Multifunctional Agriculture: A Transition Theory Perspective

by Geoff Wilson

Overview

In a time of great agricultural and rural change, the notion of 'multifunctionality' has remained under-theorized and poorly linked to wider debates in the social sciences. This book analyses the extent to which the proposed transition towards post-productivist agriculture holds up to scientific scrutiny, and proposes a modified productivist/non-productivist model that better encapsulates the complexity of agricultural and rural change. By combining existing notions and concepts, this book (re)conceptualizes agricultural change, creating a new transition theory, and a new way of looking at the future of agriculture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781845932565
Publisher:	CABI
Publication date:	04/23/2007
Series:	CABI Series
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.75(h) x (d)

About the Author

Geoff Wilson teaches at the University of Plymouth.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Conceptualising Transition
Theorising transition
Transitions: Social and natural science debates
Reconceptualising transition: The complexity of transitory systems

Part 2: From Productivist to Post-Productivist - and back again?
Productivist agriculture
Post-productivist agriculture
"Post-productivism" or "non-productivism"?

Part 3: Conceptualising Multifunctional Agricultural Systems
Contemporary conceptualisations of multifunctionality
(Re)conceptualising multifunctionality
Multifunctional agricultural transitions

Editorial Reviews

"Multifunctionality is emerging as a key concept in contemporary debates about agricultural and rural change. Geoff Wilson's book attempts one of the intellectually most ambitious surveys of the issues to date and will be an important source book for anyone interested in the way ideas and competing policy concepts are reshaping the rural world." —Clive Potter, Imperial College London, UK

From the Publisher

"Multifunctionality is emerging as a key concept in contemporary debates about agricultural and rural change. Geoff Wilson's book attempts one of the intellectually most ambitious surveys of the issues to date and will be an important source book for anyone interested in the way ideas and competing policy concepts are reshaping the rural world."

Clive Potter

"Multifunctionality is emerging as a key concept in contemporary debates about agricultural and rural change. Geoff Wilson's book attempts one of the intellectually most ambitious surveys of the issues to date and will be an important source book for anyone interested in the way ideas and competing policy concepts are reshaping the rural world."

Clive Potter Imperial College London