For the past 50 years, the main goal of agriculture has been to increase production at any price, using high amounts of fertilizers and pesticides and intensive industrial methods. This has caused damage to the environment and widespread rural depopulation. This study shows that there is a viable alternative - a form of agriculture which conserves resources, maintains rural employment and minimizes the external costs, without loss of productivity. Using case studies from industrialized and developing countries, the author describes the new technical, institutional and policy options available.

Jules Pretty is Director of the Sustainable Agriculture Programme at the International Institute for Environment and Development, and co-author of Unwelcome Harvest (Earthscan, 1991).

Sustainable Agriculture * The Modernization of Agriculture * The Environmental and Social Costs of Improvement * Resource-Conserving Technologies and Processes * Local Groups and Institutions for Sustainable Agriculture * External Institutions and Partnerships with Farmers * Linking Process to Impact: The Transition to Sustainable Agriculture * Agriculture Policy Frameworks and Institutional Processes * Policies That Work for Sustainable Agriculture * References * Index