Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Murgai et al. (2001) point out that the post-Green Revolution agricultural produc-
tivity growth of the two Punjab states in India and Pakistan exhibited wide spatial
and temporal variation. While outputs and crop yields were generally much higher
in India, productivity growth was only marginally higher than the Pakistan Punjab.
Growth in inputs accounted for most of the growth in outputs for both Punjabs,
and intensification in wheat-rice systems resulted in resource degradation in both
states as well. The authors concluded that policies were needed to promote agricul-
tural productivity and sustainability through public investments in education, roads,
research and extension, while eliminating subsidies that encourage intensification of
inputs.
6.4 SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION
To ensure that we can meet the nutritive requirements of human populations well
into the future, it is essential that farmers are provided with technological options
and knowledge to adopt sustainable intensified cropping and livestock-rearing prac-
tices. While no single formula can exist for sustainable agricultural intensification
globally, numerous practices and technologies have been locally tested and reported
to have long-term conservation and production benefits. Various practices and con-
servation measures have been developed or adapted locally to suit site-specific con-
ditions. An attempt is made here to identify and present the salient cultural practices
as well as technologies most suitable for enhancing productivity while concomi-
tantly protecting the environment and ensuring sustainability of hill agriculture in
the Himalayan region of South Asia.
6.4.1 I
ntegrated
n
utrIent
M
anageMent
Traditionally, under low population pressures and demand, farmers relied solely
on compost or FYM made from animal manure, forest leaf litter, and crop resi-
dues (straw, grain husk, etc., after use as livestock bedding). Applied to fields with
low-intensity farming, typically two crops per annual cropping cycle, this tradi-
tional organic fertilizer had maintained the soil's productive capacity for genera-
tions. In recent decades, however, increasing population pressures, changing diet
patterns, and reduced livestock numbers per farm household, as well as shortage
of farm labor, have necessitated alternative approaches to enhance and maintain
the soil's fertility and productivity (Ali 1996; Bajracharya 2001; Acharya et al.
2007).
Numerous studies reveal that modern practices that incorporate substantial
amounts of organic matter and manure or cattle urine, along with judicious, mod-
erate amounts of inorganic fertilizers, could increase the yields and sustainability
of agricultural systems as well as enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) accumula-
tion (Sherchan and Gurung 1998; Sherchan et al. 1999; Tripathi and Tuladhar 2000;
Bajracharya and Atreya 2007; Dahal and Bajracharya 2012). As shown in Table 6.2,
a combination of FYM and inorganic fertilizers increased yields by 35% on average
in maize-millet and by 16% on average in rice-wheat cropping systems. Similarly,
