understanding traditional agriculture bibliography 1987

8/13/2019 Understanding Traditional Agriculture Bibliography 1987

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MICROFA proj8ct of Volunteers in Asia .

Published by: lnfofmationcentre for Low External input AgriculturePD. Box 643630 AB L8uSdenThe Netherlands .

Available from: lnformationcentre for Low External Input &icuitur8PSI. Box 643630 AB LeusdenThe Netherlands

Reproduced with permission.Reproduction of this microfiche document in any form is subject to the samerestrictions as those of the original document.


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ibli~~raphv forpmer;twor

Informationcentre forLow External InputAgriculture,P.O. Rex 64,3830 AB Leusden---vThe Netherlands,phone: (033) - 943086telex: 79380 ETC NL


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Special thanks tom. ~enk Peters for his corrections,MiZS. Feikje Weeuwsen for the typing workand to the members of ILEIA and ETCfor their support.

Title page: E. Mois&Minka, Huancayo, PeruThe sources of the other illustrations are given wheneverpossible.Some are copied from magazines in which,unfortunately, sources are not mentioned.Thanks to the unknown artist1The texts accompanying the illustrationsare by the authorif not otherwise attributed.

0 ILEIA X987CIP-CECEVENS KONfNKLlJKE BXBLIOTHEEK, DEN HAAGCarlier, HansUnderstanding traditional agriculture I bibliography fordaveloprantworkerr / Hans Carlior. - Leusden t ILEIA,lnfornationcentre for Low External Input Agriculture. -111.ISBN 90-9001496-9SISO 630.1 UDC 631/632


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UNDERSTANDINGRADITIONAL AGRICULTUREForewordHere are the results of a firstattempt at surveying theliterature available ontraditional agriculture.ILEIA views this undertaking asa logical extension of the taskto collect information abouttraditional non-western farmingsystems, and make thisinformation available toextensions workers in theNetherlands and in Third Worldcountries.It is especially noteworthythat Third World extensionworkers often encounterdifficulties in obtaining theresults of those studies whichare carried out by Westernersin their countries.

ILEIA hopes that by publishingthis sort of bibliography,and by collecting andcirculating discussionpnpersand basic literature abouttraditional agriculture in allparts of the world, to arriveat a more democratic exchange ofinformation and technology.If we want to achieve a humanely- and ecologically - friendlyagriculture in this world, wemust strive to learn a greatdeal from the practical farmers.ILEIA would like, therefore, torequest the help of everyone incollecting this literatureabout traditional agriculturalsystems in the world. We promiseto inform you regularly aboutthis theme in the ILEIANewsletter,

ILEIA, Leusden,November, 1986.

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Why ha% there never beenany respect for farmers ?Are we willing and ableto accept a poor -illiterate-third world farmeras our teacher ?Mutual respectis the only wayto communication.


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Introductionpeasants all over the worldhave developed their own formsof farming to survive. This hascome about within the frameworkof local possibilities andlimitations of ecology andwithin the social, economic andpolitical structure of theircountries and the whole world.It is no wonder, then, thatthere are a thousand and onedifferent agricultural systems.In addition, we know that three-fourths of al.1 farming familiesare scarcely in a position tobuy machinery, fertilizers,insecticides, or hybrid seeds.Therefore there are that manyfarming families who live frommore-or-less traditional "lowexternal input" agriculture.If we want to cooperate ondevelopment with this largesector, it is logical that wefirst ground ourselves in theknowledge and experience thatthey already have. Only then wecan work together to solve thebottlenecks which stand in theway of their f\;rtherdevelopment.Much too often we then mustconfront problems such as thesharing of: power--not only inregard to the means ofproduction such as land, water,labour, and equipment--but alsoin regard to who has the powerover development programs,education, and scientificresearch.The literature collected hereshall certainly help us withdiscussions about the importanceof traditional agriculture, andgive us insight into thebottlenecks which are involvedin its development.I have sought out literaturewhich supports my experience inLatin America where, with mywife Anneke, I lived for 10

