Implications of Female Farmer Knowledge and Participation in Bangladesh: Entrepreneurial Propensity and Income Enhancement

The study hypothesizes that female farmer participation in the local knowledge training provides corn farmers an advantage over non-participants. We planned on determining the amount of influence market participation had on female corn farmers along with entrepreneurial propensity among them and whether there was any change in income or standard of living among them. 600 female corn farmers were sampled in Bangladesh through a multi-stage sampling technique. Mean, standard deviation, and independent-sample t-test were used for data analysis. The findings showed that female participation in training classes gave them an advantage, entrepreneurial propensity (p<0.01), and improved standard of living/income enhancement (p<0.01). There is a continual need to strengthen female farmer participation through improved training for better outcome and economic growth.

Pelatihan dan ToT Ekologi Tanah untuk Penguatan Pertanian Organik pada Kelompok Tani Al-Barokah dan Walisongo di Desa Ketapang

<p><em><strong>Soil Ecology Training and ToT for Strengthening Organic Agriculture in Al-Barokah and Walisongo Farmer Groups in Ketapang Village</strong>. </em>In sustainable integrated agriculture, farmers are expected to be experts in managing agricultural ecosystems. To support this, training and empowerment of sustainable agricultural management can be carried out for farmers. The process of soil ecology training and training of trainers (ToT) is directed at strengthening organic farming and it is hoped that farmers can play a role as a farm manager, able to stand parallel and have an active relationship with the community and have a role in the system built by the community. Therefore, it is proposed the title of PKM-Training and ToT of Ecology Soil for Strengthening Organic Agriculture. The purpose of training and soil ecology ToT for strengthening organic agriculture is to increase farmers' understanding of the importance of ecology in soil management that has been applied so that there is renewal in soil management and building farmer knowledge. Through the Participatory Action Program approach, the Al-Barokah and Walisongo Farmer Groups farmers are very enthusiastic, which is indicated by an increase in understanding of soil ecology. Training and soil ecology ToT for farmers is very important so that soil management is in harmony with nature and increase the understood that soil ecology is part of the global ecosystem, and soil ecology is a process of interaction between ecological components on the level of fertility and crop production.</p>

Kelayakan Usahatani Jagung Pada Lahan Kering Di Kecamatan Pringgabaya Kabupaten Lombok Timur

This study aims to examine the feasibility of corn farming on dry land in Pringgabaya District. Improvements in technology and corn cultivation systems through increasing farmer knowledge are expected to increase productivity which in turn increases farmers' income in corn cultivation in dry land. Research activities are carried out in several stages, including: (i) site survey, identifying problems, and preparing proposals; (ii) data collection, data tabulation, and data analysis; (iii) draw conclusions and recommend the results of the study. The recommendations generated from this research are in the form of information on components and types of corn farming according to location specifications on dry land in Pringgabaya. District. Based on the results of the study, it can be seen that the income earned in corn farming is Rp. 6,137,729 /LLG or Rp. 6.134,871/Ha. And based on the calculation of the R/C ratio of corn farming on dry land in Pringgabaya District, the R/C ratio was 1.9. This shows that corn farming in Pringgabaya District, East Lombok Regency is feasible.

Use of Insecticides in Nepal, Its Impact and Alternatives of Insecticides for Nepalese Farmers

Nepal is an agrarian country whose population is primarily dependent on agriculture but the contribution to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is low as expected. There are many constraints to agricultural crop production and the farmers are facing those problems in their day-to-day lives. Deployment of insecticides and others to mitigate various insects and pests is one of them. Although abundant with locally available plant resources for pest management, farmers, especially in commercial pocket areas, are primarily dependent on conventional pesticides and those chemicals have detrimental effects on human health, including various flora, fauna, and environment. Although the Nepal government has formulated an act and worked on that basis, there is plenty of room to work on. Since farmer knowledge and behavior have a positive impact on reducing the use of conventional insecticides and work on alternative measures for pest management, these sorts of programs should be prioritized by the Government of Nepal and its allied agricultural organizations.

The Development of Farmer Agrarian Literacy in Facing Changes in Times (Sample Framework in Ngawi Regency)

Increased infrastructure development has significantly impacted world agriculture, generally in Indonesia and particularly in Ngawi Regency. Due to the narrowing of agricultural land is an unavoidable necessity. It can be seen in the annual loss of agricultural land due to the eroded flow of development, which will doubt harm agricultural production. Because the agricultural land is decreasing, achieving food self-sufficiency in the world in the coming years will be difficult. The fact is the cause of the narrowness of agricultural land for infrastructure development. In addressing the issues mentioned above, research into the knowledge/literacy of farmers in the Ngawi Regency is required; specifically, developing farmer knowledge will enable farmers to continue farming. According to the research's findings: farmers have a deep understanding of agriculture; they mostly learn from their parents, the Internet, and neighbors; farmers learn about pest and disease cultivation and marketing aspects from the Internet.

