Using Indigenous Knowledge to X Raise Agricultural Productivity An Example from India Q 24776 ZKq nowledge is transferred from through the 1980s. Inappropriate irri- one generation to the next and gation practices salinated the soils, from one country to another while brown plant hoppers destroyed through trading ties and social interac- 40-60 percent of paddy and wheat tions between different communities. crops. Most of these lands were owned This has given rise to a number of by poor farmers. cross-country exchanges and knowl- To raise agricultural productivity, edge sharing activities within Africa government extension agencies tried and beyond. Farmers and local healers to propagate the use of new farming from Mozambique have exchanged technologies and systems. However, knowledge of best practices with simi- these practices were not implemented lar communities in Uganda. A number by local farmers, who, in any case, of regional projects such as the Lake viewed government agents with suspi- Victoria Environmental Management cion. However, due to poor participa- Project have brought together neigh- tory methods, the technology dissemi- boring fishing communities from nation did not reach the farmers. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. In 1993, the UP Government These activities reinforce the univer- launched a World Bank supported sality of IK, which is embedded in the farmer driven Sodic Lands Reclamation No. 45 traditional practices of communities in June 2002 different regions. Despite geographi- cal differences, the ways in which com- r munities inIndiaforinstance,make IK Notes reports periodically on <) munities in India for instance, make > Indigenous Knowledge (IK) initiatives i effective use of their environmental in Sub-Saharan Africa and occasionally I and social assets, can provide useful les- on such initiatives outside the Region. sons for similar communities in Africa. It is published by the Africa Region's The Sodic Lands Reclamation ] Knowledge and Leaming Center as part of an evolving IK partnership Project in India provides a good ex- benveen the World Bank, commun- i ample of how the integration of tradi- ties, NGOs, development institutions qs¶'ONL @Q tional knowledge into Bank-supported and multilateral organizations. The operations can help transform barren views expressed in this article are those of the authors and should not be I:Z< E Ysoils into fertile arable land. In the attributed to the WJorld Bank Group state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) in North or its partners in this initiative. A -io vCtC>tON aSD DIndia, agricultural yields declined, !webpage on 1Kisaailabl at // while the population continued to rise fWW.worldbank.org/afr/ik/ default.ltm 2 Project. The goal was to strengthen local institutions, em- From the planning to implementation process, the project power the beneficiaries and develop a model for transferring managers, NGOs and local farmers worked together to de- service delivery to communities. velop endogenous strategies. These were constantly inno- The first challenge was to treat the high build-up of salts in vated, modified, and adapted to suit local or specific condi- the fields. These soils contain high concentrations of ex- tions. For instance, certain modern practices such as the use changeable sodium in which finer soil particles are dis- of chemical fertilizers were found to be more harmful than persed. As a result, water and air cannot penetrate, and good. In this context, farmers developed indigenous tech- highly alkaline conditions are created. Known as sodic soils, nologies based on traditional knowledge and practices that they are toxic to plants and adversely affect agriculture, hu- have proved to be cost-effective and environmentally man and plant health. friendly. In some cases, farmers drew from farming practices in other states. In Maharashtra, a local farmer had developed a Application of traditional knowledge new technique of composting. The Nadep compost relies on Farmers created local site implementation committees and a compost structure using bricks instead of a pit and *vas ap- Farmrs reaed lcalsit impemetaton cmmitee an plied in over 100 villages in the project area. self-help groups. Applying their own knowledge and experi- The higher levels of soil nutrients found in this form of ences, farmers reclaimed over 68,000 hectares belonging to The releve of soiliers and instis by a 24 7,000 families. They spread gypsum, built bunds, leached compost reduced the need for fertilizers and pesticides by a 247,000 famil,istartes. multi-oppa grum,buring b nds, lacrp quarter, and also reduced the costs of farm inputs. Using less the soil, started multi-cropping, green manuring and crop chemical fertilizers improved the quality, taste and weight of rotation, used compost