Feature Article

Excessive use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides has affected soil and water quality in the Jaffna peninsula, Sri Lanka. Students from the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Jaffna have been learning about green manures from farmers, and how they have been used to improve soils. Green manures were also used successfully to rehabilitate salinated soils affected by the tsunami. These and other organic practices are now being promoted with and by farmers.

Integrating cover crops and green manures helps farmers rehabilitate degraded soils in highland areas. In Ecuador, farmers experimented with this conservation practice. They found that it improved their farming system in many ways: increased productivity in their main crop, decreased weeding time, provided them with an extra crop (for food, fodder, marketing), besides rehabilitating their soils.

Getting farmers to adopt new technologies to address soil erosion and fertility problems is not easy. In Vietnam, a multidisciplinary research project to improve soil management in traditional mountainous agricultural farming systems managed to attract farmers' interest and stop soil erosion. This success stems from encouraging farmers, extensionists and researchers to jointly define and implement the project.

Carrot is one of the most popular and important vegetable cultivated and consumed throughout the world. It has been reported to have diuretic, nitrogen balancing properties and effective in the elimination of uric acid. In Northern India carrots, especially a variety that is deep purple in colour is fermented to make a traditional ready to serve drink known as Kanji.

The authors to examine the relationship between environmental cadmium exposure and dental caries in children 6

When agricultural researchers visit farms in order to gather information for their research programmes, farmers rarely get proper feedback. Research information on scientific concepts such as soil fertility and nutrient balances is often considered too abstract for them. Researchers in Kenya returned to farmers to discuss their results in the context of Farmer Field Schools. Through the workshops that ensued, they managed to find a common language to bridge the communication gap.

Economic infrastructure and agricultural development in Himachal Pradesh brings out an assessment of the progress made during 1981-2001 in Himachal Pradesh. In this paper, two major components of development, viz. the agriculture and economic infrastructure sector have been analysed at district level in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

An experiment was conducted to develop and evaluate energy and protein rich supplementary foods. Products namely Seviyan, Halwa, Pinjiri and Pinni were developed using combinations of germinated wheat and soybean and carrot powder for 4-6 years old children. Organoleptic evaluation, proximate principles, carotene, iron and calcium were determined using standardized methods.

Litter production and decomposition are important in nutrient cycling and detritus based food chain. Litter production in mangrove varies widely with species, forest type, stand age, geographical location and environmental parameters.

Farmers are more likely to adopt and adapt improved soil management strategies if their efforts lead to an immediate economic benefit. An encouraging policy environment, as well as farmer organisation also stimulates the adoption of conservation practices. In Mexico, farmers are adapting their maize-based cropping systems to conservation agriculture, leading to both higher profits and soil conservation.