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Rural Social Systems and Agricultural Change: Institutions, Inequality, Innovation, and Just Agrarian Futures — book cover

Open access · 2026

Rural Social Systems and Agricultural Change

Institutions, Inequality, Innovation, and Just Agrarian Futures

Publisher
Lumina Literati Publishing
Publication
2026
ISBN
978-627-7813-68-0
Format
Open-access PDF · 185 pages
Rights
Authors retain copyright

Book overview

Rural Social Systems and Agricultural Change examines how institutions, inequality, knowledge, and mobility shape agricultural transformation. It follows the relationships through which people gain access to land, labour, markets, technology, and public support, asking who can act, who benefits, and who carries the costs of change.

The book’s Rural Systems Mediation Framework connects drivers of change with social mediators, negotiated responses, differentiated outcomes, and feedbacks. Five chapters develop this approach: concepts and evidence; households, land, and labour; institutions, networks, and collective action; knowledge, technology, and innovation; and markets, migration, and rural livelihoods.

Drawing on published research and guidance on open evidence, the discussion distinguishes descriptive patterns, associations, and causal explanations. It considers production and income alongside agency, care, employment quality, livelihood security, and ecological consequences. Diagnostic matrices and practical questions help readers examine particular settings without treating rural households or communities as uniform groups.

The book offers students, researchers, educators, extension professionals, development practitioners, and policy analysts a way to connect social analysis with agricultural policy and practice. Its emphasis is on understanding context, assessing unequal outcomes, and making rural development choices more accountable.

Inside the book

  1. 01

    Seeing the Rural System

    Concepts, Change Mechanisms, and an Open-Evidence Strategy

  2. 02

    Households in Motion

    Land, Labor, and Agrarian Differentiation

  3. 03

    Rules and Relationships

    Institutions, Networks, and Collective Action

  4. 04

    Uneven Innovation

    Knowledge, Technology, and Power

  5. 05

    Markets on the Move

    Mobility and the Recomposition of Rural Livelihoods

About the authors

Dr. Muhammad Idrees

Dr. Muhammad Idrees is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rural Sociology at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.

dr.midrees@uaf.edu.pk

Ms. Hina Shahid

Ms. Hina Shahid is a PhD Scholar in the Department of Rural Sociology at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.

Hinashahid828121@gmail.com

Dr. Adeela Manzoor

Dr. Adeela Manzoor is a Lecturer in the Institute of Home Sciences at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.

Adeela.manzoor@uaf.edu.pk

Dr. Ayesha Riaz

Dr. Ayesha Riaz is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Home Sciences at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.

Ayesha.riaz@uaf.edu.pk

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185 pages · English · PDF

Rural Social Systems and Agricultural Change: Institutions, Inequality, Innovation, and Just Agrarian Futures

© 2026 Muhammad Idrees, Hina Shahid, Adeela Manzoor, and Ayesha Riaz. Copyright remains with the authors. Reproduction and reuse are subject to applicable law and any licence granted by the rights holders. The complete book is free to read and download.

Cite this book

Idrees, M., Shahid, H., Manzoor, A., & Riaz, A. (2026). Rural social systems and agricultural change: Institutions, inequality, innovation, and just agrarian futures. Lumina Literati Publishing. https://doi.org/10.65758/isbn.9786277813680

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