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Sixty-five farmers reported on pesticide use and the signs and symptoms of acute pesticide poisoning when using two different plant protection strategies: in 2003 using chemical controls and in 2004 using an approach to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) based on an ecological analysis of the field conditions. Exposure to organophosphates was [...]

This chapter explores intensive hands-on occupational education for farmers in selected European, African, Latin American countries and in south India. An Indian case study of Farmer Field Schools for Integrated Pest and Production Management (IPPM) to ensure food security and livelihood improvement is presented, to introduce discussion of the role [...]

Much of rural India is suffering from what Prime minister Manmohan Singh has termed “technological fatigue in agriculture” (Kshirsagar A, 2008). In order to reverse this state of affairs, considerable investment and macro scale action is required. However, for sustainable and meaningful change, community level extension is vital. One response [...]

There is a growing evidence that the climate change do has implications for drought vulnerable India with studies projecting future possible reductions in monsoon related rainfall in the country. The existing drought risk mitigation and response mechanisms were looked into and gaps were identified by drawing lessons from previous disasters [...]

The need to increase agricultural sustainability has induced the government of India to promote the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM). An evaluation of cotton-based conventional and IPM farming systems was conducted in India (2002–2004). The farmers managing the IPM farms had participated in discovery-based ecological training, namely Farmer Field [...]

The field guide aims to provide pointers for program managers and field staff on how to foster several skill sets crucial for preparing groups of poor farmers who are at a very early stage of engaging in markets and who aspire to successful agroenterprise development.

Crop productivity has increased worldwide since the late 1950s thanks to the modernisation of agriculture. However, many small-scale farming systems located in regions with limited access to resources have seen their profitability constrained by the intensification of input use. The rain-fed cotton farming sector in South and Central India provides [...]