Kumar, S., A. Whitbread, and T. Falk. (2016). Pathways to Sustainable Intensification: Participatory Designing of Adapted Farming System Innovations. Solutions 7(5): 32-35. https://thesolutionsjournal.com/article/pathways-to-sustainable-intensification-participatory-designing-of-adapted-farming-system-innovations/
Perspectives Pathways to Sustainable Intensification: Participatory Designing of Adapted Farming System Innovations by Shalander Kumar, Anthony Whitbread, and Thomas Falk
ICRISAT/GRAVIS
This native medicinal plant called shankhpushpi has been introduced for cultivation in Barmer.
M
ost farmers in Western Rajasthan, India face an uncertain, impoverished future. The region is affected by frequent droughts, over-exploitation of groundwater, deteriorating soil and water quality, low productivity, weak institutions, malnutrition, continuously decreasing landholding size, and a burgeoning population of 28 million. With negative water balance for all but a few months of the year, Rajasthani farmers are on the cutting edge of climate change. In this situation,
common property resources, such as fodder, herbs, and water, ease stress on livelihoods. By the same token, the social and environmental cost of the poor management of these resources is keenly felt. That is why the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), as part of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Program on Dryland Systems, has teamed up with rural dryland communities to find integrated approaches to resource management.
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Critical for developing effective and efficient solutions, is the acknowledgement of the specific needs of each community. Using data from primary surveys and focused group discussions in Jodhpur, Barmer, and Jaisalmer districts, we developed maps of how farming communities share resources to allow us to understand both the potential and the limitations of each community. NGOs, local government departments, and the farmers themselves were then brought together to brainstorm for greater efficiency and to add value to their work.