yearer. We worked Pra varic%dsdevelopment projects attemptingto improve the food, foodproduction, and health of theAndes people, because we seeagriculture as an integratedpart of a farmer's subsistence.Therefore, X have includedvariow texts which deal withthe nutrition and health aspectswhich pass thrg same problems intheir development asagriculture.Furthermore, I have searchedfor descriptions, inventoriesand case-studies abouttraditional agriculture fromdifferent parts of the world.Especially among the socialsciences such as anthropology Ihave found detaileddescriptions. Although these dcnot always explore deeply thetechnical aspect., they stillprovide helpful insight intoother farming cultures.With regard to South America, Ihave, in addition to the generalliterature, split the subjectinto two clearly definedecosystems: the Andes mountainsand the Amazon region. Thesespecific farming cultures donot conform to politicalboundaries.Unfortunately I must finishthis first research because oflimitation of time and money.However, I find it veryimportant that with thispublication it is now possibleto make contact with people whoare interested in tackling thispr.&lem in a more structv:alway.I am glad that ILEIA wishes tocontinue the systematizing ofthis sort of literature.Hopefully everyone intP.*stedin this subject will hElrg aswell..


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The iniiention of ILEIA is notto collect documents in order tofill up a library, but it seesits task as one of givinginformation about wheredevelt,pment workers can findliterature relevant to theirwork. Therefore I have, wherepossible, included informationabout where articles and booksare published, and where theyare ;available in theNetherlands. Addresses of morespecialized libraries andinformaition centers in theNetherlands can be foundelsewhere in this booklet.My wish is that thisbibliography is expanded byinsiders from ever-v country.The titles which I have foulidonly form the top of an icebergzf information. It appears thatthere must be literature abouttraditional agricultural systemsin every country In any case,we can try to unlock, throughthese titles, other literaturesources, and feel inspired withideas from other parts of theworld.Although for most people theeasiest method of becomingfamiliar with farmers@ knowledgeand experience is throughliterature, one must realizethat much of that literature iswritten from a Westernperspective by predominantlyWestern researchers. Asdevelopment workers, we cannotafford to let this be. We muststrive for very intensivecommunication with farmingfamilies in order to learntogether to understand,systematize, and improve thereality of their agriculturaltraditions. The scientist mustlink up with the practicalexperience of farmers, so thathe/she can understand theirbehaviour. I know for sure thatwe shall find a great deal of

knowledge and experience amongfarmers which will contributegreatly to our projects.If we take the standpoint thatit As the people themselves. whodevelop, it is obvious that we,as development workers, mustfamiliarize ourselves with whatthe people themselves know anddo. This is necessary before wecan speak of "developmentcooperationn. The greateststumbling block for many of usis to be abl.e to recognize theilliterate, "underdeveloped"Third World farmer andfarmerswife as a resource ofknowledge an? wisdom.I don't stop to be1 ieve in abetter future.Hans Carlierp/a van Eeghenstr'aat 1891031 GD Amsterdam


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.4griculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 9 (19S3) K l--105Elsevier Scie.xe Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

THE QUESTION OF SMALL FARM DEVELOPMENT:

ho T~ZZBG ham ?MIGUEL A. ALTIERIDivision of Biological Cw~irol, Unitwrsity of Califorrrzia, Berkeley, CA 91720 (U.S.A.)

About 60% of the worlds cultivated land is still farmed by traditional orsubsistence methods. Polycultures are a prevalent component of these sys-tems. Fx example, in the Latin American tropics 60% of the corn is grownintercropped. Similarly, in Africa 98% of the cowpea, the most importantlegume there, is grown in association wit.h other crops (Francis et al., 1976).These systems, however, have been regarded as primitive by western agri-culturalists. This concept.ion has lead to the attitude that the existing foodproduction problems in underdeveloped countries are due to the fact thatlocal farmers are incapable of coping with crop production processes andthat modern technologies from the temp,erate zones must be imported topromote suitable solutions.Thus, in the early seventies the international network of agricultural re-search centers extended very rapidly. The mission was the spread of theGreen Revolution through the development of high-yielding varieties ofwheat, rice and other cereals. Or, in oth,er words, accumulated technicalinformation developed over the past decadies in the west was to be modifiedand applied to crop production in the developing countries. Saturally, thenew plants were specifically bred to further the type of capital intensivegrain production systems desired by Western interests, thus opening newmarkets for agri-business (Yerelman, 1977). Unfortunately, the GreenRevoiution proponents did not forsee the consequences of importing, tech-nological packages that had been formulated under very different ecological


