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- | === Excerpts from "An Agriculture Testament" | + | I bow down humbly |
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- | These notes form a part of [[sanjeev shankar]]' | + | |
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- | Following practices are still prevalent in large parts of these regions: | + | |
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- | * System of peasant farming for centuries. Agricultural practices are as permanent as those of the primeval forest and are comparable to systems found in Costarica, Guatemala and other parts of Latin America. Chief characteristics include: | + | |
- | * minute holdings | + | |
- | * dominance of food and forage crops | + | |
- | * mixed crops are the rule with cereals being the main constituent | + | |
- | * a balance between livestock and crops | + | |
- | * use of animal waste (especially in china, even the human waste found its way back to the land), Nothing is waste | + | |
- | * leguminous plants are common(indo gangetic plains have pigeon pea which is also a sub soil cultivator) | + | |
- | * absence of soil inversion ploughs( soil inversion for the destruction of weeds in hot climate is unnecessary in hot climate since the same work is done by the sun! Also preserving the level of fields is essential for surface drainage and to prevent water logging ) | + | |
- | * adequate suppply of labour | + | |
- | * regional variables a common feature | + | |
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- | * Satisfy three hungers: hunger of local rural population with the livestock, hunger of urban population and that of machines which need raw materials | + | |
- | * Holding tends to increase in size (from small family units of france and switzerland to collective farms of russia and ranches of US and Argentina) | + | |
- | * monoculture is the rule, even rotations are unknown and no attempt is made to create natural humus or manure or waste recycling | + | |
- | * dominance of the machine | + | |
- | * artificial manure used widely | + | |
- | * diseases and hence pesticides on the rise | + | |
- | * food processing is a norm | + | |
- | * science a dominant force to help production | + | |
- | * loss of soil fertility highlighted by the growing menace of soil erosion | + | |
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- | === Europe and India: Urban Farming Comparision === | + | |
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- | These notes form a part of [[sanjeev shankar]]' | + | |
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- | There are numerous contextual divides and connects between European and Asian/ | + | |
- | * Scale and overall capacity of the city, its people and the land they live on | + | |
- | * Growth index of the city, population density, character of the built habitat and beliefs/ | + | |
- | * Degree of support from the government | + | |
- | * City's interdependence on rural areas and rural people | + | |
- | * Immediate and pressing needs and challenges faced by the city/ | + | |
- | * The nature of demand and supply | + | |
- | * Traditional knowledge, role of medicinal plants and type of relationship with land(In India ' | + | |
- | * Soil conditions, land ownership systems((http:// | + | |
- | * Role of plants in daily life(religion/ | + | |
- | * Type of staple diet | + | |
- | * Overall seriousness of the problem, opportunity and public perception, level of awareness | + | |
- | * The impact and role of permaculture as a systemic solution | + | |
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- | Some interesting insights from interviews and research are given below: | + | |
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- | * In Africa, the challenges and problems are acute. Plagued with the problems of desertification, | + | |
- | people living in poverty, violence against women, increasing spread of AIDS and infectious diseases, constantly failing crops and dwindling livestock and the exodus of young people, permaculture along with a broad community driven | + | |
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- | * Cuba on the other hand has demonstrated the most widespread and exceptional turnaround. Free fall of it's economy in early nineties resulted in some drastic positive steps being taken . Every vacant lot in the city was converted into an orchard. People learnt about diversified and integrated systems and started recycling organic residues and waste. Urban areas doubled up as areas for livestock production. With a strong sense of community and a feeling of caring and sharing for each other, the impact was felt beyond agriculture. The education, housing, transportation and energy alternative realms were affected resulting in improvised solutions from the people and the government. The success of Cuba proves that the promotion of small participatory projects that stimulate | + | |
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- | * In Nepal which has 90 % of its working population dependant on agriculture for their livelihood, permaculture has become a mature innovative approach to participatory community based development of sustainable land use. An important case is that of the Jajarkot Permaculture Programme(JPP) with 120 staff and 12000 members who are involved in training people for fruit and vegetable production, bee keeping, weaving, low external-input techniques and drinking water systems. With a diverse skill base, it further identifies and uses traditional farming, labour and product exchange systems to apply its work. Finally in order to strengthen the local economy, marketing of farm produce is recycling wealth back into villages. Today it is in a position to train farmers at a national and international level. With the exceptional constraint that farmers could not afford a drop in their yield while shifting to permaculture methods, a rolling permaculture system has been gradually introduced where new systems are introduced alongside traditional ones and are designed to enhance and diversify production rather than replace it. This is a crucial case study since most Indian farmers are hesitant to shift to permaculture or alternative systems as they fear a drop in their produce. This attitude is also seen at the government level. Complete details of this case study can be seen in the link given at the end of this page. | + | |
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- | * In Phillipines, | + | |
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- | * In India and many other eastern cultures land is venerated and worshipped as a source of life and sustenance. Cities in India are well served by the produce from rural areas within and without the city. The threat of food shortage and rising food prices is not synonymous with Indian cities. A unique and striking feature is the existence of urban villages which serve not just agro-produce but also dairy products to the city. Such intepenetration is a unique defining trait of Indian cities and can lead to an integrated and interdependent design response. This character lends Indian cities a RUrban character, which is an amalgamation of both rural and urban models as perceived by most of us. Further, approaches and techniques like seedballing, | + | |
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- | * Agriculture in urban India is a means of sustenance and earning money. It is often done by the poor/ | + | |
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- | * Some interesting aspects of permaculture from different parts of the world have been discussed in LEISA((http:// | + | |
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- | Related: http:// | + | |
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