Strengthening Pluralistic Agricultural Information Delivery Systems in India

The study on agricultural information flow has revealed that only 40 per cent farm households access information from one or the other source. The popular information sources among farmers have been reported to be fellow progressive farmers and input dealers, followed by mass media. The public extension system has been found to be accessed by only 5.7 per cent households. Only 4.8 per cent of the small farmers have access to public extension workers as compared to 12.4 per cent of large farmers. The sector-wise study on the type of information, sought has revealed that a majority of the farmers have sought information on seed (32-55%) in the cultivation sector; on health care (26-54 %) in animal husbandry; and on management and marketing (8-46 %) in fisheries. Regarding adoption of information by farmers, input dealers and other progressive farmers have depicted greater influence mainly due to easy and convenient access to these sources. The study has suggested promotion of farmers-led extension and strengthening of public extension services to improve coverage and efficiency of agricultural information delivery systems.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Strengthening Pluralistic Agricultural Information Delivery Systems in India

The study on agricultural information flow has revealed that only 40 per cent farm households access information from one or the other source. The popular information sources among farmers have been reported to be fellow progressive farmers and input dealers, followed by mass media. The public extension system has been found to be accessed by only 5.7 per cent households. Only 4.8 per cent of the small farmers have access to public extension workers as compared to 12.4 per cent of large farmers. The sector-wise study on the type of information, sought has revealed that a majority of the farmers have sought information on seed (32–55%) in the cultivation sector; on health care (26–54%) in animal husbandry; and on management and marketing (8–46%) in fisheries. Regarding adoption of information by farmers, input dealers and other progressive farmers have depicted greater influence mainly due to easy and convenient access to these sources. The study has suggested promotion of farmers-led extension and strengthening of public extension services to improve coverage and efficiency of agricultural information delivery systems

Indigenous artifacts of Adi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh: Are they waning amidst thewaves of globalization?

The tribals lead the life with natural simplicity relying on primal truths reinforced by eternal values. The strength of the tribes is that they are able to successfully cling to the primal skills and natural simplicity. Their creations speak of evolutions over time, and the arts and crafts created by them have timeless appeal. The primal instinct in all of us is evoked whenever we come across the crudest tribal handicrafts. The present case study was conducted during August and September 2019 and the study included combination of methods such as research viz., household survey of 44 Adi families, followed by a focused group discussion was adopted and also documented the artifacts of Adi tribe in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Further, the study also aimed at unearthing the kinds of possible threats that arise due to globalization which may affect traditional craftsmanship. Multitudinal sets of traditional artifacts created out of indigenous wisdom have beendocumented which affirm that the life of the Adi is intertwined with the forest products especially bamboo, canes and their products. However, the prevailing trend of globalization, with characteristics of immense, unexpected emphasis on capital, labour and information, is having growing influence on material culture and in this scenario, especially new generationprefers more of plastic products in their day to day lifestyle. On the contrary, traditional artifacts of Adi could offer innovative and sustainable solutions which can act as alternatives to plastic products

Vocal for local: Diversity of local cucurbits cultivars in East Siang, Arunachal Pradesh

174-179Laying more and more importance on mere edible yield through introduction of high-yielding, uniform cultivars is leading to compromising on nutritional quality of crops coupled with loss of biodiversity. In spite of this scenario, there are still many local cultivars, which are indigenously grown for long time approximately for more than five decades, and have its own heritage which is sustained by family groups, regions and ethnicity. The traditional names, unique appearance, uses, and historical significance give recognition to these local cultivars. In the present study, 15 morphologically diverse local cultivars of cucurbits with numerous landraces have been documented from the sample area. Of these, seven species especially in pumpkin, ash guard, bottle gourd and Cucumis melo spp. are produced by the Adi tribe of East Siang. These traditional cultivars have been cultivated for many generations, particularly for their attributes such as superior flavor and its high adaptability under biotic and abiotic stress. Other traits such as productivity, nutritional and nutraceutical properties of traditional cultivars of these cucurbits are to be well understood. However, such information is not organizedly available, and therefore the purpose of this study was to capture some of the unique traits of local cultivars. Such information may help designing breeding programs for developing locally adapted, high-value cultivars

Indigenous artifacts of Adi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh: Are they waning amidst the waves of globalization?

277-283The tribals lead the life with natural simplicity relying on primal truths reinforced by eternal values. The strength of the tribes is that they are able to successfully cling to the primal skills and natural simplicity. Their creations speak of evolutions over time, and the arts and crafts created by them have timeless appeal. The primal instinct in all of us is evoked whenever we come across the crudest tribal handicrafts. The present case study was conducted during August and September 2019 and the study included combination of methods such as research viz., household survey of 44 Adi families, followed by a focused group discussion was adopted and also documented the artifacts of Adi tribe in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Further, the study also aimed at unearthing the kinds of possible threats that arise due to globalization which may affect traditional craftsmanship. Multitudinal sets of traditional artifacts created out of indigenous wisdom have been documented which affirm that the life of the Adi is intertwined with the forest products especially bamboo, canes and their products. However, the prevailing trend of globalization, with characteristics of immense, unexpected emphasis on capital, labour and information, is having growing influence on material culture and in this scenario, especially new generation prefers more of plastic products in their day to day lifestyle. On the contrary, traditional artifacts of Adi could offer innovative and sustainable solutions which can act as alternatives to plastic products

Vocal for local: Diversity of local cucurbits cultivars in East Siang, Arunachal Pradesh

