Presentations
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)
Posted on 20 Mar, 2011 06:17 PM
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.
Sowing seeds of consciousness - Presentations from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques", Bangalore organised by OFAI (2009)
Posted on 20 Mar, 2011 06:14 PM
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 well linked with 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.
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)
Posted on 20 Mar, 2011 05:57 PM
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 organic, natural, sustainable agriculture - Presentations from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques", Bangalore organised by OFAI (2009)
Posted on 20 Mar, 2011 05:44 PM
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.
Sethusamudram channel project - An epoch making event - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 14 Feb, 2011 05:24 AMBeginning with the need for a such a shipping lane, the author compares its importance to the Suez and Panama canal. Currently ships have to go round Sri Lanka to go between the two India coasts. This increases the passage time and fuel costs.The canal would lead to a saving of 254 to 424 nautical miles and reduce sailing time of ships by 21 to 36 hours.
Study of ancient water storage systems on forts in Nashik district of Maharashtra - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 14 Feb, 2011 05:11 AMThis paper studies the water supply, distribution, collection and storage in the forts around Nashik with the idea of testing the viability of implementing such systems in areas of similar topography. The history of forts in Maharashtra and the forts around Nashik and the water collection and distribution systems thereof are described.
Two ancient irrigation systems of India - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 14 Feb, 2011 05:03 AMThe Phad system of irrigation, is found in Maharashtra over the rivers Panzara, Girna and Burai, which are tributaries of Tapi.
Water and culture vis-à-vis river diversions - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 14 Feb, 2011 04:48 AMThis paper discusses river linking, as a part of an ancient tradition, and suggests how NGOs can play a role in this attempt. The example of the Koyna dam is taken, and the effective handling of the technical and human angle of the dams construction is detailed through in-depth study and detailed field visits.
Water conservation in the dry regions of India for sustainable agriculture - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 14 Feb, 2011 04:31 AMThis paper attempts to discuss farm water conservation techniques and multiple cropping patterns with the idea of minimising water use. The authors provide a glimpse of agricultural facts that include total geographical area, net sown area etc. They provide population trends in the country to point out to the water and food stress.
Palaeochannels as groundwater storage - A promising option to cope with hydro-hazards in Rajasthan - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Posted on 14 Feb, 2011 03:47 AMThis paper discusses the role of paleochannels, which are remnants of stream channels cut in older rocks/sediments and filled by younger overlying sediments, representing the distribution of valley systems, in meeting current and future water requirements.