Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Hoffman, David M.
Committee Member
Schewe, Rebecca L.
Committee Member
Copeland, Toni
Date of Degree
8-12-2016
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Open Access
Major
Applied Anthropology
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures
Abstract
This Master’s Thesis establishes what motivates a group of Mississippi farmers to participate in sustainable agriculture instead of industrial agriculture. A database of sustainable farmers was constructed in collaboration with the Gaining Ground Sustainability Institute of Mississippi. This research project used social network analysis with 28 farmers and participant observation and semi-structured interviewing with a purposively selected sample of 14 farmers. This project also explores the sustainable agricultural practices of participants. A map of the social network of sustainable agriculturalists in Mississippi is presented and shows that some farmers are well connected, some moderately connected, and others are isolated. As well, grounded qualitative analysis of interviews identified 4 primary motivations among participants: economic, health, self-sufficiency and anti-government. Overall this project found that motivations are numerous, social networks are weak but growing, and diverse demographics are turning to a sustainable model for agriculture in Mississippi.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11668/20729
Recommended Citation
Odom, Casey William, "Drivers of Sustainable Agriculture in a Southern State" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 1577.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/1577