or politically vulnerable sub-sections in the villages, those who do not have many social interactions with the rest of the village community may remain excluded from the benefits of the program.

Crossing disciplinary boundaries, this volume by Özerdem and Roberts conceptualizes the challenges of developing sustainable agriculture in post-conflict environments as well as identifying the policies and practical solutions to achieve sustainable agricultural production which is central to the survival of humanity. Without sustainable agriculture, populations remain vulnerable increasing the likelihood of a return to conflict. Therefore, sustainable agriculture is central to effective post-conflict recovery that provides human security as well as stability and rule of law. Unique in combining a comprehensive and comparative understanding of sustainable agriculture challenges in post-conflict environments, there is originality in the interdisciplinary nature of the book. Interdisciplinary often means bringing together a political scientist and a sociologist, but in this case it means bringing together natural and social scientists, as well as those with practical experience in development and agricultural contexts. By adopting a holistic multi-disciplinary approach which identifies key themes and case studies, this book sets the scene for the debate surrounding sustainable agriculture in post-conflict environments. Seeing 'fixing' agriculture as more than merely a technical matter, the volume focuses on this critical post-conflict challenge with social, political and cultural characteristics and consequences as well as the obvious economic ones.

Delays in approving genetically modified crops and foods in the European Union have led to a high profile trade conflict with the United States. This book analyses the EU-US conflict and uses it as a case study to explore the governance of new technologies. The transatlantic conflict over GM crops and food has been widely attributed to regulatory differences that divide the EU and the US. Going beyond common stereotypes of these differences and their origins, this book analyses the conflict through contending coalitions of policy actors operating across the Atlantic. Governing the Transatlantic Conflict over Agricultural Biotechnology focuses on interactions between the EU and the US, rather than on EU-US comparisons. Drawing on original research and interviews with key policy actors, the book shows how EU-US efforts to harmonise regulations for agricultural biotechnology created the context in which activists could generate a backlash against the technology. In this new context regulations were shaped along different lines. Joseph Murphy and Les Levidow provide new insights by elaborating critical perspectives on global governance, issue-framing, standard-setting and regulatory science. This accessible book will appeal to undergraduate and post-graduate students, academics and policy-makers working on a wide range of issues covered by political science, policy studies, international relations, economics, geography, business management, environmental and development studies, science and technology studies.

Societies have sought to improve the outputs of their agricultural producers for thousands of years. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, efforts to convey agricultural knowledge to farmers became known as extension services, a term adopted from programs at Oxford and Cambridge designed to extend the knowledge generated at universities to surrounding communities. Traditionally, extension services have emphasized a top-down model of technology transfer that encourages and teaches producers to use crop and livestock varieties and agricultural practices that will increase food production. More recently, extension services have moved toward a facilitation model, in which extension agents work with producers to identify their needs and the best sources of expertise to help meet those needs. On May 1, 2012, the Roundtable on Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding held a workshop in Washington, DC, to explore whether and how extension activities could serve peacebuilding purposes. The Roundtable is a partnership between the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). It consists of senior executives and experts from leading governmental organizations, universities, corporations, and nongovernmental organizations, was established in 2011 to make a measurable and positive impact on conflict management, peacebuilding, and security capabilities. Its principal goals are: To accelerate the application of science and technology to the process of peacebuilding and stabilization; To promote systematic, high-level communication between peacebuilding and technical organizations on the problems faced and the technical capabilities required for successful peacebuilding; and To collaborate in applying new science and technology to the most pressing challenges for local and international peacebuilders working in conflict zones.