Ecological agriculture (eco-agriculture) is an approach to agriculture that seeks a balance between ecological and economic benefits to promote the sustainable development of both. This paper proposes a scientific method for analyzing the environmental and economic effects of eco-agriculture and simulating their long-term trend. Here, we focus on the eco-agriculture system of Kongtong District,...

Recent discussions of the way ahead for agriculture have tended to centre around the frequently incompatible claims of the proponents of technological agriculture, now further developed through inputs from biotechnology , and ecological agriculture, of which organic farming is the best known example.There is a need for the claims made for these two versions to be put into a broader scientific a...

This paper f ocuses attention on the relevance of the notion of sustainable development in a regional context and the use of models for regional sustainable development policy. The paper discusses first the notion of sustainable development by linking socioeconomic and ecological elements. Time and space prove to be important dimensions of sustainable development. In a spatial context, an often...

The Department of Ecology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, PR China; Key Laboratory of Ecological Agriculture of Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, PR China; Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA; Center for Bottomland...

Introduction.........................................................................................................50 Organic farming and the challenge of sustainability ...........................................51 Political ecology as one approach to globalisation and sustainable development....53 Growth without borders ..........................................................................

The practice of ecological agriculture involves building the strengths of natural ecosystems into agroecosystems, purposely disturbed to produce food and fiber. The overall strategies include using practices that (a) grow healthy plants with good defense capabilities, (b) stressing pests, and (c) enhancing populations of beneficial organisms. These are accomplished by enhanced habitat managemen...

This paper focuses attention on the relevance of the notion of sustainable development in a regional context and the use of models in analyzing sustainable development. The paper discusses first the notion of sustainable development, linking socio-economic, ecological and political-ethical elements. Time and space prove to be important dimensions of sustainable development, in both distribution...

This paper discusses biotic interactions in agroecosystems and how they may be manipulated to support crop productivity and environmental health by provision of ecosystem services such as weed, pest and disease management, nutrient cycling and biodiversity conservation. Important elements for understanding biotic interactions include consideration of the effects of diversity, species compositio...

This article reviews proposals regarding the recent food crisis in the context of a broader, threshold debate on the future of agriculture and food security. While the MDGs have focused on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, the food crisis pushed the hungry over the one billion mark. There is thus a renewed focus on agricultural development, which pivots on the salience of industrial agric...

The long-term sustainability of modern agriculture is examined in an ecological context. As an aid to defining agriculture, animal agriculture, and sustainable agriculture, a broad overview of the structural and functional aspects of ecosystems is presented. The longterm sustainability of two corn production systems and four beef cattle production systems is then examined relative to energy out...