A multidimensional approach to understanding agro-ecosystems. A case study in Hubei Province, China

Understanding agro-ecosystems implies acknowledging its complexity and its heterogeneity. Complexity refers to different hierarchical levels at which agriculture can be described; heterogeneity refers to the variability recorded within each hierarchical level considered. When dealing with valuation aimed at sustainability it is essential to assess multi-criteria and multi-scale descriptions and to find a way to bridge them. For this reason and to support the decision processes, it is fundamental to understand the role of households in this system. Here we suggest a multivariate statistical approach to the definition of household types with a case study of five rural villages in Hubei province, China. In each village, 50 random households were sampled and interviewed. Results show five distinct household types, differing in size and composition, economic activities, technical development, cereal productivity, food sufficiency, education and overall income. However, the analysis pointed out a recent and still on-going process of polarisation as equality seems still the main feature of Chinese society. Severe constraints existing in the socio-economic boundary conditions could provide very limited possibilities for rural farmers to emerge from poverty. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.