Agriculture and crop production

The search for the “sound framework” to reconcile development of family farms and conservation of tropical forests in a context of extreme poverty is still a topical issue. This work shows how assessing the ability of farmers to adapt to the constraints of conservation can identify the various players, activities and territories to be taken into account to design an integrated and sustainable arrangement for agri-forest spaces.

Based on analyses by agricultural and legal experts, this work offers food for thought on using the law to include the notion of ecosystem service in soil protection. It has been written as part of the research programme “Soil cultivation, ecosystem services and compensation. Agricultural and legal aspects” within the Institute of legal studies on town planning, construction and environment.

The cassava-processing industry plays a key role in food safety and in the economies in the Global South, mainly in rural areas but increasingly in cities too. Climate change is expected to play an even greater role in world agriculture. This book brings together all of the available knowledge on cassava and highlights the agronomic and commercial issues surrounding this crop. It presents an overview of cassava production worldwide, covering all of the various aspects of the plant (botany, genetics), as well as its main forms of cultivation, its diseases and pests. It describes how to use, consume and process cassava.

Set up during the food crisis in the aftermath of the Second World War, France's National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) was founded on the notion that public scientific research into the management of life in all its multifarious forms would be of major importance for rebuilding France’s position in the world. This book, based on original documentation and testimonies of the main protagonists, explores the 70 years of the institute’s life, focusing on the interactions between science and politics.

Photosynthesis is a complex phenomenon, involving both physical and biochemical mechanisms. This book sets out the two major phases in the process - luminous and metabolic. A glimpse of exchanges between plants and atmosphere also helps in understanding the role played by environmental factors in photosynthesis. This new edition takes stock of the latest scientific advances in this area.

Educational, very well illustrated and with an all-important index, this book is targeting university students, anyone sitting the Capes and teacher recruitment examinations and teachers in agriculture, pharmacy and biology.

“Transforming lives while preserving the planet” is the aim of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), the global framework for action adopted by all UN member states in September 2015. A critical analysis of each of these objectives, their interactions as well as the contradictions inherent in them.

Why does a plant root grow downwards and the stem upwards? How can sap rise to the top of a tree? Is the daisy a flower? Can you make clothes with plants? Why do we no longer eat wild plants? Is global warming going to make plants disappear? This book proposes seventy questions through which we can rediscover plants with delight.

Soil composition, functioning and health are influenced by the physical and chemical properties of soils, interactions between plants, soil-dwelling micro-organisms and fauna. This work presents recent advances in this knowledge to support and encourage the development of agro-ecological practices.

North Africa and the Middle East are marked by their growing dependency on agricultural imports. This dependency is said to rise globally and reach extreme levels, particularly under increased climate change. This publication examines the future of the agricultural and food systems in these regions circa 2050, using various scenarios arising out of demand for food supply.

A richly illustrated book giving a complete overview of viticulture and wine: growing conditions of vines, wine components and microbiology, winemaking methods, processing and bottling of wine, the wine production sector in France, wine tasting and sensory analysis and other vine products. Special attention is paid to high-end products (Champagne, Cognac), wine and cooking, wine-producing countries, wine consumption around the world and in France and the health benefits of wine.