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BOX 5–2
Natural Systems of Nutrient Supply and Pest Control
- Crop residues and farmyard manure are potential sources of soil nutrients.
- Organic wastes reduce run-off, increase the take-up of other nutrients, and improve soil's water-holding and erosion-resistance capacity.
- Using farmyard manure, especially in conjunction with intercropping and crop rotation, can greatly lower production costs.
- Overall systems efficiency is enhanced if manure or vegetable biomass is anaerobically digested in biogas plants, yielding energy for cooking and to run pumps, motors, or electric generators.
- Natural systems of biological nitrogen fixation through the use of certain annual plants, trees, and micro-orqanisms have a high potential.
- Integrated pest management (IPM) reduces the need for agrochemicals, improves a country's balance of payments, releases foreign exchange for other development projects, and creates jobs where they are most needed.
- IPM requires detailed information about pests and their natural enemies, seed varieties tailored to resist pests, integrated cropping patterns, and farmers who support the approach and are willing to modify farm practices to adopt it.
forest products need to reflect the true resource value of the goods.
73. Portions of forests may be designated as prevention areas. These are predominantly national parks, which could be set aside from agricultural exploitation to conserve soil, water, and wildlife. They may also include marginal lands whose exploitation accelerates land degradation through erosion or desertification. In this connection, the reforestation of degraded forest areas is of utmost importance. Conservation areas or national parks can also conserve genetic resources in their natural habitats. (See Chapter 6.)
74. Forestry can also be extended into agriculture. Farmers can use agroforestry systems to produce food and fuel. In such systems, one or more tree crops are combined with one or more food crops or animal farming on the same land, though sometimes at different times. Well-chosen crops reinforce each other and yield more food and fuel than when grown separately. The technology is particularly suitable for small farmers and for poor-quality lands. Agroforestry has been practised by traditional farmers everywhere. The challenge today is to revive the old methods, improve them, adapt them to the new conditions, and develop new ones.[1]
- ↑ The agroforestry programmes implemented in India are examples of such an approach. They have been adopted enthusiastically by many farmers.
