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Biography |
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Norman Uphoff, Professor of Government and International Agriculture at Cornell University, USA, served as Director of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development from 1990 to 2005. Uphoff joined the Cornell University faculty in 1970 after receiving a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in political science. For most of the next 20 years, he was chair-man of the Rural Development Committee , with research and advising focused on local institutions and participatory development, with special interest in irrigation and natural resource management. His favorite book from this period is ‘Learning From Gal Oya: Possibilities For Participatory Development And Post-Newtonian Social Science’, (Cornell University Press, 1992; paperback, Intermediate Technology Publications, 1996). While director of CIIFAD, Uphoff became more engaged with issues of sustainable development and agroecology. His career was reoriented after learning about the System of Rice Intensification developed in Madagascar. His main publication in recent years is an edited volume, ‘Biological Approaches To Sustainable Soil Systems’, (CRC Press, 2006), for which he was chief editor with 102 contributors from 28 countries (foreword by Dr. M.S. Swaminathan). Uphoff has served as a Consultant for the World Bank, FAO, USAID and other organizations over four decades.
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Abstract |
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Opportunities for Achieving Resource-Conserving Increases in Agricultural Production with Learning from the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
. Sustainable development with conservation of natural resources and equitable access to reduce poverty and food insecurity will be furthered by learning how to achieve more agricultural output with reduced inputs, having a smaller environmental 'footprint.' The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) developed in Madagascar several decades ago has shown that it is possible to raise rice production with reduced seed requirements (less dense plant populations), reduced water (no continuous flooding), reduced agrochemical inputs (reliance more on organic inputs than inorganic fertilizers, and less need or use of chemical crop protection). This sounds 'too good to be true,' but the value of SRI's alternative methods for managing crops, soil, water and nutrients has been seen in countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East (http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/). Initiated as a civil society innovation, SRI has been gaining support from a wide range of institutions: governments, donor agencies, universities, research institutions, foundations, international and grassroots NGOs, community organizations, and private sector. See, for example, the World Bank Institute website: http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/245848/index.html and India website:click here and WWF publication on SRI: http://assets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_rice_report_2007.pdf SRI experience is giving insights into better management practices that are being extended now from irrigated to rainfed cultivation, and extrapolated to other crops beyond rice: wheat, maize, finger millet, teff, even legumes and vegetables.Raising agricultural production with lower requirements for land, labor, capital and water opens new opportunities for 21st century agriculture. This is all the more important climate changes are likely to lead to greater abiotic and biotic pressures on crop production. So far, SRI plants have been found to be more resistant to the effects of drought, lodging (storm damage), cold spells, and losses from pests and diseases. There could even be some net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions with SRI conversion to aerobic soil conditions not relying on heavy applications of inorganic nitrogen. Stopping flooding reduces methane emissions from rice paddies, and thus far, initial evaluations have indicated that there are not offsetting increases in nitrous oxide emission. SRI methods will not be appropriate under all agroecosystem conditions, e.g., where soils cannot be maintained in mostly aerobic conditions, or where there is limited biomass availability (although chemical fertilizer can be used with the other SRI methods). While SRI was initially considered labor-intensive, farmers are finding that its methods can become labor-saving, once mastered, and current efforts to introduce mechanization of different operations are further reducing labor requirements with SRI. The main obstacles to adopotion continue to be mental. |
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