Agricultural components such as soil, water, plants, and animals need to be taken care of by the community, as they contribute significantly to maintaining a healthy environment and in providing goods and services. At farm level these components can be classified as biophysical components of the environment which interact leading to diverse ecosystems and functioning. Abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) factors of the environment also interact to form a unique habitation for a range of organisms existing in the ecosystem bringing balance between under and above ground biological activities.
I'm planning to study the interactions of biophysical and socioeconomic components of farming systems and sustainability on small scale farmers of Greytown in the KwaZulu-Natal province. I want to know which variables can be used for this study that will cover all the four aspects 1. biophysical components, 2. social components, 3. economic components and 4. sustainability.
Hi, I think you should focus on describing the system and their interactions. After making an assessment of the system sustainabilityY in all dimensions: economic, social and ecological. The effects of interactions on sustainability can be measured by multivariate methods as multiple regression or ACP. Good Luck!
Indeed the first step would be to describe the system and the interaction between the three dimensions of sustainability. The next step would then be to decide what research questions to ask to investigate specific aspects of sustainability as described from the farming system perspective .
A useful read would be the PhD thesis by Tanja De Koeijer.
This work addresses the full range of issues with specific attention to the interaction of components and how to quantify/ unravel these in a meaningful way. The application is for crop farmers in the Netherlands. The farmers' conditions will be different of course compare to those in KwaZuku-Natal but the underlying principles will be the same.
This thesis is available at: http://edepot.wur.nl/139418
As you will see the thesis has resulted in several publications including papers in Agricultural Systems and in Journal of Environmental Mnmgt.
Let me know if you have questions about this please.
Have a look at the paper we have published on the assesment of sustainability of small - scale dairy farms in the central highlands of Mexico, it may be helpful. The reference is:
Fadul-Pacheco et al. 2013.Evaluation of sustainability of small-scale dairy production systems in the highlands of Mexico during the rainy season. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 37: 882-901. DOI: 10.1080/21683565.2013.77599
Day periodicity, sunlight, water, temperature and plant genome merit are biophysical parameters but plant variety, minerals, fertilizers, irrigation, safe and eco-friendly use of technology and farm practices are important factors which affect productivity & sustainability. No use of chemical fertilizers but bio-fertilizers are applicable in sustainable farming.
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