Hunger is a problem in some parts of the world (www, FAO 1, 2012). The lack of food is often a result of insufficient knowledge in soil fertility management (Röing de Nowina, 2012). Ongoing hunger and malnourishment are quite prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and are often combined with poverty (www, FAO 1, 2012). Farming is the most common occupation in this area and the farms are often small-scale farms with subsistence crops and a few cattle. The farmers who operate these small-scale farms are economically a weak group.

By using pollen analysis, 14C-dating and historical sources, I studied the history of vegetation and land use at an abandoned forest settlement near the Lade summer farms in the parish of Mora, Dalama. The aim of this paper is to investigate the agricultural establishment and development, the effects of this on forest vegetation, and the origin and development of summer Farming. The analysis of pollen in a peat core revealed that a settlement was established at Lade around 1000 AD. Cereal cultivation, hay-making on the mire and extensive forest grazing were intro-duced as a complete agricultural system. Pollen analysis and the presence of ancient fields suggests that cultivation took place on permanent fields. Barley was the main crop, but rye and hops/hemp were also grown at the settlement.

Abstract Spiritual gardening, historical perspective and epistemology, - how do these concepts connect? A review of the ideologies of four pragmatic growers. The purpose of this thesis is: ? to present an alternative forthcoming perspective on knowledge, that may be of significance for future theories and knowledge about growing and gardening. ? to lift experiences with Nature Spirits into an academic context, that permits us a closer look at the phenomenon. ? to contribute to an academic platform connecting humanistic and natural sciences. The intention of this text is to bridge the differences between the strictly rational traditions of knowledge and those more experience based ones. The thesis wants to show that much can be won if feeling based and mental reflections once again are approached as equal sources of knowledge. The aim is to give an orientation about the subject of Nature Spirits. The interesting fact is not whether (that) one can talk to nature, but how one does it and that more can be understood about nature and the reality that the established sciences study. The form for this study of literature is a describing presentation; to put names on and give wording to the phenomena of Nature Spirits and Plantdevas. The sources of literature are four pragmatic practitioners of spiritual gardening who have written extensively about their own work.

My intention with this paper is to try to understand the meaning of the double sex symbols which can be identified on a number of Neolithic so called battle axes from the region round the lake Mälaren in Sweden. My conclusions are drawn after having studied a number of archaeological thesises. I have realized that the society was egalitarian from what is said about the funeral habits since women and men were buried with the same care. Ceramics from the Skogsmossen site show a very long continuity over 15-20 generations. These facts indicate a peaceful society without traumatic breaks where knowledge would have been lost.

This paper investigates, through an actor-network theory perspective, how the recreation area Lo?vsta-Kyrkhamn-Riddersvik northwest of Stockholm has developed from being a dumping site into becoming a nature reserve. This investigation also tries to describe and explain which values that have been promoted in the area by the local voluntary associations and companies. Lo?vsta-Kyrkhamn-Riddersvik has been inhabited for more than 3000 years, originally with Farming as the most important business.

Grassland is a great part of Swedish agriculture and there is a demand of what the grassland yield is in practice. To be able to control the economic of the milkproduction it is important for the farmer to know how big quantities of pasture there is to use during the year.The work is based on interviews of 22 farmers from southern part of Sweden. Their area of grassland fluctuate between 16 up to 360 hectares. The questionnaire content 32 questions.The most common way to weight the green plant material is to drive over a scale, and to measure the dry extract with your own gauge. It takes in average two minutes toweight one load of green plant material.

Rooted in Industrial Ecology (IE) theory, this report evaluates how urban agricultural concepts and techniques, can contribute to improved ecological sustainability within the inner city boundaries of Stockholm. An overarching literary study as well as an interview was carried out, resulting in a qualitative analysis followed by suggestions for practical implementations. A substantial convergence was found between the eco-restructuring objectives of IE and the principal motives for urban agriculture. Consequently, eco-restructuring objectives are found in varying degrees in the presented urban agricultural techniques. Industrial symbioses, permaculture and combinations of urban agricultural techniques are tools which are capable of corresponding adequately to the diversity of urban settings.

The majority of the Swedish population were self-provided within agriculture a hundred years ago. Times do change and today the situation is the other way around - most of us live within city boundaries and only few work with Farming and related agricultural businesses. One thing that has not changed though, is the need of supplies from Swedish agriculture.What do we think of those products? Are we even aware of the connection between us and agriculture? The Federation of Swedish Farmers, LRF (Lantbrukarnas riksförbund), started their project to strengthen the link between consumers and producers in 2008.This paper is part of the project and its aim is to investigate consumers' views and values upon the effects and products from Swedish agriculture.Opinions and values have been studied through interviews influenced by phenomenology. The results show that the informants in general had a positive approach and thinking concerning the products and effects from Swedish agriculture.

