Agricultural Innovation for Societal Change: Towards Sustainability

Over the centuries, agriculture has developed through technological steps illustrated by various agricultural revolutions. This book describes and analyses significant agricultural changes since the mid-1960s in the context of development, innovation and adoption by revisiting resource-poor farmers in Ethiopia, Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago, and considering overall development changes up to the early 2020s. It is a platform for discussing current issues for future global food security in the context of globalization and free global trade which have influenced economic growth in many countries but also created environmental concerns and a rapid increase in the number of transnational corporations (TNCs). Sustainable food production is now a global priority and therefore ecological footprints must be reduced - this book provides examples of possible technical changes required to achieve this. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions alone is insufficient: political attention must be paid to declining biodiversity, the increasing global exploration of natural resources, demography, increased consumption, waste mountains, expanding migration and antibiotic resistance. Agribusiness TNCs will challenge national governments and international donors in both research and development, increasing competition for leadership. A gradual societal change, incorporating an understanding of biological fundamentals, is necessary for achieving sustainability and for leading us towards the next agricultural revolution.