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of peasants. The new packages failed to take into account the features ofsubsistence agriculture - ability to bear risk., labor constraints, symbioticcrop mixtures, diet requirements, etc. - that determine the managementcriteria and levels of resourc use by local farmers. In the majority of cases,new varieties could not surpass local varieties when managed with tradi-tional practices (Perelnian, 1977). The areas where the new miracle cerealswere widely adopt.ed were haunted by disease epidemics. Plant breederssoon learned that planting a whole region with genetically similar varietiesled to the danger of disastrous attack by either insect pests or diseases(Adams et al., 1371). Other peasants soon abandoned the new varietiesbecause of added expenses in the production (de Janvry, 1981). For exam-ple, most small farmers could not afford the expense of a tube well in orderto have irrigation, an essential component of the new technology (Perelman,1971). Thus, it seems that only a small proportion of farmers benefitedfrom the Green Revolution.REVERTING AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

Today, it. is becoming very apparent that most of the rural-developmentprograms are highly contradictory, because formulating Western modelsamong a peasant community proves inappropriate. This overwhelming con-clusion has prompted a re-examination and re-orientation of many researchan4 extension programs, so that recommendations are consistent with thecircumstances of farmers. Recently, results of studies by scientists workin ;in farmers fields suggest that the only way to formulate technology appro#-priate and adaptable to farmers criteria and resource base is by analyzinigthe socioeconomic and biophysical constraints of farm production (War-wood, 1979). This requires both an ecologicaJ and economic approachwhich formalizes the body of complex relationships implicit in tradition::11farm systems. it also requires a change in attitude so that traditional sub-sistence agro-ecosystems are no longer regarded as primitive and as theproduct of ignorance, but rather as the product of ecological rationales,and when considered wit.hin the historic framework of their origins, theseare virtually optimal agricultural systems (Egger, 1981). This renewed viewof the agrarian question is starting to reveal that the hunger and malnutritionproblems that plague the developing world are not due to the incapacityof the small farm sector, but to problems of institutional support, creditand marketing, and definiteiy to inequalities in the distribution of incomeand food (Lappe anrl Collins, 1977). Thus, at this stage, the question ofagrarian development, besides being technical, is fundamentally a questionof social and structural changes.ECOLOGICAL FEATURES OF TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURE

Understanding farmers existing technology and farming systems is thefundamental step in the design of appropriate deveIopment strategies. Per-


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haps one of the most salient features of traditional farming systems in mostdeveloping countries is their degree of crop diversity both in time and space.This diversity is expressed through the use of multiple cropping systems orpolycultures, The practice of polycultures is a traditional strategy to pro-mote diversity of diet and income source, stability of production, minimiza-tion of risk, reduced insect and disease incidence, efficient use of labor, in-tensification of production with limited resources and maximization ofreturns under low levels of technology (Francis et al., 1976; Harwood,1979).Polycultures exhibit a number of desirable features of socio-economicstability, biological resilience and productivity. The following is a list of themany advantages offered by polycultural systems as compared to monocul-ture agriculture as practiced in modern countries (Ruthenberg, 1976):(a) total yields per hecta; * are often higher than the sole crop yields evenif yields of individual components are reduced;(b) mixtures result in more efficient utilization of resources (light, water,nutrients) by plants of different height, canopy structure and nutrientrequirements;(c) diseases and pests may not spread as rapid y in mixtures beca,use ofdifferi?ntial susceptibility to the pests and pathogens and because of en-hanced abundance and efficiency of natural enemies;(d) they provide insurance against crop failure, especially in areas subjectto frosts, floods or droughts. For example, in the highlands of Tlaxcala,Mexican farmers intercrop corn with fava beans, because fava beans survivefrosts, whereas corn is completely burned;(e) they enhance opportunities for marketing ensuring a steady supply ofa range of products without much investment in storage, thus increasing themarketing success;(f) they provide effective cover to the soil and reduce loss of soil moisture;(g) mixtures spread labor costs more evenly throughout the croppingseason, and usually give higher gross returns per unit of labor employed,especially during labor scarci4.y periods;(h) in cereal/legume mixtures, fixed nitrogen from the legume is availableto the cereal and the nutritional quality of


