This illustrated book intends to give a photo presentation of the genesis of farming and rural systems in developing countries based on research results. In three main chapters about subsistence, subsistence and market oriented and commercialized systems a total of 23 farming and rural systems are presented in more than 440 photos. Short introduction and characterization of the systems are given in text, but the main explanation is given by the photos which are taken by the author during his research and consultancy work in more than 60 different countries and research locations in the tropics from 1974 to 2015.
The main lines of development: from traditional subsistence societies to step-wise closer relation to markets and finally to highly commercialized systems; from traditional migration to settlements and community development; from more tribal based culture to more institution and administration based modern societies; from farming to more industrialized and services based economies in different ecological and economic environments; from hand work to mechanization; different use of natural resources such as soil, land, water and vegetation from desert to humid zones and mountain areas and finally varying connections to local and world markets and communication systems.
The author Werner Doppler is University Professor in the field of farming and rural systems economics in the tropics.