Agricultural Sustainability and Traditional Agriculture: Learning from the Past and its Relevance to Sri Lanka

Abstract

That contemporary understandings of agricultural systems are not leading to the solution of food and fiber deficiencies is not a new claim. Current interpretations of these problems seem not to make a difference in terms of policy and approach with a few notable exceptions. The failure to solve such problems can be viewed as resulting from epistemological difficulties. Given such difficulties, the position of applied social science can be recast in light of current needs of agricultural systems (i.e., environmental degradation, population growth, welfare, loss of traditional knowledge, etc.), with more active participation in setting policy and program priorities.