Conservation agriculture, livestock and livelihood strategies in South Asia

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/396

[Slp_project_cimmyt05]

Project implemented by CIMMYT in collaboration with ILRI.

Full title of the Project: "Conservation agriculture, livestock and livelihood strategies in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia: Synergies and tradeoffs."

Duration: 2005-2009

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Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 15 of 15
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    Livelihoods and agro-ecological gradients: A meso-level analysis in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, India
    (Journal Article, 2011-01) Erenstein, Olaf; Thorpe, W.R.
    Rice–wheat systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) have long exemplified South Asia’s agricultural transformation through the Green Revolution. The same systems now also typify the post-Green Revolution stagnation and equity challenges, despite receiving considerable attention from the research and development (R&D) community. The apparent homogeneity of vast irrigated plains masks significant diversity in assets, livelihood strategies and livelihood outcomes. The paper analyzes the rural livelihoods and underlying agro-ecological gradients in the IGP drawing on village surveys and secondary data as characterization tools. The contribution of the paper is twofold: (i) new knowledge of the socio-economic circumstances in farming communities across the Indian IGP to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of R&D interventions and particularly poverty alleviation; and (ii) an illustration of a novel approach to operationalize livelihood analysis at the meso-level so as to address spatial scale issues and link micro-level contextual realities across a vast geographical area. The agricultural R&D community needs to incorporate this socio-economic diversity more proactively into its R&D agenda if it is to succeed in sustaining productivity gains, improving rural livelihoods equitably, and securing environmental sustainability in this important eco-region.
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    Fodder, Food and Soil: Crop residue management trade-offs in the Indo-Gangetic plains
    (Brochure, 2010-04-13) International Livestock Research Institute
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    Crop-livestock interactions and livelihoods in the Gangetic Plains of West Bengal, India: findings from a scoping study
    (Journal Article, 2010-04) Erenstein, Olaf; Varma, A.; Thorpe, W.R.; Singh, J.
    The research and development community faces the challenge of sustaining crop productivity gains, improving rural livelihoods and securing environmental sustainability in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. This calls for a better understanding of farming systems and of rural livelihoods, particularly with the advent of, and strong advocacy for, conservation agriculture and resource-conserving technologies. The paper summarizes the findings from a scoping study to assess crop-livestock interactions and rural livelihoods in the Gangetic Plains of West Bengal, drawing from a village survey in three districts (Malda, Nadia and W Medinipur) and secondary data. The rice-cattle based rural livelihoods are in stark contrast with those in the western Indo-Gangetic Plains, whereas the state’s high human and livestock pressure and high poverty pose particular challenges to sustainable intensification and poverty reducing agricultural growth – particularly in the more remote districts. Strengthening the client orientation and productivity of the agricultural R&D community will be central to improving livelihoods and more sustainably using natural resources – and research on crop-livestock interaction serves as a good entry point for that process.
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    Crop-livestock interactions and livelihoods in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, India: A regional synthesis
    (Book, 2007-12) Erenstein, Olaf; Thorpe, W.R.; Singh, J.; Varma, A.
    The research and development community faces the challenge of sustaining crop productivity gains, improving rural livelihoods, and securing environmental sustainability in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). This calls for a better understanding of farming systems and of rural livelihoods, particularly with the advent of, and strong advocacy for, conservation farming and resource-conserving technologies. This report presents a regional synthesis of four scoping studies to assess croplivestock interactions and rural livelihoods in each of the four subregions of the Indian IGP: the Trans-Gangetic Plains (TGP: Punjab and Haryana), the Gangetic Plains of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar, and West Bengal.
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    Crop-livestock interactions and livelihoods in the Gangetic Plains of Bihar, India
    (Report, 2007-12-02) Thorpe, W.R.; Erenstein, Olaf; Singh, J.; Varma, A.
    The research and development community faces the challenge of sustaining crop productivity gains, improving rural livelihoods and securing environmental sustainability in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). This calls for a better understanding of farming systems and of rural livelihoods, particularly with the advent of, and strong advocacy for, conservation farming and resource-conserving technologies. This scoping study presents an assessment of crop-livestock interactions and rural livelihoods in the Gangetic Plains of Bihar, drawing from a village survey in three districts (Bhojpur, Samastipur and Begusarai) and secondary data. The study reports are structured as follows. The second chapter presents the overall methodology followed and details about the specific survey locations. The third chapter presents the study area drawing primarily from secondary data and available literature. The fourth chapter analyses the livelihood platforms in the surveyed communities, distinguishing between the livelihood assets, access modifiers and trends and shocks. The fifth chapter describes the livelihood strategies in the surveyed communities, with particular attention for crop and livestock production. The sixth chapter assesses the crop-livestock interactions in the surveyed communities, with particular emphasis on crop residue management and livestock feeding practices. The seventh chapter first discusses the effects on livelihood security and environmental sustainability and subsequently dwells on the outlook for the surveyed communities and draws together an agenda for action.
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    Crop-livestock interactions and livelihoods in the Gangetic Plains of Uttar Pradesh, India
    (Report, 2007-12-15) Singh, J.; Erenstein, Olaf; Thorpe, W.R.; Varma, A.