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of modern agriculturall production has been achieved by creating large-scale, specialized farm production units, and increased mechanization anduse of chemical inputs. Thus, gains in crop yield directly depend on intensivemanagement and on the uninterrupted availability of energy and resources.Generally, increases in yields have been accompanied by a decline in geneticvariability, natural soil fertility, biological pest regulation, enhanced soilerosion, and salinization and other environmental problems. Thus the devel-opment of alternative, self-sustained, energy efficient. and less resource-in-tensive farming systems is desirable.Understanding traditional cropping schemes, which are the result of along selection pro ess, may reveal important ecological c lues for the develop-ment of alternative production and management systems. Through research,many alternative management systems have emerged. These include multiplecropping systems, agroforestry, minimum tillage, cover cropping and livingmulches. In the design of such systems it should always be kept in mindthat the goal is not short-term maximization of yield, but rather stabiliza-tion of yield with the most efficient utilization of energy and of non-renew-able resources, and a minimal degree of ecosystem degradation. This is thestrategy of the small tr ,pica.l farmer who has managed to survive underconditions of low-quality marginal soils, law capital and no access to insti-tutional support. Through a learn from the farmers approach (Saint andCoward, 19771, the advantages of such a strategy are only now becomingapparent to Western agriculturalists. This view represents a reversal of theconventional agrarian development strategy; namely, the poor but efficientteaches the opulent but wasteful.REFERENCESAdams, M.W., E Iingboe, A.H. and Rossman, E .C., 1971. Biological uniformity and dis-ease epidemics. Bioscience, 21: 1067-107 1.de Janvry, A., 1981. The Agrarian Question and Reformism in Latin America. The JohnsHopkins University Press, Baltimore, 311 pp.Egger, K., 1981. Ecofarming in the tropics - characteristics and potentialities. Plant Res.Dev., 13: 96-106.Francis, C.A., Flor, C.A. and Temple, S.R., 1976. Adapting varieties for intercroppingsystems in the tropics. In: R.I. Papendick, P.A. Sanchez and G.B. Triplett (Editors),Multiple Cropping, Am. Sot. Agron., Madison, pp. 235-253.Harwood, R.R., 1979. &mall farm development. IADS Development-oriented LiteratureSeries. Westview Press, Colorado, 160 pp.Lappe, FM. and Collins, J., 1977. Food First. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 619 pp.Perehnan, M.M., 1977. Farming for profit in a hungry world. Ailanhead Osmun, Mont-clair, New Jersey, 238 pp.Ruthenberg, H., 1976. Farming Systems of the Tropics. Oxford University Press, Oxford,366 pp.Saint, W.S. and Coward, E.W., 1977. Agriculture and behavioral science: emerging orien-tations. Science, 197: 733-737.Zandstra, H.G., Price, E.C., Litsinger, J.A. and Morris, R.A., 1981. A methodology foron-farm cropping systems research. IRRI, Los Baiios, Philippines, 145 pp.

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itional &A culture inIndia: Hi h Yields andNo Wasteby Bharat Dogra In: The Ecdogist 13, 1983, 2/3, 84-87.Today in India, as in manyuther developing countries witha rich agricultural traditionof their owny the words'improved agriculture' and'progressive agriculture' havebecoma synonymous with thespread of HYVs (High YieldingVarieties of Crops) grown withever-increasing doses of (oftenimported) chemical fertilisersand pesticides. Wherever thenew crop varieties have spread,time-honoured crop rotations,inter-cropping patterns andother important features oftraditional agriculture havebeen harshly uprooted (thischoice, however, has not beenmade willingly by most farmers,rather it has been forced onthem by a package of governmentpolicies, subsidies andselective price incentives).At the back of this trend, andthe official policies whichsupport it, is the belief thattraditional agriculture is'bactiard' and incapable ofmeeting the desired objectivesof agricultural planning, i.e.making adeguate food availablefor the Indian masses andimproving the living conditionsof the peasants who constitutethe overwhelming proportion ofthe Indian population.But is this belief, widespreadas it is among severalinternational 'experts' andIndia's own development plannersand policy makers, supported byhard facts?

In 1889, Dr John AugustusVoelcker, the ConsultingChemist to the RoyalAgricultural Society ofEngland, was sent by theBritish government to studyIndian agriculture. Voelckertoured the country extensivelyfor over one year. His reportwas publish24 in 1893, andsince then has often beencited as an authoritative workon Indian agriculture of thisperiod. For instance, theReport of the Royal Commissionon Agriculture (1928) said ofthe Voelcker Report, BWAlthoughthirty five years have elapsedsince this work was written,the ability which Dr Voelckerdisplayed in his comprehensivesurvey of the agriculturalconditions of India, in hisanalysis of problems theypresent and in therecommendations for +helrsolution, still renders it abook of the utmost value t.oall students of agriculturti inIndia."How did Dr Voelcker view Indianagriculture as it existednearly a hundred years back?Did he consider it backwardand incapable of giving a goodyield? The essence of what DrVoelcker said can be summarisedin the following extract fromhis report: "1 explain that Ido not share the opinionswhich ha'ge been expressed as toIndian Agriculture being, as awhole, primitive and backward,but I believe that in manyparts there is little or

