List of Figures;List of tables;List of Boxes;Abbreviations;Acknowledgements;1 Introduction;1.1 Challenges of unsustainable development in rural China;1.2 Approaches to unsustainable challenge;1.3 Farmer innovation? Research questions and framework;1.4 Book structure and content;2 Sustainability and farmer innovation in the developing world;2.1 Rural development and sustainability: roles for farmers;2.2 Exogenously technological innovation in marginal areas;2.3 Methodology for farmer innovation and self-organisation; 2.4 Conclusions: environment, sustainability and farmer innovation;3 Marginal areas and marginalisation in rural China;3.1 Geogaphy for China's rural change? A core-marginal division;3.2 Rural change and marginalisation in market economy era;3.3 Impacts of marginalisation on government intervention;4 Environment and innovation in rural Shaanxi;4.1 Marginalisation in rural Shaanxi: an introduction;4.2 Environmental challenges and impacts on rural livelihoods;4.3 Rural innovation and re-organisation in marginal areas;4.4 Why a farmer innovation study is needed: concluding remarks;5 Environmental and development challenges in Zhidan;5.1 Zhidan's resources and ecological environment;5.2 Zhidan's rural economic development and challenges;5.3 Evolution of Zhidan's innovation strategy;5.4 Institutional dilemmas and innovation organisation;5.5 Conclusions: institutional contradiction and rural innovation;6 Farmer innovative capacity and communication networks;6.1 Village environment and livelihood systems: overview of samples;6.2 Household innovative capacity;6.3 Farmer communication networks;6.4 Conclusions: communication, networks and innovation;7 Farmer self-organisation for innovation: cases and model;7.1 Technology apprpriateness: the case of greenhouse adoption;7.2 Innovation potential:invention of a rainfall collection system;7.3 Social capital and farmer innovation: case of the 'green' village;7.4 Farmer innovation system: a self-organisation model;8 Conclusion: sustainability and farmer innovation in China;8.1 What's the challenge? Unsustainability and marginalisation;8.2 Role of the poor: sustainable livelihoods and organisation;8.3 Innovation model for farmer self-organisation;8.4 Policy implications: interface between insiders and outsiders;Footnotes;Bibliography;Appendix 1: Map of fieldwork location;Appendix 2: survey map of Zhidan

'The book is full of interesting observations and ideas and is a fortunate combination of theory and empirical verification. ... The author (and his advisors) can be congratulated on a fine piece of work.' - Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture'The book is a valuable addition to the studies on agricultural extension in China.' - The China Journal