Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
water, pest, etc.) will be needed, which will require breakthroughs in plant physiol-
ogy, eco-physiology, agroecology, and soil science (Matson et al. 1997; Cassman
1999; Chen et al. 2011; Fan et al. 2012).
The pressures on natural resources in the Himalayan region will most certainly
be extreme due not only to the vast population but also to the delicate balance
in which ecosystems of this region exist. Further exacerbating the uncertainty of
future changes in productive capacity of the land are the escalating impacts of cli-
mate change. Thus, a four-pronged strategy, optimally integrating (i) improved soil
and land management, (ii) increased water use efficiency and water resource man-
agement, (iii) crop and agrobiodiversity management, and (iv) appropriate policy
and institutional support, will be necessary to meet the daunting challenge of sus-
tainable agricultural intensification (Figure 6.3). The possible measures and tech-
nologies to be applied toward formulating the strategy are described in Table 6.7.
TABLE 6.7
Measures and Technologies Required to Achieve Sustainable Intensification
of Agriculture in the Himalayan Region
Resource Category
Measures and Technologies
Soil/land resource—
improved soil
management
• Enhanced soil fertility and quality through improved composting, use
of adequate farmyard manure, and urine application
• Increased soil organic matter and soil carbon sequestration
• Use of biofertilizers and optimization of rhizosphere microbial activity
• Use of biochar and zeolite amendments to improve soil biophysical
properties and water retention
• Adoption of reduced or minimum tillage, crop residue management,
and other conservation practices
Water resource
management and use
efficiency
• Increased water use efficiency through microirrigation and timing of
application; use of laser level to improve irrigation/water productivity
• Water harvesting and groundwater recharge
• Improved water retention in soil through the application of biochar,
zeolites, and mulching
• Water recycling, wastewater reclamation and reuse, desalinization
Crop/agrobiodiversity
resource management
• More efficient and risk-averting crop production systems, such as
agroforestry with high-value crops; mixed cropping, relay cropping,
and intercropping
• Improved crop varieties with drought, cold, and pest resistance;
high-yielding varieties enhanced through genetic modification
• Forage species/crop rotations and planting of fruit and fuel wood tree
species on private land
• Integrated and natural pest control approaches
Policy and institutional
initiatives
• Adequate investment in agricultural research
• Technical support to farmers through extension and outreach services
• Institutional support and strengthening of capacity
• Policies and incentives to encourage conservation and sustainable
production