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nothing that can be improved,whilst where agriculture ismanifestly inferior, it is moregenekally the result of theabsence oP facilities whichexist in the better districtsthan from inherent bad systemsof cultivation . . . I make boldto say that it is a much easiertask to propose improvements inEnglish agriculture than tomake really valuable suggestionsfor that of India . . . theconviction has forced itselfupon me that, taking everythingtogether and more especiallyconsidering the conditionsunder which Indian crops aregrown, they are wonderfullygood. At his best the Indianraiyat or cultivator is quiteas good as, and in somerespects, the superior of, theaverage British farmer, whileat his worst it can only besaid that this state is broughtabout largely by an absence offacilities for improvementwhich is probably unequalled inany other country . . . 1 haveremarked in earlier chapteraabout the general excellence ofthe cultivation: the cropsgrown here are numerous andvaried, much more indeed thanin England. That the cultivationshould often be magnificent isnot ta be wondered at when itis remembered that many of thecrops have been known to therail*ats for several centuries,rice is a prominent instance inpoint."More especially he stated, "Totake the ordinary acts ofhusbandry, nowhere would onefind better instances of keepingland scrupulously clean fromweeds, of ingenuity in device ofwater-raising appliances, ofknowledge of soils and theircapabilities as well as of theexact time to sow and to reap,as one would in Indianagriculture, and this not at

its best alone, but at itsordinary level. It iswonderful, too, how much isknown of rotation, the systemof mixed crops and offallowing. Certain it is thatI, at least, have never seen amore perfect picture of carefulcultivation, combined withhard l&our, perseverence andfertility of resource, than Ihave spen at many of thehalting places in my tour.Such are the gardens of Mahi,the fields of Nadiad and manyothers.HVoelcker did not believe thatthe existing ploughs and otherimplements used by the farmerswere useless and ready to bereplaced, @'It has been saidthat if the native cultivatorhad 'improved' ploughs hecould dispense with the manyploughings which he gives tothe land, and that he wouldthus save himself the cost ofgoing over the field again andagain, crossing and recrossing.These, ploughings are alwaysthree or four in number forordinary crops, and eight,twelve and even as many astwenty, for sugar cane andother special crops. But theanswer is th-ilt the end isachieved in time, a finer andbetter tilth is obtained andthe moisture is not lost."Further, "If for ploughs of newdesigns there be but littleroom, still less is there formore expensive implements,such as seed-drills, mowers,reapers, threshing machinesetc. The native seed drillwill strike everyone who seesit at work as being wonderfullyefficient, and leaving littleto be desired . . . Anyone, whohas watched the clever devicesof the native cultivators inthe implements which they use,for harrowing, levelling,drilling, raising water, etc.,

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wilY see that if anything is toreplace the existing implementsit must be simple, cheap andeffective. He will indeed be aclever man who introducessomething really practical."An important agent oftraditional Indian agriculturewas the well-developedirrigation system. nNIrrigationby wells is at once the mostwidely distributed system, andalso the one productive of thefinest examples of carefulcultivation . . .Further, as regards wells, onecannot help being struck by theskill with which a supply ofwater is first found by thenative cultivators, then by theconstruction of the wells, thekinds of wells and theirsuitability to the surroundingsand means of the people: alsoby the various devices forraising waters each of whichhas a distinct reason for itsadoption. All these are mostinteresting points with which Iam not called upon to deal, forI see little to improve in themwhich the cultivator does notknow perfectly well.*'Another aspect, less widelyrealised, was that of ascientific rotation system.Voelcker pointed out, "It isquite a mistake to suppose thatrotation is not understood orappreciated in India. Frequentlymore than one crop at a timemay be seen occupying the sameground but one is very apt toforget that this is really aninstance of rotation beingfollowed. It is not aninfrequent practice, whendrilling a cereal crop, such asjowar (sorghum vulgare) or someother millet, to put in atintervals a few drills of someleguminous crop, such as arhar(cajanus Indicus) . . .

