Differentiation: old controversies,new insights

There is a long-standing debate about the nature, impact and significance of processes of differentiation in driving agricultural development. This contribution discusses three ways in which such processes have been conceptualized: modernization theories that put markets centre stage, Marxist theories that focus on class, and Chayanovian approaches that highlight the dynamics within farming families. The empirical evidence for testing these concepts is normally derived from agricultural censuses. This paper uses a different database that covers all Dutch farms between 1980 and 2006 and enables us to follow the changes on individual farms. Examination of this data reveals that the actual processes of differentiation that have occurred in this 25-year period differ greatly from the classic conceptualizations. It also challenges the conventional wisdom that agricultural development is mostly driven by larger farms.     

Contested landscapes: the global political economy of climate-smart agriculture

Analysing key initiatives in the area of climate-smart agriculture and the politics which surround them, this paper identifies the dominant discourses shaping the debate through a discussion of discursive sites of power and by mapping the emerging ‘regime complex’ of institutional power that operates at the interface of the climate and agrifood system. This is connected to forms of material power that derive from control over production, finance and technology in the neoliberal food regime by transnational capital. Such an analysis has important implications for which solutions are promoted as part of climate-smart agriculture and which actors are likely to benefit from the flows of technology, finance and institutional support that are mobilised in the struggle to define a viable global agrifood system in a warming world.     

Head versus heart: The ambiguities of non-sovereignty in the Dutch Caribbean

Whereas political scientists tend to make binary distinctions between sovereign states and subnational units, in recent decades the number of a third, hybrid category of federacies or non-sovereign jurisdictions has strongly increased. In this paper, we explore the benefits and downsides of non-sovereignty from the perspective of these territories’ inhabitants. We zoom in on the six islands of the Dutch Caribbean, which in 2010 experienced a profound change in their political status. Using data from two large-scale opinion surveys that we conducted in 1998 and 2015, respectively, we show that the population of the Dutch Caribbean islands maintains a highly ambiguous attitude towards the non-sovereign status. While many respondents appreciate the material benefits of the enduring link with the metropolis, there are significant emotional and ideational objections to this relationship. These findings are embedded in broader scholarly discussions about the position of decentralized and peripheral jurisdictions vis-à-vis their administrative core.     

Peripheral modernity and anti-colonial nationalism in Java: economies of race and gender in the constitution of the Indonesian national teleology

This analysis investigates the limits of colonial modernity in the 20th century Dutch East Indies at a time that coincided with the building of the Indonesian national project. I am interested in the constitution of the national teleology as an inexorable socio-political project, deploying specific racial and gendered economies. As a locus of investigation I choose the literary narratives of two celebrated Indonesian intellectuals (and participants in the anti-colonial struggle), Pramoedya’s Buru Quartet and Mangunwijaya’s Durga/Umayi. Were the impulses of anti-colonial resistance intrinsically national in their orientation? Through what erasures and re-appropriations has the nationalism/modernity paradigm become the medium of decolonisation?     

Seed wars and farmers’ rights: comparative perspectives from Brazil and India

Drawing on interviews with Indian and Brazilian farmers’ rights activists, lawyers, agronomists and plant breeders, this article aims at better understanding how farmers’ rights are protected on paper and implemented on the ground in these two countries. Brazil and India offer important case studies because they are biologically megadiverse countries, and because small farmers represent an important segment of the rural economy. In this article, I show that India has adopted an ownership approach to farmers’ rights, while Brazil leans towards a stewardship approach. Based on an examination of the progress made in enforcing these rights, I further argue that the stewardship model adopted by Brazil is more conducive to the realization of farmers’ rights, and I explore why this is the case. Finally, I show how farmers’ rights provisions in the Brazilian and Indian legislations represent fragile gains that could be curtailed by several bills currently under discussion in the field of seed and plant variety protection.     

对增加农民收入的思考

进入21世纪,增加农民收入成为人们关注的热点。随着经济的发展,农产品供求关系的变化、农民纯收入增幅缓慢、城镇化滞后等因素制约了农民收入的增长。土地承包责任制中产权不清晰以农业为主的产业结构农户分散经营农业剩余劳动力难以转移农业生态环境恶化是影响农民增收的主要问题。因此,走农业可持续发展的道路应从国民经济全局出发,重新思考农民收入的增长,将农业结构战略性调整同城乡社会结构的调整结合起来,实现农业规模经营,实现农业产业化经营,发展农产品多样化、优质化、深加工,转移农村人口,加快城镇化步伐,保护生态环境。     

循环农业视角下的武汉城市圈城乡统筹发展研究

该文阐述了循环农业在武汉城市圈城乡经济发展中的重要作用，分析了循环农业发展的现状、特点及其存在的不足。在此基础上，提出了以武汉城市圈区域一体化的理念为指导，发挥循环农业在统筹城乡发展中的作用的建议。     

惠农政策与计划生育奖扶政策的冲突与对策

近年来，国家加大了惠农的力度，出台了多项惠农政策，使农民得到了实惠，促进了农业、农村的发展。但是，惠农政策在实施过程中与计划生育奖扶政策产生了冲突，削弱了计划生育奖扶政策的激励与导向效果。惠农政策与计划生育政策缺乏协调机制以及惠农政策缺乏差异性是造成冲突的主要致因。     

略论毛泽东的农业现代化思想及实践

毛泽东对农业现代化的探索分为三个时期：民主革命后期,毛泽东明确提出了实现工业化和农业现代化的建设方向和目标;社会主义改造时期,根据我国实际,提出先搞合作化再搞机械化;社会主义建设时期,毛泽东提出了包括农业现代化在内的＂四个现代化＂的建设目标。毛泽东的农业现代化思想给我们深刻启示：社会化生产和规模化经营,是农业现代化的一个大方向;在农业现代化的步骤和方法上,要从实际出发,因地制宜进行。     

“三农“问题与农村全面建设小康社会

全面建设小康社会,难点和关键都在农村.要实现全面建设小康社会的目标,就必须把解决"三农"问题放在首位,反思传统发展思路,选择正确道路,实施科学对策.