I made this examination essay to investigate the possibilities and problems with machinery import. The rules intend to loaders and agriculture machines are still pretty flexible. It is today rather simple to make a registration or inspect those machines. There are still some practical problems to be aware of. It is very important to have the right contacts abroad, it is not always that you have time or moment to inspect the machines before purchase. In that case you have to trust your contact or partner about condition, equipment or working hours of the machine. Another important thing is payment before delivery: There is a huge risk that you do not get the machines that you paid for. If problems come up, you need to know the laws, your rights and your duties. A Swedish company does not pay any value-added taxes when it buys from another member of the European union. On the other hand must the machine be sold included value-added tax, if the buyer is a Swedish company.

This thesis is part of the evaluation of a development project in Serbia, where cooperativeshave been formed in order to make the members support themselves trough organic Farming.The purpose of the paper has been to find out if the goal of making the current members andpotential new members able to support themselves on what the cooperatives produce, hasbeen reached. The goal is to be considered as partly fulfilled; according to the last annualreport from Odraz, ?the registered cooperatives have become fully functional and stable andthey have started making some modest profit.???the majority of the beneficiaries think thatthey are self-reliant??. In order to find out what is required in order to fulfil the establishedgoal entirely, (for example there are no reports of that new members have been recruited, andthe fact that most, not all, current members of the cooperatives (the beneficiaries) say thatthey are supplied from what the cooperatives produce), I have tried to identify the conditionswhich the cooperatives operate under. The basis of the paper consists of a literature review,interviews with the directors of the cooperatives, a questionnaire dealing with the businessenvironment and various external sources in Serbia..

I conducted this examinasions work because I want to find out how loan to farmes are working and more specific towards younger farmers. What you have to think about before you go to the bank and what the banks are thinking about lending money to farmers. This work is based on an investment plan propasal for 20 000 laying hens on a farm in the Kalmar area. The investment plan propasals have two diffrent alternetives, one farm on 25 hectares and one on 50 hectares. I have chosen this becouse I wanted to study how the diffrent sizes of farms are changing the banks thoughts about lending money. These investment plan propasals have included four banks with questionnaire and deep interview.

"Food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life" (FAO Summit, 2003, pp. 28).Food insecurity is of concern regarding the Republic of Mauritius (ROM) since it is defined as a net food importing country. (Farming news, 2008). The impacts of climate change followed by their complexity could potentially have an increased risk effect upon the social and environmental welfare as well as the economic drivers in the ROM (www, UNESCO1, 2009). The primary victims when it comes to the impacts of climate change are the Mauritian agricultural producers since agriculture is highly dependent on climate stability, therefore affecting the yields of the producers.

The aim of this study is to increase the knowledge and understanding of the early process of socialization and its influence on the choices in life, with the example taken from the agricultural family. The question is considering how the process of socialization within an agricultural family has influenced on the choices in life of four women. A qualitative method with a hermeneutic, phenomenologic perspective is applied and four interviews have been done with women who all grew up in an agricultural family. The results have been analysed through social constructive-, psychodynamic-, attachment- and cognitive theory. The results indicate that socialization is a complex process.

The agriculture throughout the world is becoming increasingly deregulated and this has affected the prices of raw materials to fluctuate at a higher degree than earlier. This in turn has made it interesting and in some cases even necessary for the trader as well as the producer to gain knowledge about the trade instruments available to ensure a good enough price for their produced goods. This study encompasses a number of ways to trade grain and oil plants in order to clarify what differences there are in the several contracts that exist in the present situation, economical as well as practical. The various trade instruments available to the producers on the Swedish market are described in the theoretical part of this study. The study also contains a simple arithmetic example, based on historical prices collected from grain traders and trading floors, in order to point out the differences in the economical outcomes depending on the business strategy used to sell the produced goods. The study shows the importance, as a producer, of being able to use and take advantage of the different trading instruments at hand to monitor and exploit the shifts in the market. From an economical point of view it is not enough to just excel at Farming but knowledge about the market functions and the trade instruments at hand is also required to be able to secure a good enough price for your goods.

The agricultural sector is currently highly dependent on fossil fuels, with diesel beingmost prominent. There are however both historical and modern alternatives thathave not been subject to enough evaluation to disregard them as suitable alternative.This report aims to theoretically investigate the feasibility of converting aconventional diesel driven tractor to run on electricity, delivered via a cableconnected to either the main power grid or on-site electric production, such asphotovoltaic. Delivering electricity to the machine via a cable is a method withhistorical roots in the early 20th century and in the present day mining industry.The economic and technological potential of the technique are evaluated, along withthe examination of several different motor powers, voltages, losses and constructionideas. The report finds the technique to be both possible as well as long termeconomically and environmentally beneficial. To realise this method however, somedeviations from the present methods of agricultural Farming must be made,considering the more advanced driving patterns, the limited mobility and therequirement for extra driver awareness.