"There are many systems inordinary use which are far morecomplicated than the above.For instance, not only maythere be rows of crops, sideby side, as noticed above, butthe alternating rows maythemselves be made up ofmixtures of different crops,some of them quick growing andreaped early, &&ore of slowergrowth and requiring both sunan9 air, and thus being reapedafter the former have beenclaared off. Again, some aredeep-rooted plants, others aresurface feeders, some requirethe shelter of other plantsand some will thrive alone.The whole system appears to beone designed to cover thebareness and consequent lossto the soil, which would resultfrom the soil beating downupon it, and from the loss ofmoisture which it would incur."Voelcker, moreover, was notthe only agricultural scientistto point out these assets oftraditional agriculture inIndia. There were severalothersI scientists and expertscholars, who did so. Here wequote from only two others-J.Mollison and A.O. Hume.J. Mollison, who later becamethe first Inspector General ofAgriculture in India, publishedin 1901 a volume Text Book ofIndian Agriculture. LikeVoelcker, Mollison stressed thesuitability of the implementsused traditionally in Indianconditions. "1 believe thatthe implements in ordinary useare entirely suitable for theconditions of Indianagriculture. This statementmay be objected to by otherauthorities, but if such isthe case, I am afraid, I cannotchange a deliberately expressedopinion. To those who aresceptical I can show in parts


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of the Bombay Presidencycultivation by means ofindigenous tillage implementsonly, which in respect ofneatness, thoroughness andprofitableness cannot beexcelled by the best gardenersor the best farmers in any partof the world. That statement Ideliberately make, and am quiteprepared to substantiate.lgMollison gives the fOllOWiIigaccount of the practice ofartificial warping in BombayPresidency, "Artificial warpingdiffers from the naturalformation of alluvium only, inthat the water of a turbidstream may be diverted from itscourse, and held in a particulararea sufficiently long todeposit a large amount ofsediment, and if the process isoften repeated, a soil ofconsiderable depth may be formedon rock or any other sterilearea. Many of the small rice-fields on the Western Ghatshave been formed by throwingbandheras across the turbidhill-streams and eitherdiverting the water or allowinga small lake to form above theweir. In this way the currentis so obstructed that suspendedearthy matter is deposited andin time the silt layer becomesso deep that a rice-crop can beraised theron. The lowerterraced rice fields of theGhats are annually warped andimproved by the silt carrieddown by the drainage water ofthe uplands."Speaking of the soil-mixingpractices, Mollison writes,%ixing is not unknown in India.Clay is often carted from rice-fields in sufficient quantityto add a layer one to two inchesthick on sand land. The additionchanges the consistence of thesand, so that it becomes bettersuited for sugar cane and other

garden crops raised underirrigation. The cultivatorappreciates the value of tanksilt and in those districtswhere these water resemsirsare common they are cleanedout with the utmost care andregularly each year. The siltwhich has collected in thesetanks being the washings ofvillage sites and cultivatedfields, has some manurialvalue, and applied as it is atthe rate of 40 cart loads ormore per acre, addsconsiderably to the body ofsoil. HA.O. Hume, in AgriculturalReform in India, (1878) wroteabout weed-control by Indianfarmers at that time, "As forweeds, their wheat fieldswould, in this respect, shameninety-nine hundredths ofthose in Europe. You may standin some high old barrow-likevillage site in Upper India,and look down on all sides onone wide sea of waving wheatbroken only by dark greenislands of mango groves-manysquare miles of wheat and nota weed or blade of grass a,bovesix inches in height to befound amongst it. What is tobe spied out creeping here andthere on the ground is onlythe growth of the last fewweeks, sincn the corn grew toohigh and thick to permit thewomen and children to continueweeding."Hume's tribute to the grain-storage practices of Indianfarmers is no less glowing."They are great adepts instoring grain, and will turnout of rough earthern pits,after 20 years, absolutelyuninjured. They know the exactstate of ripeness to whichgrain should be allowed tostand in different seasons; inother words under different


