Courses - Agriculture
Livelihood augmentation in rainfed areas – A strategy handbook for practitioners by Development Support Centre
This strategy handbook for practitioners authored by Astad Pastakia and Sachin Oza and published by Development Support Centre deals with livelihood augmentation in rainfed areas. It is a compilation of ongoing, successful strategies piloted and upscaled by a range of development agencies in different parts of the country. The handbook is presented in four volumes under a common framework and focus on initiatives related to: participatory natural resource management; rural entrepreneurship development; use of information communication technology and institution development.
About 400 million rural poor reside in about 200 poorest districts of the country that constitute rainfed areas. Scientific research has revealed a vast untapped potential in rainfed agriculture where crop yields are lower than their potential by two to five fold. A large number of innovative projects and ideas have been tried to address this issue, although documentation has been uneven and fragmented. Drawing upon such experiences, the handbook points towards new vistas and untapped opportunities in meeting the challenge of enhancing food security with limited water resources and improving the carrying capacities of rainfed areas to match the rapidly increasing populations in these regions and elsewhere.
Read MoreIrrigation system operation practices - A handbook by Central Water Commission (1990)
This handbook on “Irrigation System Operation Practices” by the Central Water Commission has been developed to build in a scientific approach as well as homogeneity in renewing the irrigation practices in the country. For increasing agricultural productivity from existing irrigation systems, improved operation of the systems coupled with timely maintenance of the systems has a major role to play.
Pest and disease management in organic, natural, sustainable agriculture - Presentations from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques", Bangalore organised by OFAI (2009)
This set of presentations from the conference on Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques held during September 2009 at Bangalore deals with pest and disease management practices in organic farming, which rely primarily on preventive and integrated methods.
Crop production and plan protection in organic farming
This paper by S R Sundararaman presents organic farming as the only recourse for farmers, to save both livelihood and the health of the soil. Organic farming methods enable farmers save money and turn their farmyard waste into value-added products for increasing crop production. Farmers will not have to be dependent on agri-business companies for seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Our self-reliance is thus preserved. A large portion of our country's foreign exchange is used to pay for the import of petroleum products. By going organic we will also help our country save on valuable foreign exchange. Our land will keep giving us returns for extended periods of time unlike farming as per the green revolution, where the land stays productive for a short time and then becomes sterile.
The uppermost question in the minds of farmers who have recently converted to organic farming or who want to turn organic is how to ensure that crop production does not reduce and how to protect the plants from disease, without the chemical fertilizers and pesticides that their fields have grown used to. This paper provides the answers and it also seeks to reassure all farmers that there is no farm which cannot turn around and produce quality crops in sufficient quantity, using organic farming methods.
Conserving seeds (production, collection, storage) in organic, natural, sustainable agriculture - Presentations from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques", Bangalore organised by OFAI (2009)
This set of presentations from the conference on Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques held during September 2009 at Bangalore deals with the conservation of seeds particularly for small subsistence farmers who are not very linked to local markets and for whom seed production is still an integral part of farming activity seamlessly merged with the growing of crops and the totality of work and life on a farm.
Introduction to organic, natural, sustainable agriculture - Presentations from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques", Bangalore organised by OFAI (2009)
This set of presentations from the conference on Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques held during September 2009 at Bangalore provides an introduction to organic farming, and bringing together various issues related to organic farming.
Organic farming can feed the world
This presentation by Claude Alvares, deals with the work of India’s organic farming community and the Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI). It states that the best organic farmers look to the forest for their learning. It details out how one raises plants (or trees) without – (a) NPK (b) Dams and canal irrigation (c) Tractors (d) Pesticides, weedicides, fungicides, homicides (e) Bank credit or bank extension officers (f) Agricultural scientists or universities (g) Negative environmental effects like climate change and (h) Water pollution.
Promoting plant health and a living soil in organic, natural, sustainable agriculture - Presentations from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques", Bangalore organised by OFAI (2009)
This set of presentations from the conference on Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques held during September 2009 at Bangalore deals with methods for promoting plant health through organic farming.
Healthy fields: Managing plant health
This presentation by S R Sundaraman of Tamil Nadu Farmers Technology Association, Erode on managing plant health begins with an account of the techniques that can be employed in TNRH 29 rice through organic SRI methods. The following are recommended in harvesting stage – (a) four irrigations with fruit gaudi (b) two applications of MEM (c) application of four sprays and (d) four applications of parasites. The growth promoters used are Archea solution, Concentrated Amudham Sol, Panchakavya, Butter Milk Sol, Fish/Egg Extract, Leaf Extract Solution-pest control and TFPE-MN Supplements. Apart from rice, the other crops dealt with are maize, kadali banana, turmeric, sugarcane and vegetables.
Introduction to Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) - Open courseware from the United Nations University (UNU)
This introductory course on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), from the United Nations University (UNU), provides a brief historical background and overview of IWRM and gives an overview of the various aspects of IWRM, from integration, capacity building to applications and case studies.
IWRM has been defined by the Global Water Partnership (2000) as a process, which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. An important aspect of any IWRM program is therefore, research, planning and action at the river basin level. Read More
Kudrati Kheti (Natural Farming) - A manual in Hindi
This manual in Hindi developed by Rajinder Chaudhary on natural farming, also known as organic, zero budget or alternative farming, is an attempt to spread awareness among Indian farmers about the above sustainable agriculture methods.
Conventional agricultural practices with an undue emphasis on intensive use of water, chemical fertilisers and high investments has led many farmers into a debt trap.
Natural farming is presented as the solution to the burning problems of farmers in the context of the crisis facing Indian agriculture because of rising input costs, uncertain yields and output prices, spurious seeds/ fertilizers/ pesticides/ herbicides and damage to environment due to unsustainable farming practices. Read More
Remote sensing – A presentation by ACWADAM
These presentations by ACWADAM deal with the application of remote sensing and aerial photography techniques in groundwater management. Remote sensing is a technique by virtue of which information about an object, area or phenomenon is obtained with the help of a sensor on board a platform from distance without coming in contact with object, area or phenomenon.
Community organisation in groundwater management – A presentation by ACWADAM
This presentation by ACWADAM on community organization in groundwater management deals with the processes involved in people’s mobilization and participation. The requisites of groundwater management include: resource enhancement, demand management, equitable distribution, institutional mechanism and controlling of free riding. It deals with groundwater management at a local scale when compared to aquifer management.
Aquifer management involves:
- Identification of aquifer on the basis of geology;
- Identification of recharge and discharge areas;
- Assessment of aquifer capacity and yield through aquifer mapping;
- Protection of recharge area and increasing the groundwater level through artificial recharge in recharge area (based on the geology);
- Treating groundwater as a common property resource;
- Encouraging community use of groundwater and restricting individual use;
- Putting in place an institutional mechanism and legal back up for community groundwater management;
- Awareness generation regarding groundwater and science of hydrogeology.
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