The current theme – December 2024
Technology and Sustainable Agriculture
The World is perpetually grappling to ensure well-being of ever growing population in terms of food self-sufficiency, improved quality of living, sustainable use of resources, and a healthy environment. Agroecological approaches are recognised globally to offer multiple solutions – enabling improved productivity, diversity and reduced costs of cultivation, besides employment opportunities for rural youth.
One of the key triggers recognised worldwide for this transformation is use of appropriate technologies. Technologies are expected to increase efficiency and reduce drudgery in farm operations and analysis. Introduction of diverse technologies (mechanical, digital, non conventional which are resource saving) seem to be a way of rejuvenating the sector. The technologies could be Farm equipment (Ploughing equipment, seed drills, Intercultivators, weeders, sprayers and winnowers); Digital Tools (Apps for crop monitoring, market linkages, quality testing etc) and Renewable energy equipment (Solar dryers; Bio digesters, Solar pumps, Solar chilling centers).
We invite experiences on technology use covering various dimensions – Are technologies appropriately designed for small farmers who constitute the farming majority? Are they gender friendly? Have these technologies resulted in improved productivity, reduced drudgery, improved efficiency and energy savings? Have the technology use lead to gainful employment for the youth? Have communities innovated and adapted the existing technologies to suit their agronomic and economic conditions? We are also interested in experiences highlighting how women have successfully accessed and adopted technologies and youth got attracted creating gainful employment in rural areas. The experiences shared should focus more on adoption of technologies in terms of their ease of use, investment challenges and recurring expenses of maintenance, rather than technology description.
Articles for the December 2024 issue of LEISA India should be sent to the editors before 25th December 2024 at leisaindia@yahoo.co.in
Guide to Authors
LEISA India publishes practical field experiences on sustainable agriculture. The magazine offers an opportunity for those working in agricultural development, particularly in diverse, risk-prone and resource-poor regions, to publish their field experiences and to read about the experiences of others. LEISA India is published four times a year, and each issue deals with a particular theme.
Guidelines
- Articles should fit in the theme of the issue, for which it is being submitted. Kindly read the call for articles and check if the article fits well with the theme.
- Articles should be practical field experiences. Articles which simply describe a technology or a process will not be encouraged for publication.
- Explain any terms or ideas that may not be understood in every part of the world.
- Acknowledge all sources and references used.
- Explain any abbreviations used.
In order to present clear and accessible information, authors are recommended to describe:
- The context – agro ecological, social and environmental
- Challenges and the reasons for the approach taken to improve the situation
- The initiatives – process and nature of initiatives
- Time frames – when did this all happen
- Changes/impact – physical, social, economical, ecological and cultural
- Reasons why things worked out as they did. (We appreciate opinions / analysis / conclusions relevant to field level, as well as recommendations for policy makers).
Full editorial support is provided. As the articles go through a rigorous editorial process, authors are usually requested to provide additional information or clarifications.
Format
- The length of the articles should be within 2500 words.
- Articles should be submitted as a soft copy in Microsoft Word format.
- Mention for which issue/theme is the article being submitted
- Include no more than three references (any references should include at least year of publication, name of author, and publisher);
- Provide a current contact address, at the bottom of the article itself. This will also be published in the magazine.
- Include 2-6 photos, relevant to the article, providing suitable captions. Photos should be sent as separate image files. Image files should be of good resolution (file size should be a minimum of 500 kb). Provide photo credits, wherever applicable.
The editors reserve the right to decide whether or not to publish an article or contribution, after receipt of the first full draft. Articles that are accepted will be edited to LEISA India house style and shortened if necessary. Articles accepted for publication in LEISA India English edition may be chosen for translation and publication in any of the seven regional editions of LEISA India.