The book covers different issues in agriculture. The author has pooled the knowledge of many experts and practitioners in the field of agriculture and allied sectors. The main Aims and Objectives covered in the book are: 1) Enhance Production and Productivity for food and nutritional security, 2) Improve profitability through agro-processing and value addition and 3) Sustainability through training, skill development, entrepreneurship and communication. Stagnation in productivity, shrinking farm size, inadequate market infrastructure including warehousing and cold storage, and erosion of the foundations of sustainable agriculture such as soil and gene erosion, water logging, drop in ground water table and decline in surface irrigation are the areas that need urgent attention. There is need to pay attention to rural non-farm enterprises. All these issues in-depth have been covered under 40 chapters in the book. I am confident that the book would be of immense help to farmers, field officials, students and many others who directly or indirectly involved with agriculture and rural development.

The Context; If Rural Development Is So Important, Why Is Not Happening; Formulating Country Strategies and Building Consensus; Improving the Existing Portfolio; Using the International Arena to Generate Greater Commitment; Areas of Concentration and Future Directions.

This book illustrates the ways in which communities can strengthen the links and set the stage for long-term partnerships between sustainable agriculture and sustainable rural community development initiatives. It provides lessons learned, first, from the community development literature that can help shape sustainable agriculture strategies, and second, from the sustainable agriculture literature that can prove useful in moulding sound and effective community development strategies. The threads that weave the chapters together is the commitment to a building and expanding the community capital resources that have important bearing on the sustainability of agriculture and the broader community of which it is a part. Certainly, the success of the agriculture/community partnerships is rooted in one critical ingredient – "social capital." To be effective over the long-term, sustainable development depends on a network of people, drawn from a wide array of interests, who have a strong trusting relationship with one another, and who are willing to work together in responding to the economic, environmental, and social challenges facing agriculture and community alike. At the same time, strategies that work to strengthen the stock of all seven types of community capitals are important to pursue. It is balanced investments in all seven types of community capitals that will contribute to the emergence of "community agency" -- the ability of local people to act in a proactive manner in managing, utilizing, and enhancing local resources. With the emergence of "community agency," an important step in the pursuit of a sustainable future for both agriculture and community is possible. This book was published as a special issue of Community Development.

Agriculture in developing countries has been remarkably productive during the last few decades; however, the production levels were achieved at the cost of placing more stress on natural resources and the environment. This volume brings together state-of-the-art applied, practical research related to agriculture, development, and the environment in the developing world. It attempts to distill current knowledge and to summarize it in readable form for development practitioners. Where possible, authors use specific examples to indicate which approaches have worked and which have not, under which conditions, and why.

Education is the process of learning or the acquisition of knowledge, skill, values, beliefs and habits. Education is becoming an important part of every one’s life. Education was strong in ancient days also. The system changed with passage of time such as Vedic, Brahmanical, Muslim, British periods etc. Today, education is oriented to promote values of an urban, competitive consumer society. Through the existing education system in the last five decades, the country has excelled in different fields and made a mark at the National and International levels. There is a need to regulate our education system at different levels – from primary to higher education. There is also need to remove deficiencies and short comings in our education system. All these issues have been covered under nine chapters of the book.

Ob in Europa oder Nordamerika - ländliche Gemeinden kämpfen in den Industriestaaten überall mit ähnlichen Problemen: Der Niedergang der landwirtschaftlichen Familienbetriebe durch technologieintensive Bewirtschaftung führt zur Abwanderung der Bevölkerung in die Städte. In diesem Buch findet nicht nur der Politiker oder Städteplaner Anregungen, wie die Attraktivität der Kleinstädte wieder gesteigert werden kann. Ausführlich werden spezielle Aspekte von Vorstädten und Nahtzonen zwischen Großstadt und Land diskutiert.