Madhu Subedi

Use of Farmers' Indicators to Evaluate the Sustainability of Cropping Systems on Sloping Land in Yunnan Province, China

Diversity in the biophysical and socio-economic attributes of agricultural systems makes them uniquely niche based. Farmers are expert in local biophysical and socio-economic situations and can contribute in developing pragmatic indicators of agro-environmental development. During evaluation of an agricultural research project in Yunnan, China, local farmers were capable of evaluating the efiects of modifled technologies on existing cropping systems and discussed their attitudes to the interventions using their own indicators. Farmers’ response can be grouped into seven major aspects: i) efiects on income, ii) efiects on production resources, iii) efiects on crop management, iv) existing local knowledge about the technology, v) availability of inputs, vi) access to information, and vii) socio-economic conditions of farming households. Farmers concluded that environmental conditions in the experimental catchment in comparison to an adjacent untreated catchment were better in terms of soil and water losses, vegetation cover and natural resources, infrastructures and catchment management, use of environmentally-friendly technologies, and crop productivity. Success in soil and water conservation programmes depends on the efiorts of the farmers and other local users and their greater involvement helps to identify more pragmatic indicators. Furthermore, it increases ownership of the programme, enhances interactions with the project scientists, increases farmers’ awareness of agro-environmental problems and their possible consequences. These development will enable scientists to develop better targeted interventions and increase the likelihood of adoption of tested technologies by local communities. The use of paired adjacent catchments improved evaluation activities and is proposed as good practice for future catchment improvement programmes.

An Evaluation of the Introduction of Modified Cropping Practices in Yunnan Province, China, Using Surveys of Farmers' Households

Abstract Problems associated with land degradation are serious in China. Sloping land in South China has experienced a decline in crop productivity by 30-60% due to soil erosion and it has been predicted that most topsoil will be lost within the next 100 years if current erosion rates continue. Considering these situations, an agro-environmental research and development project (Sustainable Highland Agriculture in South-East Asia – SHASEA) was conducted in a catchment in Yunnan Province, China, to address the objectives of increasing crop productivity in sustainable and environmentally-friendly ways. A range of cropping practices was developed and implemented in a rural upland catchment (Wang Jia). At the end of the project, farmers were surveyed to evaluate project effectiveness. All farmers from Wang Jia Catchment, who were involved in project implementation, were surveyed. A sample of farmers working in an adjacent catchment (not associated with the project) was surveyed for comparative purposes. Farmers had different perceptions of the cropping practices employed. Contour cultivation was preferred and likely to be adopted. Others practices such as straw mulching and intercropping were seen as less appropriate and unlikely to be adopted. Polythene mulch was recognized as effective, but likely to be adopted only if financial returns were favourable. The availability of relevant information had an important impact on the extent of technology testing by farmers and their willingness to adopt the practices in the future.

Temporal changes in soil temperature at the Hilton Experimental Site, Shropshire, UK (1982-2006): Evidence of a warming trend?

Soil temperature variations at different depths at a research site over a 25-year period (1982–2006) are discussed. Based on a database of 11,498 individual soil temperature measurements in loamy sand (Bridgnorth series) soils, soil temperature at the Hilton Experimental Site in Shropshire, UK, significantly increased between 1982 and 2006. The surface soil (0 cm) warmed twice as fast (∼0.1°C year−1) as soil at 100 cm depth (∼0.05°C year−1) and thus implies progressively steeper thermal gradients with soil depth through time. The trend of increase in soil temperatures at 0 cm was generally greater in winter. These observations contribute to the growing corpus of evidence of global warming.

AGRO-ENVIRONMENTAL LESSONS FROM THE ‘SUSTAINABLE HIGHLAND AGRICULTURE IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA’ (SHASEA) PROJECT / ŽEMĖS ŪKIO IR APLINKOSAUGINĖ PATIRTIS VYKDANT PROJEKTĄ „TVARUSIS ŽEMĖS ŪKIS PIETRYČIŲ AZIJOS AUKŠTUMOSE“ / СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫЙ И ПРИРОДООХРАННЫЙ ОПЫТ, ПОЛУЧЕННЫЙ ПРИ ОСУЩЕСТВЛЕНИИ ПРОЕКТА «РАЦИОНАЛЬНОЕ СЕЛЬСКОЕ ХОЗЯЙСТВО НА ВОЗВЫШЕННОСТЯХ ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНОЙ АЗИИ»

Abstract To promote sustainable agro-environmental development in the highlands of South-East Asia, an international multidisciplinary research team examined the effectiveness of selected agronomic and soil conservation treatments (both modified and novel cropping practises) using farmer-managed runoff plots. The study sites were located in the highlands of Yunnan Province (Wang Jia Catchment), China and Mae Honson Province (Pang Mapa District), Northern Thailand. Project lessons relating to co-operation, research partnerships, time horizons, multidisciplinarity, income generation, information dissemination and education are discussed.

Agro-environmental lessons from the 'sustainable highland agriculture in South-East Asia' (SHASEA) project

Abstract To promote sustainable agro-environmental development in the highlands of South-East Asia, an international multidisciplinary research team examined the effectiveness of selected agronomic and soil conservation treatments (both modified and novel cropping practises) using farmer-managed runoff plots. The study sites were located in the highlands of Yunnan Province (Wang Jia Catchment), China and Mae Honson Province (Pang Mapa District), Northern Thailand. Project lessons relating to co-operation, research partnerships, time horizons, multidisciplinarity, income generation, information dissemination and education are discussed.