and plouved the land. Maintaining food grains. The flavor and color of scented grains like wheat continuous ground cover through intensive cropping pro- and basmati rice were also enhanced, enabling farmers to tected the soils from a return of surface salts. increase prices. Previously, farmers used various pesticides such as Melathian dust. Today, they are applying indigenous forms of K K N o tes pest control practices, such as the sowing of Daincha (green .ould be of interest to: manure crop) in paddy field boundaries. In some villages like Jivelly, Devari and Dhanepur, farmers use neem properties to protect crops from pest attacks. In 1997, there was a massive attack of brownv plant hoppers Tnstit,ition and over 40 percent of the paddy crop was destroyed throughout Uttar Pradesh. Local farmers knew that kerosene Address oil keeps away snakes and can even kill some types of snakes. One of the more knowledgeable farmers in the region specu- lated that if kerosene oil could kill a snake, it could also kill the browvn plant hopper. To test this idea, he sprayed kerosene oil in one square meter of his field, where the attack had occurred. Within a few minutes, all the pests had been destroyed. Based on Letters, comments, and requests for publications these results, kerosene was sprayed in the corners of the should be addressed to: field and subsequently in nearby fields. Initially, 10 liters of Editor: IK Notes kerosene oil were applied on 0.25 hectares. Over time, the Knowledge and Learning Center farmer modified this technology, using five liters of kero- Africa Region, World Bank sene oil, mixed with 25kg of paddy husk to treat 0.25 hect- 1818 H Street, N.W., Room J5-055 Washington, D.C. 20433 ares of reclaimed land. E-mail: pmohan@worldbank.org 3 Economic impact 'Training was conducted in the local dialects such as Avdi. These various practices wvere tried by 600 farmers in differ- Topics covered included improved drainage networks, ent districts. The result was a substantive reduction in the green manuring, composting, use of bio-fertilizers, credit damage caused by brown plant hoppers from 49 percent management, self help groups and multi-cropping. Each of dowvn to 2 percent. The success story ,vas soon being repli- these drew on years of indigenous experiences in dealing cated, as farmers across the state began to control brow.n with challenges such as the brown plant hopper attacks. plant hopper attacks with neem extracts, rice husks and Once the'results showed positive gains, they wvere dissemi- green manure. In addition, several other indigenous prac- nated from one village to another through trainers. tices that had been used by generations of farmers were back The training is mostly hands-on and involves farmer-to- in vogue. These included traditional animal husbandry prac- farmer exchanges. For instance, a group of farmers are taken tices to treat common diseases such as Nvorms, foot disease to an area reclaimed earlier to see differences in soil fertility and pain common to cowvs and buffaloes. and rates of progress. Farmers from the project area have Over time, the knowledge and wisdom of local farmers also been taken on study tours and exchange visits to other began to bear fruit. Cropping intensity increased from 37 parts of the country (Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and GuJIarat) percent to 200 percent. Yields of wheat and rice on re- to share and learn from the practices of other farmers. Such claimed land were double the projections. After five years, exchanges have broadened their knowledge base through yields and incomes had risen by 60 percent. In some areas, exposure to different types of traditional knowledge systems. land values have quadrupled after reclamation. W rage rates Today, Uttar Pradesh has begun to hand over training and exten- have doubled as a result of increased economic activity. sion services to local farmers' schools, which reach more than W-Vomen self-help groups are generating incomes by diversify- 7,200 farmers in 65 villages beyond the project area. ing into poultry farming and horticulture._ _ _ There has also been a substantial reduction in seasonal la- bor migration out of project villages. As one beneficiary in One such village is Dhanepur Shobapur village said, "because my usar (sodic) fields wvere In 1996, in the middle of barren lands in Narangpur, that had barren, I used to go to Bhopal, Bombay and Calcutta looking been reclaimed, a project Nvorker planted a bale tree. Thie for work. Now that they have been reclaimed, wvhere is the sodic land was ash white and completelv deserted. There xvas time?" no sign of any vegetation. Slowly, the tree began to blossom and farmers from nearb! Farmers' School in Pratapgarh, Uftar Pradesh villages started to cultivate the land. Soon vegetables Were being