    The research and development community faces the challenge of sustaining crop productivity gains, improving rural livelihoods and securing environmental sustainability in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). This calls for a better understanding of farming systems and of rural livelihoods, particularly with the advent of, and strong advocacy for, conservation farming and resource-conserving technologies. This scoping study presents an assessment of crop-livestock interactions and rural livelihoods in the Gangetic Plains of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), drawing from a village survey in three districts (Meerut-NW U.P., Kanpur-central and Faizabad-E) and secondary data. The study reports are structured as follows. The second chapter presents the overall methodology followed and details about the specific survey locations. The third chapter presents the study area drawing primarily from secondary data and available literature. The fourth chapter analyses the livelihood platforms in the surveyed communities, distinguishing between the livelihood assets, access modifiers and trends and shocks. The fifth chapter describes the livelihood strategies in the surveyed communities, with particular attention for crop and livestock production. The sixth chapter assesses the crop-livestock interactions in the surveyed communities, with a particular emphasis on crop residue management and livestock feeding practices. The seventh chapter first discusses the effects on livelihood security and environmental sustainability and subsequently dwells on the outlook for the surveyed communities and draws together an agenda for action.
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    Crop-livestock interactions and livelihoods in the trans-Gangetic Plains, India
    (Report, 2007-12-05) Erenstein, Olaf; Thorpe, W.R.; Singh, J.; Varma, A.
    The research and development community faces the challenge of sustaining crop productivity gains, improving rural livelihoods and securing environmental sustainability in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). This calls for a better understanding of farming systems and of rural livelihoods, particularly with the advent of, and strong advocacy for, conservation farming and resource-conserving technologies. This scoping study presents an assessment of crop-livestock interactions and rural livelihoods in the Trans-Gangetic Plains of Punjab and Haryana, drawing from a village survey in three districts (Patiala, Kurukshetra and Hisar) and secondary data. The study reports are structured as follows. The second chapter presents the overall methodology followed and details about the specific survey locations. The third chapter presents the study area drawing primarily from secondary data and available literature. The fourth chapter analyses the livelihood platforms in the surveyed communities, distinguishing between the livelihood assets, access modifiers and trends and shocks. The fifth chapter describes the livelihood strategies in the surveyed communities, with particular attention for crop and livestock production. The sixth chapter assesses the crop livestock interactions in the surveyed communities, with a particular emphasis on crop residue management and livestock feeding practices. The seventh chapter first discusses the effects on livelihood security and environmental sustainability and subsequently dwells on the outlook for the surveyed communities and draws together an agenda for action.
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    Conservation agriculture, livestock and livelihood strategies in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia: Synergies and tradeoffs
    (Presentation, 2009-12-01) Erenstein, Olaf; Teufel, Nils; Samaddar, Arindam
    Presentation to the CGIAR Systemwide Livestock Programme Livestock Policy Group Meeting, 1 December 2009
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    Crop-livestock interactions and livelihoods in the Gangetic Plains of West Bengal, India
    (Report, 2007-12-02) Thorpe, W.R.; Erenstein, Olaf; Singh, J.; Varma, A.
    The research and development community faces the challenge of sustaining crop productivity gains, improving rural livelihoods and securing environmental sustainability in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). This calls for a better understanding of farming systems and of rural livelihoods, particularly with the advent of, and strong advocacy for, conservation farming and resource-conserving technologies. This scoping study presents an assessment of crop-livestock interactions and rural livelihoods in the Gangetic Plains of West Bengal, drawing from a village survey in three districts (Malda, Nadia and W Medinipur) and secondary data. The study reports are structured as follows. The second chapter presents the overall methodology followed and details about the specific survey locations. The third chapter presents the study area drawing primarily from secondary data and available literature. The fourth chapter analyses the livelihood platforms in the surveyed communities, distinguishing between the livelihood assets, access modifiers and trends and shocks. The fifth chapter describes the livelihood strategies in the surveyed communities, with particular attention for crop and livestock production. The sixth chapter assesses the crop-livestock interactions in the surveyed communities, with particular emphasis on crop residue management and livestock feeding practices. The seventh chapter first discusses the effects on livelihood security and environmental sustainability and subsequently dwells on the outlook for the surveyed communities and draws together an agenda for action.
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    Crop-livestock interactions along agro-ecological gradients: a meso-level analysis in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, India
    (Journal Article, 2010-10) Erenstein, Olaf; Thorpe, W.R.
    Although conceptually simple and often idealized, disentangling crop–livestock interactions typically proves more complex in practice. Part of the complexity arises from their changing nature along agricultural intensification gradients. Such interactions increase in scope when extensive systems intensify, but decline in importance as already intermediate systems intensify further. This changing nature of crop–livestock interactions in relation to the system’s developmental stage implies that these exchanges can both contribute but also undermine system sustainability. We examine crop–livestock interactions in the Indo-Gangetic Plains as an empirical case, drawing from village surveys to explore and illustrate these relations and implications along the agro-ecological gradient of this vast and important eco-region. Such an understanding is increasingly needed as adapting crop residue management practices is recognized as the key to address sustainability concerns in the prevailing rice–wheat systems and as a stepping stone towards conservation agriculture. The agricultural R&D community needs to incorporate this understanding more proactively into its R&D agenda if it is to succeed in sustaining productivity gains, improving rural livelihoods equitably, and securing environmental sustainability.