Do Smallholder, Mixed Crop-Livestock Livelihoods Encourage Sustainable Agricultural Practices? A Meta-Analysisopen access
- Authors
- Rudel, Thomas K.; Kwon, Oh-Jung; Paul, Birthe K.; Boval, Maryline; Rao, Idupulapati M.; Burbano, Diana; McGroddy, Megan; Lerner, Amy M.; White, Douglas; Cuchillo, Mario; Luna, Manuel; Peters, Michael
- Issue Date
- Mar-2016
- Publisher
- MDPI
- Keywords
- mixed crop-livestock farming; sustainable agriculture; conservation agriculture; smallholders; agro-ecology
- Citation
- LAND, v.5, no.1, pp.1 - 13
- Indexed
- SCOPUS
- Journal Title
- LAND
- Volume
- 5
- Number
- 1
- Start Page
- 1
- End Page
- 13
- URI
- https://scholarworks.bwise.kr/hanyang/handle/2021.sw.hanyang/155062
- DOI
- 10.3390/land5010006
- ISSN
- 2073-445X
- Abstract
- As calls for bolstering ecosystem services from croplands have grown more insistent during the past two decades, the search for ways to foster these agriculture-sustaining services has become more urgent. In this context we examine by means of a meta-analysis the argument, proposed by Robert McC. Netting, that small-scale, mixed crop-livestock farming, a common livelihood among poor rural peoples, leads to environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. As predicted, mixed crop-livestock farms exhibit more sustainable practices, but, contrary to predictions, a small scale of operation does not predict sustainability. Many smallholders on mixed crop-livestock farms use sustainable practices, but other smallholders practice a degrading, input-scarce agriculture. Some large farm operators use soil-conserving, minimum-tillage techniques while other large operators ignore soil-conserving techniques and practice an industrialized, high chemical input agriculture. The strength and pervasiveness of the link in the data between mixed crop-livestock farming and sustainable agricultural practices argues for agricultural policies that promote mixed crop-livestock livelihoods.
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