Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Tamang (1992) observed that in all studies, soil color was the most widely used
indicator by farmers to classify their soils, but its importance in soil classification
along with texture can vary depending on the area and ethnic group considered. TK
can be inconsistent at a regional scale, with members of the same ethnic group but
from different villages naming and characterizing differently soil types and land
classes. SK, on the other hand, perceives soil in three dimensions and emphasizes
presence or absence of diagnostic horizons.
Under circumstances where land use systems are not practiced in accordance to
potential or suitability of land, these practices can often be traced back to socioeco-
nomic challenges to development faced by society (FAO 1976; Ryder 1994; Bouma
1999). According to Mafalacusser (1995), farmers base their choice of enterprises on
four factors: (1) interest/goal; (2) available resources (land, water, labor); (3) external
factors (access to credit, timely and relevant information); and (4) risk associated
with production and market prices. The extension workers who facilitate learning
and modernization strategies for farmers should be open and willing to modify the
cold rationalism to accommodate the subjective rationality of farmers (Beckford
2002).
Field studies in China, Kenya, and Bolivia, summarized in a new International
Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) briefing paper (2011), show that
communities severely impacted by changes in climate have survived thanks to tradi-
tional crops (Climate Development Knowledge Network [CDKN]). Traditional crops
are hardier and more resilient to impacts such as drought and new pests, because
their genetic makeup is more varied and better suited to local conditions. In south-
west China, for example, most local Landraces survived the big spring drought in
2010, while most modern hybrids were lost. Villages growing only hybrids lost all
their production due to a shortage of hybrid seed in the market. In all three cases,
farmers understand the value of sustaining a diversity of crops to reduce the risk of
crop failure.
Traditional varieties are also more accessible because they come from farmers'
own saved seeds and so do not have to be bought in markets and are cheap. The
research also shows that traditional conservation practices—such as kaya forests in
coastal Kenya—may need to be reestablished to enable adaptation where govern-
ment systems have not been effective (Darling et al. 2010).
In southwest China, where remaining areas of traditional agriculture are located,
maize and rice staple crops have been highly commercialized, and the area culti-
vated with traditional varieties has rapidly decreased in the last 10 years (by 44%
and 21%, respectively).
Incentives are urgently needed to encourage soil conservation by governments,
public breeding institutes, and farmers. Policy and institutional reforms are needed
to support both modern and traditional agriculture. The capacity of the world's poor-
est and most affected communities to adapt depends on the interlinked TK, culture,
and ecosystems—or biocultural systems—from which new innovations can develop
and spread. Policy makers at Durban need to recognize the value of traditional farm-
ing systems and identify ways to support them, including through reform of IPRs.
Understanding local cultural beliefs, changes, local technologies, their efficien-
cies and how they can be improved, and the institutional capacity for data collection,
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