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meteorological conditions, toensure its keeping when thusstored; and equally the lengthof time that, under varyingatmospheric conditions it shouldlie upon the open threshingfloor to secure the sameobjec,t.ggAll these statements were madein the latter part of the 19thcentury, but more recentresearch on tribal communitiesand other farmers followingtraditional methods ofcultivation has also revealedseveral interesting facts aboutthe assets of traditionalagriculture.Research work done during thelast decade by a prominentagricultural scientist of India,Dr R.H. Richaria {formerDirector of Central RiceResearch Institute in India) inthe Chattisgarh region of thestate of Madhya Pradesh hasrevealed the high level ofskills of the farmers of remotetribal villages still untouchedby the official developmentprogrammes. This scientist'stravels in Bastar district, oneof the most remote areas inCentral India, where tribalcommunities still lead a lifeof their own, brought him intocontact with farmers who weretaking comparable and evenlarger yields from indigenousrice varieties, compared to theHWs being spread officially inother parts of the state.Another revelation was the verylarge number of rice varietiesbeing grown by the farmers, whopossessed detailed knowledge ofeach of their properties. Someof those varieties wereremarkable for their highyields, some for their supremecooking qualities, some fortheir aroma, and some for othercherished qualities.

In the late seventies, DrRicharia wrote:A recentvarietal cum agronomic surveyhas shown that nearly 9 percent of the total varietiesgrown in MP fall under thecategory of high yieldingtypes (3,705 kgs and above perhectare).A farmer planting a ricevariety called Mokdo of Bastarwho adopted his own cultivationpractices obtained about 3,700to 4,700 kgs of paddy perhectare. Another rice growerof Dhamtari block (Raipur)with just one hectare of riceland, told me tliat he obtainedabout 4,400 kgs of paddy perhectare from chinnar variety,a renowned scented type, yearafter year with littlefluctuations. He used farmyardmanure supplemented at timeswith a low dose of nitrogenfertilisers. For low lyingareas in Farasgaon Block(Bastar) a non-lodging mildlyscented tall rice varietySurja with bold grains cancompete with Java in yieldpotential at lower doses offertilisation, according to alocal grower who recentlyshowed me his crop. During myvisit to the Bastar area inthe middle of November, 1975,when the harvesting of newrice crop was in full swing inthat locality, I observed afield of Assam Chudi ready forharvest with which the adivasicultivator named Baldeo of theBhatra tribe in the villageDhikonga of Yugalpur block,had entered in a cropcompetition. The cultivatorhad applied fertiliser,approximately equal to 50 kgN/ha and had used no plantprotection measures. Heexpected a yield of about5,000 kg/ha.In the Bichia Block of the

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Mandla district. Madhya Pradesh,our survey (1973-74) hasindicated the following yields:

ladigemua Yield ia ame Yield io kglbmrice variety (1 bag=75 kgr)l.Amar Jy&i 20 37502. Rmi Kajar 30-36 5625-65623. Chat&i 20 97504. Dubraj 20-25 3750.4687S.Luch& li 30-35 6625-6562

Dr Richaria stresses that theexisting local practices ofcultivation have emerged aftercenturies of experience, basedon trial and error and have asound basis for their wideacceptance.While studying traditionalagriculture, attention shouldnot be focused only, or evenprimarily, on farming methodsand on crop varieties. What ismore important is the overallharmony of the traditionalmixed farming system.Traditionally, man, animals,trees (including grasslands) andagricultural fields wereinseparable and harmoniouscomponents of a single system.The villager looked after thetrees on his fields and alsocontributed to the maintenanceof the community grazing land.He looked after the animalsowned by him, sometimes withthe assistance of a grazinghand and cultivated the fieldsowned by him, with or withouthired labour or share croppers./Ii The trees provided fodder for[ the cattle. They also providedfuel for the villagers. The

leaves that fell were put touses beneficial to theagricultural fields. Meanwhilletheir soil and waterconservation properties werebeneficial for the villagersand contributed to maintainingthe fertility of agriculturalfields, as well as providingshade during the scorchingsummer. In addition, certaintrees provided edible fruits,medicines, gum, toothpaste anda host of other commodities ofevery day use. In some villagestrees were used for laccultivation, and for raisingsilkworms and bees. Owing totheir water conservationproperties trees were alsoresponsible in several villagesfor ensuring an adequate supplyof drinking water.Cattle provided milk and milkproducts and contributed to thenutritional content of thevillagers' diet. Cattle dungprovided organic fertilisersfor the fields, while thepoultry provided eggs andmeat. Tha skins of dead cattlewere used for making footwearand other leather products-allsuch activity being carriedout in the village. Not least,bullocks ploughed the fields.The fields produced foodgrains,pulses, oilseeds and vegetablesfor the villagers. The residuesof those crops, of no directuse to man who could not eatthem, were fed to the cattle.Poultry birds scavenged thewasted scattered grain.Harmonious as the system was,disturbing a single componentcould have a chain effect offar-reaching consequences. Forinstance, if for some reasonthe villagers did not properlylook after the communitygrazing lands and trees or ifthese were destroyed by some

