Paul Hebinck is Associate Professor Wageningen University, The Netherlands; Adjunct Professor University of Forth Hare, Faculty of Agriculture and Science, Alice, South Africa.

Jan Douwe van der Ploeg is Professor of Transition Studies at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, and Adjunct Professor of Rural Sociology at China Agricultural University in Beijing, China.

Sergio Schneider is Professor of Rural Sociology and Development Studies at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.