Laying more and more importance on mere edible yield through introduction of high-yielding, uniform cultivars is leading to compromising on nutritional quality of crops coupled with loss of biodiversity. In spite of this scenario, there are still many local cultivars, which are indigenously grown for long time approximately for more than five decades, and haveits own heritage which is sustained by family groups, regions and ethnicity. The traditional names, unique appearance, uses, and historical significance give recognition to these local cultivars. In the present study, 15 morphologically diverse local cultivars of cucurbits with numerous landraces have been documented from the sample area. Of these, seven speciesespecially in pumpkin, ash guard, bottle gourd and Cucumis melo spp. are produced by the Adi tribe of East Siang. These traditional cultivars have been cultivated for many generations, particularly for their attributes such as superior flavor and its high adaptability under biotic and abiotic stress. Other traits such as productivity, nutritional and nutraceutical properties of traditional cultivars of these cucurbits are to be well understood. However, such information is not organizedly available, and therefore the purpose of this study was to capture some of the unique traits of local cultivars. Such information may helpdesigning breeding programs for developing locally adapted, high-value cultivars

Permaculture to monoculture in shifting cultivation landscape of Mizoram, Northeast India: Are agrobiodiversity and happiness waning?

479-485The status of agrobiodiversity and perceived well-being of one indigenous community, namely the Mara tribe, was assessed in a pilot study of 150 households sampled at random from two blocks in Saiha district, which lies at the south-western corner of the state of Mizoram. A subsample of 50 households was chosen, based on a set of predefined criteria, for data collection using mix methods approach. The study documented 30 species of plants being cultivated by the respondents. The species comprised ten vegetables, nine fruit plants, seven field crops and four species of spices and condiments and their cultivation was supplemented with five species of domesticated livestock. The plants other than field crops were identified by the respondents as top three choices for the diversification of farming. The growing transition to monoculture is taking its toll on the respondents’ sense of subjective well-being. Most of them (92%) reported a moderate level of well-being or fluctuating levels of well-being: they are struggling now and expect to struggle even more in the future, to continue their way of life. We urge caution in the drive towards modernization lest the change should threaten the well-being of people and the ecological–economic trade-offs of monoculture

Is traditional agroforestry system of Nagaland bountiful for indigenous and traditional crops species diversity?

803-809Sustaining natural resource base and augmenting productivity of tropical systems necessitate developing comprehensive understanding on the complex crop species diversity and their potential uses in traditional agroforestry systems. The present study attempts to quantify indigenous and traditional crop species diversity and extent of usage of wild edible plants in a traditional agro forestry (TAF) system using primary data from 90 households of Konyak Naga tribe spread across six villages of a remote district, i.e., Mon, Nagaland, North-East India. Findings reveal that the TAF system is much diversified as compared to the settled cultivation system. Apart from cereals, millets and pulses, the upland tribes grow a variety of horticultural crops on shifting cultivation (SC) land. At the aggregate level, the horticultural crops in the sampled states were observed to be much diversified and the mean diversification index value was found to be 0.79 (SID) on TAF land. The present study documented 30 indigenous and traditional crops species being cultivated and used by the Konyak Naga tribe. Their food system is further complemented with wild edible plants collected from fallow land and secondary forest. The existing diversity managed with traditional wisdom in the TAF system need to be preserved and disseminated in order to ensure the sustainability of the natural resource base

Permaculture to monoculture in shifting cultivation landscape of Mizoram, Northeast India: Are agrobiodiversity and happiness waning?

The status of agrobiodiversity and perceived well-being of one indigenous community, namely the Mara tribe, was assessed in a pilot study of 150 households sampled at random from two blocks in Saiha district, which lies at the south-western corner of the state of Mizoram. A subsample of 50 households was chosen, based on a set of predefined criteria, for data collection using mix methods approach. The study documented 30 species of plants being cultivated by the respondents. The species comprised ten vegetables, nine fruit plants, seven field crops and four species of spices and condiments and their cultivation was supplemented with five species of domesticated livestock. The plants other than field crops were identified by the respondents as top three choices for the diversification of farming. The growing transition to monoculture is taking its toll on the respondents’ sense of subjective well-being. Most of them (92%) reported a moderate level of well-being or fluctuating levels of well-being: they are struggling now and expect to struggle even more in the future, to continue their way of life. We urge caution in the drive towards modernization lest the change should threaten the well-being of people and the ecological–economic trade-offs of monoculture

Is traditional agroforestry system of Nagaland bountiful for indigenous and traditional crops species diversity?

Sustaining natural resource base and augmenting productivity of tropical systems necessitate developing comprehensive understanding on the complex crop species diversity and their potential uses in traditional agroforestry systems. The present study attempts to quantify indigenous and traditional crop species diversity and extent of usage of wild edible plants in a traditional agro forestry (TAF) system using primary data from 90 households of Konyak Naga tribe spread across six villages of a remote district, i.e., Mon, Nagaland, North-East India. Findings reveal that the TAF system is much diversified as compared to the settled cultivation system. Apart from cereals, millets and pulses, the upland tribes grow a variety of horticultural crops on shifting cultivation (SC) land. At the aggregate level, the horticultural crops in the sampled states were observed to be much diversified and the mean diversification index value was found to be 0.79 (SID) on TAF land. The present study documented 30 indigenous and traditional crops species being cultivated and used by the Konyak Naga tribe. Their food system is further complemented with wild edible plants collected from fallow land and secondary forest. The existing diversity managed with traditional wisdom in the TAF system need to be preserved and disseminated in order to ensure the sustainability of the natural resource base