Rethinking farmer knowledge from soil to plate through narrative inquiry: An agroecological food systems perspective

This paper illustrates how farmer knowledge is generatively constructed and framed within an agroecological context to address the complexities of our food system more fully. For some, farmer knowledge is a hidden asset below the surface that acts as a reserve for sustaining and fortifying food system possibilities. We interviewed 12 self-identified smallholder farmers in Virginia using narrative inquiry as a dynamic methodology to explore the rhizomatic quality and mycorrhizal nature of smallholder farmers’ knowledge and experiences of soil, conservation, and place. The narrative inquiry method offered a participatory research approach to analyze how farmers perform their work in ways that extend across and are entangled with other domains of the food system that reflect agroecological values. Five primary themes were identified from the narrative inquiry data analysis by drawing upon the whole measures of community food systems as a values-based framework. Our findings illustrate how farmer praxis is reflective of and influenced by the ecological and sociopolitical ethos of land, food, health, and liberation. For scholar-practitioners, this research emphasizes the current claim for reevaluating and reconceptualizing research and outreach responses to mounting food system crises. The construction and expansion of farmer knowledge are not linear but rhizomatic and mycorrhizal in quality; therefore, scholar-practitioner responses to understanding and engaging with farmer knowledge systems should be amenable to a diversity of culturally dynamic sys­tems of knowing that embody socio-eco relations and networks. Like others, we argue that an over­emphasis on essentialist “best practices” and tech­nocratic problem-solving does not adequately help us see these generative possibilities from soil to plate. Thus, we recommend that food system practitioners and researchers emphasize engaged listening, storytelling, and generative—not extrac­tive—approaches as an epistemological frame for expanding our understanding of agroecology and food systems change.

Collection, genotyping and virus elimination of cassava landraces from Tanzania and documentation of farmer knowledge

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz.) has been a vital staple and food security crop in Tanzania for several centuries, and it is likely that its resilience will play a key role in mitigating livelihood insecurities arising from climate change. The sector is dominated by smallholder farmers growing traditional landrace varieties. A recent surge in virus diseases and awareness in the commercial potential of cassava has prompted a drive to disseminate improved varieties in the country. These factors however also threaten the existence of landraces and associated farmer knowledge. It is important that the landraces are conserved and utilized as the adaptive gene complexes they harbor can drive breeding for improved varieties that meet agro-ecological adaptation as well as farmer and consumer needs, thereby improving adoption rates. Here we report on cassava germplasm collection missions and documentation of farmer knowledge in seven zones of Tanzania. A total of 277 unique landraces are identified through high-density genotyping. The large number of landraces is attributable to a mixed clonal/sexual reproductive system in which the soil seed bank and incorporation of seedlings plays an important role. A striking divergence in genetic relationships between the coastal regions and western regions is evident and explained by (i) independent introductions of cassava into the country, (ii) adaptation to prevailing agro-ecological conditions and (iii) farmer selections according to the intended use or market demands. The main uses of cassava with different product profiles are evident, including fresh consumption, flour production, dual purpose incorporating both these uses and longer-term food security. Each of these products have different trait requirements. Individual landraces were not widely distributed across the country with limited farmer-to-farmer diffusion with implications for seed systems.

Kaleka Agroforest in Central Kalimantan (Indonesia): Soil Quality, Hydrological Protection of Adjacent Peatlands, and Sustainability

Increased agricultural use of tropical peatlands has negative environmental effects. Drainage leads to landscape-wide degradation and fire risks. Livelihood strategies in peatland ecosystems have traditionally focused on transitions from riverbanks to peatland forests. Riparian ‘Kaleka’ agroforests with more than 100 years of history persist in the peatlands of Central Kalimantan (Indonesia), where large-scale open-field agricultural projects have dramatically failed. Our field study in a Dayak Ngaju village on the Kahayan river in the Pulang Pisau district involved characterizing land uses, surveying vegetation, measuring soil characteristics, and monitoring groundwater during a period of 16 months. We focused on how local practices and farmer knowledge compare with standard soil fertility (physical, chemical, biological) measurements to make meaningful assessments of risks and opportunities for sustainable land use within site-specific constraints. The Kaleka agroforests around a former settlement and sacred historical meaning are species-rich agroforests dominated by local fruit trees and rubber close to the riverbank. They function well with high wet-season groundwater tables (up to −15 cm) compatible with peatland restoration targets. Existing soil quality indices rate the soils, with low soil pH and high Alexch, as having low suitability for most annual crops, but active tree regeneration in Kaleka shows sustainability.