A comparative and systems approach to banana cropping systems in the Great Lakes region

To explore the diversity and efficiency of smallholder farms, we developed an approach based on a comparative framework and a systems analysis, Five sites in three countries (Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo) were studied in parallel to take account of variations in agro-ecological and institutional conditions. In a systems-based perspective, we used a combination of quantitative (field measurements, economic valuation) and qualitative methods (semi-directed interviews) to capture the diverse nature of smallholder cropping systems. The novelty of the approach is that qualitative dimensions are included in the farm-level diagnostics, while maintaining a comprehensive and reproducible tool for systems analysis in terms of performance, constraints and drivers. The highest productivity in terms of annual revenue/ha was observed in the medium-sized farms (0.7-1.0 ha). It was also in this category that the number of crops cultivated was the greatest. Our hypothesis is that this high efficiency is the outcome of a system '\There productivity and risk management are optimized

Reconfiguring Ecology in the Twenty-First–Century. Social Movements as Producers of the Global Age

This chapter proposes an agency perspective on social movements and actors who contribute to shape the Global Age, understood as a social configuration in which life and society are deeply shaped by an increasing reality and consciousness of the interdependence at the scale of humanity and the finitude of the planet. It briefly analyses the contribution of a series of actors of the global environmentalist movements, including indigenous movements, peasant movements, critical consumption, and environmental NGOs.The analysis emphasizes increasing contributions of actors from the Global South to the way we conceive our world and to solutions to global challenges. It also points to a renewing of epistemological and critical perspectives in a time increasingly shaped by the constraints and challenges of the global age. It points to major inconsistencies of the modern economic system on a limited planet and to the limits of social sciences that remain deeply rooted in modernity