gro,vn. Small settlements began to emerge around the However, the sustainability of any reclamation project de- Saroj tree. Today, an entire village has mushroomed in the pends upon the effective management of these lands. Regu- areas, knowvn as Dhanepur. lar access to information on new agricultural practices.and The village has a community-owned wvater pump, sugar technologies are some of the vital ingredients needed to sus- cane processor, flour grinder, paddy thresher and animal fod- tain multi-cropping systems in such areas. Keeping this in der processor. These are all situated near each other, to be mind and the fact that Bank support would not last forever, a jointly operated by electricity or a diesel engine. The ma- group of key resource persons and trained farmers came to- chinerv has been adapted to local conditions, using local in- gether to devise innovative new strategies, drawing upon indig- novations. enous resources and knowledge about agricultural practices. Earlier, farmers could only harvest a single crop from their This led to the formation of a Farmers Field School in fields. Today they are planting four crops, using the multi- Pratapgarh. These practices were institutionalized and cropping techniques taught by the school, growing pigeon wvidely disseminated through the school. Initially there were pee, millets and black gram. These are sown together in the twvelve master trainers in the school. Each one had to demon- fields which are watered through drip irrigation. The result strate in his own field how certain practices proved to be is four/five times higher yields from the same fields. beneficial, before others began to replicate these practices. 4 Incomes have increased by five times as a result of these Having saved a fair amount, the women started an internal higher yields. In the past, farmers managed to save $110 per lending scheme within the group. They also took out indi- year. Today their annual savings have risen to $555. vidual loans worth $100-$200 from the local bank to invest in These savings have been carefully invested in housing, modern technologies such as a sugar cane processor. electricity and roads to connect the village to other areas These self help-groups have also become effective agents and markets. Previously, there were poor linkages and com- of social change in the countryside andlhave addressed sev- munications. eral sensitive issues, such as the dowry system. Today, a large Higher incomes have dramatically improved the quality of number of women in this district can read, write and compre- life in the village. Most people were illiterate. Today, there hend complex aspects of their business transactions. are educational programs for children. The State Minister for Agriculture visited the school and There has been a significant change in local attitudes. Ini- recommended that such innovative methods of self-help ag- tially, the farmers were divided over the project; One group ricultural extension should be replicated through-out the was ready to cooperate with the implementing agencies and state. The European Union is funding a reclamation project the other comprising of larger farm-holders, opposed the with the same design in three other districts. This will build project. Howvever, when these farmers saw the lands of those on the primary lessons learned from the first phase of the who actively participated in the project turn green, while project: building on indigenous knowledge increases sustain- theirs remained infertile and ash-colored, they soon came able agricultural production and provides a model for trans- around. Today, they are only too eager to participate in the ferring service delivery to communities. second phase of the project. Community-to-community exchanges could be the conduit for transferring such knowledge across countries and conti- nents. Given that agriculture is the dominating factor in Self-help groups empower women most African economies and in India, the appropriate dis- semination and use of indigenous knowledge could prove The training provided to women by the farmers school has had a major impact at the household level, driving forward Y social and economic changes to improve the welfare of the entire family. Today over 175 women's' self help groups have been formed, such as the Kaveri Mahela Self-Help Group. Formed in 1995, the Kaveri group initially comprised 15 members. Each member saved 10 cents per month, which then increased from 40 cents to 80 cents over the next six months. Today, each member saves up to $6 per month. The funds are saved in the local bank under a joint fund called the Kaveri Self Help Fund. This note w as written by Siddhartha Prakash, based on afield visit to the farmers' school and project sites in 2001. Forfurther information email: Sprakash@worldbank.org