Ecology & Environment - Soil Ecology
Thank you, the moderator, for allowing me to express my ideas here. You may note that biodegradable plastic for agricultural purposes is absent in Indian markets and quite unaffordable for poor Indian farmers. However, you may note that the overuse of PVC 'grow bags' has become broader in Indian villages, especially in Kerala, because a free supply of grow bags has become a common practice of local governments and the agricultural department of the state government.
Moreover, in many farms, plastic soil cover is used. Additionally, municipal waste recycling as compost in many places contains plastic material. The companies find it difficult to remove plastic waste from garbage, which they grind and mix with the biowaste. Therefore, the soil and agricultural fields receive vast amounts of plastic waste, directly or indirectly, which must be controlled and removed.
Therefore, we need to educate farmers to avoid plastics in farm fields seriously. Otherwise, it may affect food production and food quality.
Where a (sustainable) production system played a key role for the conservation of the biodiversity surrounding it?
Definitely, a sustainable produyction system such as organic farming system always conserve a lot of biodiversity in the agroecosystem, which include not only diversity of crops but also soil biodiversity.
In the organic farming system, soil is rich in algae, fungi (mycorrhiza) and bacteria. In addition to the same such soil systems, especially in the tropics different varieties of earthworms, millipedes, centipedes and molluscana, all of which are very important partners in organic degradation and conservation of nutrients in the soil.
For example, in the traditional domestic farm yards of Kerala, one can see diversity of crops, vegetables, fruit crops along with cash crops and serials, where soil fertility remain quite sustainable as well
Where a(n) (unsustainable) production system played a key role for the degradation of the biodiversity surrounding it?
Definitely, in the chemicalized farms one can see poor soil without any form of living organisms. The microbial flora also remain poor in such systems. Most of the chemicalized farms are monocultures without the sign of life and hence are called ecological cemetries
Do you have any examples of such enabling factors and initiatives or the lack of it?
Awareness of unhealthy and poisoned food from chemicalized farms prompt people to cultivate themselves and generate food stuff organically. In Kerala, such an awarness is causing people to do so and there is an 'organic cultivation boom' now visible in the society.
Biodiversity rich conservation agriculture is possible only when individuals are interested in the cultivation of healthy foods and domesting farm yards come up everywhere. Because industrial farming has limitations in the conservation of biodiversity. Productivity, marketting and cost effectiveness are issues that prevent organic farming at industrial level. But there is no such constrains when individuals cultivate for own use.
Which partners need to be involved in institutional frameworks, policies and processes for biodiversity mainstreaming to strengthen them?
Institutions such as Local governments, residence associations and farmer clubs need to be included in the mainstreaming of biodiversity farming. The state should formulate proper policies to promote individual farming for own use.
What needs to be done to increase awareness of farmers, livestock keepers, fisher folks and foresters, their organizations and the industry of the relevance of biodiversity and ecosystem services for the food and agriculture production in their sector?
One of the most important form of awareness is health impact of the chemicalized farm products. Naturally, the health consciousness cause individuals and groups to engage in time consuming and labour intensive organic farming which naturally protect biodiversity and soil fertility.
In addition to the health related awareness campaigns, there should be strengthening of ecological education in the schools which will enable the young generation to understand the interrelatedness in nature and the problems of temporary gain oriented agriculture activities that have deleterious environmental impacts
How can the technical and institutional capacity needed to promote sustainable agriculture and reduce the impact on biodiversity be developed?
Agriculture need to become people involving and people oriented
Agriculture shuold beocme a culture and not business.
In ancient times agriculture was really a village culture.
In modern times the state need to support individual involvement of every one - the lowest to the highest educated or the low income to the highest income groups - to get involved in some kind of agriculture activities.
There should be tax excemption to personal income tax for those who involve in organic agriculture production to promote sustainable agriculture - at least the non-cultivators should be encouraged to get involved in farmer's clubs to support them financially and morally so that they eat healthy food and conserve biodiversity
Leaving cultivation as an activity of few farmers cause them to cultivate intensively and carelessly which is the major reason for unsustainable agriculture
Agriculture has to become a collective effort of all to eat healthy food
Agriculture is the basic activity to eradicate poverty. However, the problems of agriculture that cause poverty in different nations are different.Therefore, the global intervention in agriculture to eradicate poverty depends on the specific issues prevailing in specific regions.
1. First of all, land reforms are essential so that everybody has access to sufficient land for cultivation to become self sufficient in food production. Therefore, land reforms must be the most significant step to eradicate poverty.
2. Promotion of strong democracy is the most significant political step to ensure people friendly land reforms in poor nations
3. In many poor countries, it is not access of people to land, but the lack of the basic resources for agriculture such as irrigation facilities, agricutural implements, fertilizers, good quality seeds and the like remian the major cause of poor productivity. Developemntal programmes to ensure such resources can eradicate poverty in such situations
4. Strengthening of financial capabilities of village communities through formation of self help groups, microfinance schemes and credit unions are essential to improve agriculture in many village communities.
5. Low price for crops in the season and lack of storage facilities, exploitation by middle men and the like are the serious causes of agricultural poverty in many Asian village communities. Formation of agricultural cooperatives, centralized agricultural storage facilities, state interventions in the market, direct link of urban supermarkets to village cooperatives and the like are very helpful in eradicating such issues of poverty.
6. In many developing and even developed countries, the focus on agricutlrue should change from quantity to quality; that means people are ready to provide more cost for organic products than chemicalized products. Therefore, the income promotion activities in agricultural sector should focus on organic agricultural means.
7. Developed nations can support organic farming procedures in the poor nations and thereby enabling them to get high prize for their products, through which povery can be eradicated
Prof. Joseph George Ray
Objectives: Regarding the objectives, I think the second objective may not be easily fulfilled as the typical constraints are not the same globally because the issues are highly variable regionally. The primary conditions for people of different South Asian countries may be identical but may be totally different from those of Central and East Asia. For example, in the South Asian region, small-scale livestock maintenance is carried out mainly by the poor sector of the community who may not have sufficient land to maintain animals, whereas in Central Asia where small-scale livestock maintenance is primarily based on common pastures where the central issue is lack of fodder. Therefore, it would be better to gather such typical constraints region-wise.