Complementary use of external inputs
Most farmers use external inputs and try to fit them to their local context. With this issue we explore how external inputs – from out-side the farm or region – can be most effectively combined with local inputs and natural processes. Farmers have always sought the best mix of local resources and external inputs.
Table of contents:
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3 - 5written by Walter RoderExternal inputs are nothing new to traditional farmers. Although it is only recently that they have begun to use manufactured inputs such as chemical fertilizers, they have long made use of natural inputs from outside their farms. Walter Roder describes how farmers in the mountains of Bhutan, obtain additional nutrients for their crops.
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6 - 7written by Jack R. Fenwick , Pat MielnickIn the United States, the movement toward low-input and sustainable agriculture (USA) is gaining momentum, both in farming practice and in agricultural research. In the high plains region, Colorado State University researchers surveyed alternative and conventional farms. Jack Fenwick and Pat Mielnick reveal how farmers in dry areas are faring after reducing synthetic chemical inputs.
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8 - 9written by Ana M. Primavesi , Ana PrimavesiWhat is a soil? What are the interrelations between soil life and chemical fertilisers? What determines the Level of low external inputs? How to best use external inputs is also a question of seed conditions. In this article on the living soil, Ana Primavesi shares her extensive insights and practical experiences gained through her research (e.g. on drought resistance by proper soil management) and her work with small farmers in Brazil.
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10 - 11written by Elsie AyehThe 'Global 2000' is being promoted as ‘Africa's budding Green Revolution’ with strong Government support in Ghana and Zambia. The aim of 'Global 2000' is to boost maize and sorghum yields dramatically by giving farmers improved seed, teaching them when to plant, how to sow and weed more effectively, how and when to apply fertilizer and how to better store their harvests. But what happens in practice? Elsie Ayeh from Ghana reports on her experiences and views.
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12 - 14Many smallholders are developing their farming systems without support from outside. How have they chosen to combine locally available resources with external inputs? This account of the changes made over the past 80 years by Kofyar farmers in northern Nigeria shows how they respond to opportunities offered by market demand and availability of land, transport facilities and external inputs. It is a continuing story of how smallholders seek and find the best mix for themselves.
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15 - 17Farmers' participation in research has increased with the spread of on-farm trials as a step in technology development and adaptation. But on-station trials are necessary if a technology requires long-term trials and if the probability of crop failure in a treatment is high, as is the case in trying to reduce chemical pesticide use in intensive vegetable production in Central Thailand. Here, Hermann Waibel and his colleagues from the Asian Institute of Technology report on their experience in getting farmers involved in such trials.
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18 - 19written by Clive Lightfoot , Nguyen Ahn TuanMore and more scientists are of the opinion that inappropriate technologies are developed because farmers do not participate in the research process. On-farm demonstrations of models developed on research stations is not enough. Integration of agriculture and aquaculture should play a significant role in sustainable farming. To carry out relevant research, the participation of farmers must be sought. Achieving the right kind of farmer participation appears to be difficult, judging by experiences reported in recent literature. Participation becomes easier when farmers are involved already at the beginning of the research process. We demonstrate her how much farmers know about integrated farming systems and how useful their participation is to research, extension and other farmers.
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20 - 21written by Weeraratna, C. StanleyFarmers on the islands of the South Pacific are already using a variety of locally available resources to maintain soil fertility. One of ILEIA's Regional Contact Persons, Stanley Weeraratna, suggests how external inputs can be combined with them to increase their efficiency.
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22 - 23written by Tan Siew Luang , Gurmit SinghProducing organic food is not easy, as shown by CETDEM's experience. But also marketing organic food can be a problem. Is a premium price feasible? Will only the rich benefit? Discussion has started on quality control, marketing, pricing and exporting of organic food and how more people could benefit.
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24 - 24written by Jan Brouwers , Constant DangbegnonResearch and Development (R&D) is done not only in the formal system. A case study of maize growing in two villages on the Adja Plateau of Benin showed how farmers do their own R&D. Constant Dangbegnon and Jan Brouwers give two examples and discuss the implications for formal research and extension.
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25 - 25written by David MillarAppreciating indigenous knowledge is difficult for many development workers, as they have to admit that they are not the experts. David Millar illustrates this with the example of yam farming, an example which is probably typical for all of West Africa.
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26 - 26written by Juan Jimenez OsornioThe chinampas, a system of floating horticulture, was developed by peasants and has endured for centuries. Now, an exploding rate of urban growth could mean its end. Chinampero farmers and concerned scientists are fighting for the survival of the chinampas.
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27 - 28written by Jan Douwe van der PloegFeeling that the present discussions on local knowledge systems deserve some historical perspective, Jan Douwe van der Ploeg pleas for a more careful consideration of what is actually being done by "bringing rural people and local knowledge into research".
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29 - 32written by Bertus Haverkort , Gil DucommunAdditional nutrient inputs may be necessary to build up biomass to intensify nutrient recycling and increase plant productivity. Are external inputs also needed, at least initially, to help build up moment urn in exchanging information, generating ideas and strengthening political advocacy among people promoting Low-External-Input and Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA)? Bertus Haverkort and Gil Ducommun, as representatives of the Dutch-based network ILEIA and the Swiss-based network AGRECOL, present our philosophy, initial experiences and policy of supporting networks.
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