Small holder agriculture is increasingly becoming vulnerable to many changes happening in the external environment. While we cannot stop the changes that are happening, we can adapt to the changing situations. Innovative farmers have shown various ways and means to tide over the crisis in agriculture.
Small farmers facing a myriad of problems in farming, seek practical solutions emerging out of their experience. Their solutions are simple and are born out of nature. The resourcefulness and innovativeness of these small-scale farmers has been an important asset for solving many kinds of problems in agriculture. Integrating them in the formal research process will result in the development of relevant, accessible and affordable solutions, for wider benefit. Hope you find this issue inspiring and useful.
We are glad to inform you that LEISA India has completed two decades of knowledge sharing on ecological alternatives. LEISA India owes its continuity primarily to enthusiastic contributors committed to strengthening agroecological knowledge sharing and exchange. We are extremely grateful to all those who have supported this movement. We earnestly seek your continued support, in large numbers, through voluntary contributions.
Wishing all our readers a very Happy New Year!
4. Editorial
6. Farmer adaptations – Key for ecological sustainability
S. Kalavathi, A Abdul Haris, Jeena Mthew and V Krishnakumar
10 Five Square Model – An innovative practice to reduce soil salinity
Sutapa De, Saikat Pal and Purnabha Dasgupta
14. Snow harvesting – An innovative irrigation method
Dhan Bahadur Kathayat, Mahananda Joshi and Sadananda Upadhaya
18. Innovative market mechanism
Bankey Bihari, Lakhan Singh, Rajesh Bishnoi and Suresh Kumar
22. Simple innovations by small farmers deserve attention
Pratap Mukhopadhyay
26. New Books
27. Sources
30. Farmer Diary – Pit method of vegetable production – An innovative practice
31. In the news
34. The battle for the future of farming – What you need to know
Michel Pimbert and Colin Anderson
