Changing Contours of Asian Agriculture


Book Description

Commemorative volume published on the 75th birth anniversary of V.S. Vyas, economist from Rajasthan, India; most of the papers presented at a seminar held at Jaipur in February 2008.




Agricultural Extension Reforms in South Asia


Book Description

Agricultural Extension Reforms in South Asia: Status, Challenges, and Policy Options is based on agricultural extension reforms across five South Asian countries, reflecting past experiences, case studies and experiments. Beginning with an overview of historical trends and recent developments, the book then delves into country-wise reform trajectories and presents several cases testing the effectiveness of different types (public and private) and forms (nutrition extension, livestock extension) of extension systems. Further, the book provides a comprehensive overview of challenges and constraints faced in formulating and implementing reforms, tying the results into a concrete set of lessons and highlighting areas that require further research. In addition, the book discusses how a major aspect of agricultural development is the productivity increase from the knowledge base of farmers, and how translating research results into a knowledge base for farmers requires designing and implementing well-functioning extension programs. - Presents the current challenges and solutions by region, and provides insights for application in global settings - Provides key foundational information for the effective and efficient design of future intervention programs - Includes workshops and presentations based on real-world research of specific aspects of extension systems and provision of advisory and consultation services to various governments







Crop Stress and its Management: Perspectives and Strategies


Book Description

Crops experience an assortment of environmental stresses which include abiotic viz., drought, water logging, salinity, extremes of temperature, high variability in radiation, subtle but perceptible changes in atmospheric gases and biotic viz., insects, birds, other pests, weeds, pathogens (viruses and other microbes). The ability to tolerate or adapt and overwinter by effectively countering these stresses is a very multifaceted phenomenon. In addition, the inability to do so which renders the crops susceptible is again the result of various exogenous and endogenous interactions in the ecosystem. Both biotic and abiotic stresses occur at various stages of plant development and frequently more than one stress concurrently affects the crop. Stresses result in both universal and definite effects on plant growth and development. One of the imposing tasks for the crop researchers globally is to distinguish and to diminish effects of these stress factors on the performance of crop plants, especially with respect to yield and quality of harvested products. This is of special significance in view of the impending climate change, with complex consequences for economically profitable and ecologically and environmentally sound global agriculture. The challenge at the hands of the crop scientist in such a scenario is to promote a competitive and multifunctional agriculture, leading to the production of highly nourishing, healthy and secure food and animal feed as well as raw materials for a wide variety of industrial applications. In order to successfully meet this challenge researchers have to understand the various aspects of these stresses in view of the current development from molecules to ecosystems. The book will focus on broad research areas in relation to these stresses which are in the forefront in contemporary crop stress research.




Access to Knowledge in India


Book Description

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. This is the third volume in our Access to Knowledge series. India is a $1 trillion economy which nevertheless struggles with a very high poverty rate and very low access to knowledge for almost seventy percent of its population which lives in rural areas. This volume features four parts on current issues facing intellectual property, development policy (especially rural development policy) and associated innovation, from the Indian perspective. Each chapter is authored by scholars taking an interdisciplinary approach and affiliated to Indian or American universities and Indian think-tanks. Each examines a policy area that significantly impacts access to knowledge. These include information and communications technology for development; the Indian digital divide; networking rural areas; copyright and comparative business models in music; free and open source software; patent reform and access to medicines; the role of the Indian government in promoting access to knowledge internationally and domestically.




Guide to Extension Training


Book Description

The framework of development; Understanding extension; Social and cultural factors in extension; Extension and comunication; Extension methods; The extension agent; The planning and evaluation of extension programmes; Extension an special target groups.







Extension Techniques For Livestock Development


Book Description

Livestock sector plays a significant role in the Indian economy particularly in reducing poverty among the weaker sections of the society. Livestock not only provides a continuous stream of income but also acts as natural capital assets for the poor in adverse conditions. India is having huge population of livestock but their production potential is below the global average. Besides this, a continuous rise in the demand of livestock products opens door for dissemination of latest innovative methods among livestock owners, farmers, farm women, etc in order to enhance livestock production potential. This requires a strong extension support with trained extension professionals, who may help farmers in identifying their problems, help them to find out solutions to these problems and provide them the required technical know-how with plenty of information. The primary objective of this book is to increase the proficiency of extension workers as well as improve their proficiency competence by acquainting them with the latest developments in livestock sector and enabling them in better understanding of the existing problems in the villages. This book is also helpful for graduate, postgraduate and doctorate students pursuing studies in veterinary dairy, agriculture, fisheries, and other related sciences and provides them a first hand information on important aspects related to contribution of livestock to national income, community development, panchayati raj, livestock development programmes, audio-visual aids, extension teaching methods, programme planning, adoption and diffusion process, livestock marketing as well as animal husbandry management and administration. We are sure that this book will be beneficial for professors, teachers, trainers, researchers and extension professionals engaged in veterinary and animal husbandry extension and other professional courses.