The knowledge of the Soligas and their practices of conservation are linked to the clan (kula) system and their configuration of the landscape. Forest fires benefit and also harm the forest depending on where they occur and the intensity and timing of the fire. Soligas have used controlled ground fires for long, especially when they practised shifting cultivation, for NTFP harvesting and as a general forest management treatment. Forest fires benefit and also harm the forest depending on where they occur and the intensity and timing of the fire. Soligas have used controlled ground fires for long, especially when they practised shifting cultivation, for NTFP harvesting and as a general forest management treatment. Forest fires benefit and also harm the forest depending on where they occur and the intensity and timing of the fire. Soligas have used controlled ground fires for long, especially when they practised shifting cultivation, for NTFP harvesting and as ageneral forest management treatment.
Traditional Knowledge and Conservation, by Madegowda C, Economic & Political Weekly Magazine, 23 May 2009
ATMA
the Agricultural and Technology Management Agency (ATMA) initiative could contribute positively to managing the current crisis and strengthen India's food security.
ATMA is a Government of India initiative designed to disseminate research and technological improvements in agriculture to farmers and stakeholders involved in agricultural activities at the district level. The coverage under ATMA has been progressively increasing. In some states, such as Gujarat and Maharashtra, by early 2009 all districts have been covered by this initiative.
Finances for this initiative, whose design requires relatively small outlays, are shared between the Centre (90%) and the states (10%). The implementation responsibility is, however, with the states.
The design of the ATMA initiative envisages public private partnerships (PPP) involving all relevant stakeholders. Thus, in Gujarat, ATMA initiatives involves partnership with state agricultural universities, seed and land development corporations, state fertiliser companies, flower grower associations, private sector agro businesses and even with agricultural media organisations. The capacity to undertake PPPs with multiple stakeholders on part of the ATMA Directorate at the state level is therefore crucial.
This is another area where there is need to build capacities of various states.
As there is provision for obtaining the services of persons with requisite skills for a specified period, this initiative enables broad-basing of skills available for improving agriculture, while minimising addition to the permanent staff of the government.
The ATMA initiative recognises one of the most important insights from the economic growth literature. It is that labour and capital as factors of production do not fully explain the resulting output. It is the application (and diffusion) of knowledge economy, usually referred to as technical progress which significantly contributes to generating output from given factors of production.
It also recognises that all aspects of agriculture from pre to post harvest must be infused with a knowledge economy perspective to improve Indian agriculture.
The ATMA initiative is particularly relevant for India as its share in arable land in the world at 11.5% is second only to the United States. India has the largest share of irrigated area in the world. It however lags considerably behind other countries in yield per hectare of different crops. Thus, in 2004, India's yield per hectare for paddy was only 75% of the world average. The corresponding figures for wheat were 93%, maize 38%, cereals 73%, pulses 79% and soya bean 48%.
India also lags behind in processing agricultural produce; and in developing robust databases and information systems relevant for developing sound agricultural policies and practices.
In Maharashtra, the ATMA initiative has led to encouraging results in horticulture; and in introducing the cashew crop and related processing activities. This is bringing new dynamism to parts of Maharashtra which have traditionally been laggards.
It is imperative to monitor the progress of each State in implementing the ATMA initiative; and to ensure that capacities of laggard states are strengthened. Energising the ATMA initiative should be a high priority for the new government to be formed after the elections.
Mukul G Asher is a professor of public policy and Azad Bali an instructor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. –DNA 18th Feb-http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1231816
B. Serious Threat to Indian Agriculture by Krishan Bir Chaudhary, The Movement of India, 01 March, 2006
The US-India Knowledge Initiative in agriculture is promoting ignorance in the name of knowledge. by Vandana Shiva, Resurgence Website, 08 July, 2006
Learning alliances for poverty reduction
C. Shambu Prasad
Farmers first
Learning alliances in practice
Open communication
- Knowledge Intensive Agriculture: Experiences and Insights from Civil Society - A sharing session with Shambu Prasad and others, April 2008
- Learning alliances for poverty reduction , by C. Shambu Prasad, April 2008
When the farmers' jury gave its verdict
by Sreelatha Menon, December 27, 2009, Business Standard
Who is an agricultural expert? The practising farmer or the numerous graduates who pass from agricultural universities?
For this country, the latter is considered the expert, while the former — who can feel the winds and predict the rains, touch the soil and scan the health of the seedlings in its womb — is nothing more than a labourer.
Not only is he considered unfit to be a teacher and a scholar of the subject and partner in research and policy-making, but is reduced to a life of extreme poverty, having to pull rickshaws or do construction work in the cities every two months, to raise money to invest in the fields. This, again, leads to the question of a country’s seed sovereignty, a matter over which no policy maker is losing sleep.
This month, 30 farmers — women and men — gathered as a jury in Karnataka and quizzed a number of agricultural scientists on the theme of ‘Democratisation of Agricultural Research. The farmers’ jury, or Raita Teerpu, then gave their verdict.
Food subsidy Bill to be reviewed in May, says Pawar by Ashok B Sharma, The Financial Express, 25 March, 2006
Deceptive Sense Of Bounty by Suman Sahai, THE TIMES OF INDIA, 12 September, 2005
Clearly there is much more at stake here than a choice between over 98 varieties of our freely available native baingan and one genetically modified version promoted by a multinational company.
This is a battle about the politics of knowledge.
For about six decades private companies, governments and international food experts have focussed on increasing the volume of food production. Thus, any technology that gave higher output was deemed to be progress and those who challenged its side-effects or proposed alternatives which could produce as much or more at lower ecological and social costs were denounced as being regressive.- Bt brinjal and the politics of knowledge Rajni Bakshi
Sastry Garu responds:
Jai Ram Ramesh’s moratorium should be treated as only a Dunkirk : the real battles are ahead, with outcomes not too certain unless civil society improves and marshalls its strength in a more focused way.
Ultimately, the matter needs further broadening, to cover several fronts. In the kind of world we have, what else can be expected but eventual verdicts tilting towards Bio-giants ? There is already fatigue in Indian civil society because of this single Bt. Brinjal struggle !
The more one thinks, the more one turns to Gandhi and his Oceanic Circles. If you aggregate a problem globally, there is a global giant to be faced. Food should be produced locally and self sufficiency attained locally. The reconstruction of polity on Gandhian lines also needs to be made part of discourse even on matters like Bt. Brinjal, as that distinguished scientist Dr. Shiv Chopra did in his illuminating presentation only day before yesterday, which I had the privilege to attend. Such broadening of the front may win more adherents to the civil society, whom we need badly as we are too few now.