Watershed Based Technology: Experiences and Lessons

This paper delineates the micro-watershed based technology conceived, designed and developed by ICRISAT and reviews its performance at ICRISAT Centre and in farmers' fields. The earlier results are viewed retrospectively and lessons drawn for solving the difficult problem of spread of this technology in dryland regions of India. ICRISAT has assembled a watershed based technology for dependable rainfall areas of the semi-arid tropics regions of India. The long-term experiments at ICRISAT Centre confirmed that the application of improved technology results in considerable improvements in yields and profitability. The on-farm watershed trials in a few agro-climates of the Indian semi-arid tropics with moderate but dependable rainfall showed that gross profits from improved technology were 1.5-2 times higher than those from the traditional technology as long as management support and adequate inputs were made available. The experience shows that the continuing need for management support for watershed development, credit supply, wheeled tool carriers, infrastructure facilities for supply of seeds, fertilizers and the need of farmer's participation and their training are some of the constraints which seem to impose narrower limits on the technology spread than had earlier been anticipated. The lessons learned from these experiences suggest that these barriers can be removed by close cooperation of researchers, administrators, extension workers and bankers with active participation of the farmers in order to realize the full potential of the watershed based technology

Watershed Based Technology: Experiences and Lessons

This paper delineates the micro-watershed based technology conceived, designed and developed by ICRISAT and reviews its performance at ICRISAT Centre and in farmers' fields. The earlier results are viewed retrospectively and lessons drawn for solving the difficult problem of spread of this technology in dryland regions of India. ICRISAT has assembled a watershed based technology for dependable rainfall areas of the semi-arid tropics regions of India. The long-term experiments at ICRISAT Centre confirmed that the application of improved technology results in considerable improvements in yields and profitability. The on-farm watershed trials in a few agro-climates of the Indian semi-arid tropics with moderate but dependable rainfall showed that gross profits from improved technology were 1.5-2 times higher than those from the traditional technology as long as management support and adequate inputs were made available. The experience shows that the continuing need for management support for watershed development, credit supply, wheeled tool carriers, infrastructure facilities for supply of seeds, fertilizers and the need of farmer's participation and their training are some of the constraints which seem to impose narrower limits on the technology spread than had earlier been anticipated. The lessons learned from these experiences suggest that these barriers can be removed by close cooperation of researchers, administrators, extension workers and bankers with active participation of the farmers in order to realize the full potential of the watershed based technology

Labor Market Behavior In Rural Villages In South India: Effects Of Season, Sex and Socioeconomic Status

Most developing countries of the semi-arid tropics (SAT), particularly inAsia. have a relative abundance of labor resources relative to capital and land. Statistics on this apparent abundance are usually only available (ifat all) in terms of national or regional aggregates, as pointed out recently by McDiarmid (1977, pp. 9-10, 18, 29, 54-55), Bardhan (1977), and Brannon and Jessee (1977, pp. 13-15). Even these statistics are often not reliable, particularly for the rural areas. Itis in rural areas where problems of seasonal unemployment are most acute, as revealed inRudra and Biswas' comprehensive study (1973), and where it is imperative to derive better measures and understanding of the demand and supply parameters of labor markets, particularly in India, where 70 percent of the labor force are classified as agricultural workers

Human labor use in existing and prospective technologies of the semi-arid tropics of Peninsular India

Labor is a key resource in most of the developing countries. It is especially so in the semi-arid tropical (SAT) regions, where more than 500 million of the poorest people in the world take out a livelihood from meager resources of land capital in an unfriendly climate..

Neurovascular unit dysfunction with blood-brain barrier hyperpermeability contributes to major depressive disorder: a review of clinical and experimental evidence

About one-third of people with major depressive disorder (MDD) fail at least two antidepressant drug trials at 1 year. Together with clinical and experimental evidence indicating that the pathophysiology of MDD is multifactorial, this observation underscores the importance of elucidating mechanisms beyond monoaminergic dysregulation that can contribute to the genesis and persistence of MDD. Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are mechanistically linked to the presence of neurovascular dysfunction with blood-brain barrier (BBB) hyperpermeability in selected neurological disorders, such as stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and Alzheimer’s disease. In contrast to other major psychiatric disorders, MDD is frequently comorbid with such neurological disorders and constitutes an independent risk factor for morbidity and mortality in disorders characterized by vascular endothelial dysfunction (cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus). Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are implicated in the neurobiology of MDD. More recent evidence links neurovascular dysfunction with BBB hyperpermeability to MDD without neurological comorbidity. We review this emerging literature and present a theoretical integration between these abnormalities to those involving oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in MDD. We discuss our hypothesis that alterations in endothelial nitric oxide levels and endothelial nitric oxide synthase uncoupling are central mechanistic links in this regard. Understanding the contribution of neurovascular dysfunction with BBB hyperpermeability to the pathophysiology of MDD may help to identify novel therapeutic and preventative approaches

Human Labour availability and Employment in Semi-Arid Tropical India

This paper critically examines various facts of labour availability and use under existing rainfed crop production systems in the semi-arid tropics (SAT) of India. The specific aspects covered in this study are availability of family labour for crop and non-crop activities, contribution of various labour sources in crop production, and relative shares of different land holding categories in total labour availability and use in crop production