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outside force, say a timbermerchant, then soil and waterconservation would inevitablysuffer. The fertility of theagricultural fields would notonly be directly affected butalso indirectly, becauseshortage of timber would meanthat more dung would have to beused as fuel, thereby leavingless for fertilising the fields.The next consequence would beshortage of fodder, leading toa weakening of the animals. Inaddition, the villagers wouldbe gradually deprived of severalcommodities of everday use,including fruits and medicines.Over much of India, thetraditional harmonious mixedfarming system has beendisrupted. Thus around mostvillages the land is eroded,agricultural yields are low,there is shortage of fuel andfodder, the bullocks are weak,and the milk yield is low.Under such conditions it isvital that a massive treeplanting programme in and arcriindthe village should be undertakenand the grazing lands berehabilitated. Not only willsuch activities put agricultureand animal husbandry back ontheir feet, they will also helpsolve the problem of fuelshortage and help improve thedrinking water situation.Furthermore planners shouldstudy the numerous varieties ofcrops being grown in thoseareas, and should then makegood quality seeds available tothe villagers. Better fieldpreparation and help withmanuring, sowing operations,crop management and with postharvest storage will lead tobetter quality of crops as wellas yields. All this can be donewithin the framework of thetraditional system, that is,

maintaining the essentialharmony of agriculture, ankznalhusbandry and forestry.Any effort to rsbuild orimprove the traditional systemof mixed farming must be donein a manner in which there isno conflict betweenagriculture, forestry, animalhusbandry and the real needsof the village. It is all tooeasy to go against the essenceof the traditional system -for instance, through plantingtree species which whilemeeting the requirements ofindustry do not provide fodderto the villagers nor increasethe fe;-tility of the fields.furthermore, breeds of cattlecan be promoted which cannotthrive on crop residues butmust be fed on foodgrains thatbefore were consumed only byhuman beings.Thus some varieties of pineand eucalyptus, both of whichare being promoteii in thegovernment's tree plantingprogrammes, have leaves thatcannot be consumed as fodder,while their acidic propertiesdiminish the fertility ofagricultural land as well aslowering its moisture content.Moreover with certain breeds ofcow that have been introduced,it becomes necessary to usevillage land for growing greenfodder as well as coarsecereals in order to feed thecattle, thereby diminishingthe availability of food inthe village, even though milkproduction is expected to rise.Within the traditional system,milk production does not riseat the expense of losing foodgrains since cattle areexpected to consume only greentree leaves and crop residues.Moreover, the benefits ofcross-bred cows and of highermilk production are likely to

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accrue at least initially tothe better off villagers, whilethe effect of decreased foodproduction will probably befelt by the poorer sections ofthe community,New agricultural technology inthe form of tractors andfertilisers will again benefitthe richer farmers, who willtherefore be able to increasetheir agricultural productionand cash receipts. On the otherhand, their dependence onorganic manure and bullocks isreduced, so that theirrequirement for fodder becomesless. All those factors maylead them to neglect the growthand proper maintenance ofgrazing lands. In fact, owingto the high value of anyadditional land, they may evenbe tempted to encroach grazingland and grow crops on it, usingtractors and chemicalfertilisers. In the process therest of the village becomesworse off than before.

In recent years ambitiousprogrammes of agriculture,dairy development and forestryhave been undertaken and evenmore ambitious programmes willbe undertaken in the nearfuture. In view of the massiveinvestments being made, thedevelopment planners shouldpause to think about the meritsof the traditional system ofthe Indian village and the wayin which the villagers made thebest use of available resourceswith minimal wastage.What Voelcker wrote nearly 100years back may be valid todayalso: "1 believe that it willbe possible here and there tograft onto native practice theresults of the westernexperience, but the mainadvance will come from anenquiry into nativeagriculture, and from theextension of the betterindigenous methods to partswhere they are not known oremployed.3P

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How we work - Go to the peopleLive among the peopleLearn from the peoplePlan with the peopleWork with the peopleStart with what they knowBuild on what the people haveTeach by showingLearn by doingNot a showcase but a patternNot odds and ends but a systemNot piecemeal but integrated approachNot to conform but to transformNot to relief but releaseChinese community organizer in the 1920s.

understanding traditional agriculture bibliography 1987

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