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AGRICULTURE
Sustainability
Environmental Friendly Traditional Agricultural Practices
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On these lines, a project proposal was
taken up during May 2002 to December 2004 by Punjab State Council for
Science & Technology in association with Prof. Ravinder Kaur of Deptt.
of Extension Education, PAU, Ludhiana with the following objective
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To
document various agricultural practices through survey and build up a
data bank of technologies.
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To
redefine the strength of traditional knowledge in agriculture sector.
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To
study the opinion of scientists regarding the scientific basis and
relevance of the traditional agricultural practices.
Methodology:
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After
reviewing the literature on traditional knowledge, an appropriate
methodology was adopted to identify and document the traditional
agricultural practices followed by the farmers.
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This
included the research methods, techniques and tools used for the
research study; the locale with selection criteria; scientific
justification of the identified traditional knowledge and its
documentation.
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The
study was undertaken in districts Mansa, Bathinda and Muktsar of
Punjab.
Classification of Traditional Agricultural Practices:
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Identified traditional agricultural practices were classified and
categorized into different subject matter areas like crop production,
soil management, water management, weed control, insect-pest control,
weather forecast, agricultural engineering, home management, clothing
and textile, animal husbandry etc.
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Opinions were taken from 85 PAU scientists from respective disciplines
of the Punjab Agricultural University.
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Based
upon the opinion of the experts each practice was classified into one of
the following categories:
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Whether the practice is scientifically agreeable.
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Practice is totally non-scientific and needs outward rejection.
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The
practice is worth consideration but needs further scientific
investigation and up gradation.
Documentation:
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Documentation was done to make the common people aware regarding these
traditional agricultural practices and dissemination of ecologically
sound, environmentally friendly and scientifically justifiable practices
in the near future.
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Documentation was also done to keep record of prevalence of practices
for the coming generations.
Results:
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In
total, 235 traditional agricultural practices were identified, out of
which 95 practices were scientifically justified by the experts and 75
practices were recommended for further investigation. Linkages have been
established with various farmers progressive as well as traditional and
extension personnel working in different areas.
Traditional Agricultural Practices (TAP) related to Environment
Management
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There
has been a great resurgence of interest in recent times in studying
traditional methods of agriculture.
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The
interest has been world-wide and has encompassed diverse areas of plant
science such as agronomical methods, soil testing and classification,
pest control and crop protection techniques, irrigation, climatology and
forestry.
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These
studies have become important in the light of world-wide efforts to seek
alternatives to modern techniques and evolve sustainable eco-friendly
strategies for agricultural development.
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Out of
the total 235 TAP investigated, 28 practices are directly or indirectly
related to Environment Management and eco-friendly. The details of these
practices category wise are given below:
References
Eco-Friendly
Agricultural Technologies
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