Dilemmas in British conservationism in Zimbabwe, 1890-1930
During the first 40 years of British colonial rule in Zimbabwe, from 1890 to 1930, European farmers and miners established commercial farms and mines (in prime natural regions
During the first 40 years of British colonial rule in Zimbabwe, from 1890 to 1930, European farmers and miners established commercial farms and mines (in prime natural regions
Farmers' indigenous method of management of potato blight by selecting the appropriate varieties as per the production situation characteristics in the existing constrained conditions in the Meghalaya hills for their benefit is a successful example of informal research and large-scale application of the results in the real field conditions.
In recent decades, the introduction of fertilizer and irrigation responsive high yielding dwarf varieties of rice have resulted in more widespread and intensive use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides. The indiscriminate use of such chemical agents led to a wide array of problems and has forced mankind to consider safer ways of crop production and protection. Many such approaches are, in fact, practices that our ancestors had employed for centuries.
The present work examines the changing notion of wastelands and contested rights over it in Assam in the last 200 years. As the East India Company gradually became aware of this region, they expressed their serious interest in the wastelands. The initial intervention took place with the discovery of tea plants in Assam, and the Company administration began to lease out such lands to the European planters. During the 1830s and 1870s, a significant amount of such lands was transferred to the planters. It was from the 1870s that the newly
In the last year, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were a much discussed issue. Most of the discussion focused on two issues, viz. (a) the acquisition of land, rehabilitation, the consequences for farmers and agricultural output, and (b) the cost of the various tax benefits provided to developers of SEZs and the units to be located in them. While these are important issues, they address only the cost aspect of the equation. Taking another path, this paper tries to determine the expected benefits from SEZs and whether they are being achieved.
Agriculture in Developing Countries : Technology Issues presents an experimental approach of testing new possibilities and combinations to match the changes taking place in the agricultural production environment of developing countries. While emphasizing the importance of combining scientific and indigenous knowledge, this book argues that sustained agricultural development can be achieved only by promoting farmers' participation in technology development. It provides empirical evidence for this, using recent primary data from across Asia.
Twenty-six years ago, people displaced by the Supa dam were resettled in Karnataka's Uttara Kannada district. The better irrigation facilities promised to them after they were relocated in the
coconut farmers in Kerala have got tentative relief with the Kerala High Court lifting its stay on a ban on palm oil import through Kochi port. On November 20, the court said no consignment of palm
The Union Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs is contemplating a 12 per cent interest subsidy to sugar mills and 5 per cent to farmers. There has been a face-off between it and the finance ministry over the interest subsidy for farmers. The finance ministry says the move is anti-farmer and wants a hike in the subsidy for farmers. A 5 per cent subsidy would mean that the centre will have to foot a Rs 550 crore bill, while a 12 per cent interest support would cost it Rs 1,350 crore. <br>
Western Orissa is witnessing an upheaval. In the eye of the storm is the Hirakud dam. Over 300,000 farmers dependent on its water for irrigation are indignant that industries springing up around the dam are sucking away the water they had been waiting for
FOR as long as most people can remember, food has been getting cheaper and farming has been in decline. In 1974-2005 food prices on world markets fell by three-quarters in real terms. Food today is so cheap that the West is battling gluttony even as it scrapes piles of half-eaten leftovers into the bin.
Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana) is an important indigenous fruit. The farmers of western Rajasthan have adopted various commercial improved varities of ber at large scale. However, the attack of pests and diseases on ber/ber based cropping system is a major problem of ber growers. The low fertility level of the soil also have negative impact on progress of the above cropping system.
For long, Hevelie Shohe and her family have been growing upland paddy on their traditional 'jhum' land on the hills of this Sema Naga village of Nagaland, but have had little to save. This autumn, the 45 year old farmer is busy taking care of the jatropha saplings she planted on one hectare of 'jhum' land. She hopes to double her income when they mature and their seeds sold for extraction of green fuel. Dec 2007
In the post-tsunami period, in the midst of hectic relief work, the Social Activities for Rural Development Society (SARDS), an NGO working in the Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, made a startling discovery. While every government and voluntary agency in the area was bending over backwards to offer relief to the fishing community, the 35,000 odd salt making community in the district was left totally out of the ambit of all relief and aid work. Dec 2007
About 60% area of Kandhamal district in Orissa is covered under forest. It is inhabited mostly by scheduled tribes (kondha) and scheduled caste people.The livestock population is quite high, but the health care for livestock is very meager. Hardly any veterinary aid reaches the remote tribal villages. However, farmers have their own methods of curing livestock diseases. Dec 2007
Traditional farming practices have been developed by agrarian societies in particular ecological setting. Sustainability in these systems has been derived after a long tenure through trial and error with crops and practices. Most of the practices of traditional farmers for disease management in developing countries consist of cultural control. Some of the traditional practices of practical importance adopted by the farmers of semiarid and arid Rajasthan which include districts of Barmer, Jodhpur, Pali and Jaipur are discussed in this paper. Dec 2007
Sugarcane farmers in Alnavar near Dharwad in Karnataka state are no more worried about the insect
In Bangladesh, the first Farmer Field Schools were organised in the early 1990s, assisted by the FAO inter-country programme for IPM in rice. After initial positive experiences, several other donors (UNDP, CARE-Bangladesh and DANIDA) started projects to spread IPM to hundreds of thousands of farmers through IPM Farmer Field Schools. All these projects included season-long Training of Trainers courses to develop skilled FFS facilitators. Through this continuous support over the past ten
The Farmer Field School (FFS) approach has become wellknown after the positive experiences seen in Indonesia and other Asian countries. In this article we describe how the "conventional' IPM Farmer Field School approach has been modified in the South Indian dryland agriculture context, in order to suit the needs and problems of farmers in this area. Dec 2007
Farmers' traditional methods for managing the potato late blight in the Meghalaya hills are successful examples of ecological disease management and an established outcome of traditional experimentations. Such farmers' wisdom ought to be given attention in formal research systems. Dec 2007