The Nature, Agriculture and Nurturing Societies:
Learning from those who care and conserve - Honey Bee Experience
Stagnation in Indian agriculture despite seven good monsoons in succession has made even the most ardent believers in sustainability of green revolution model to pause and reflect on the model itself. The declining productivity of inputs has further necessitated the need for rethinking the strategy for growth in future.
In agriculture science different disciplines have contributed to the growth and therefore each of the discipline will have to blend its strategies with other disciplines to genreate sustainable outcomes. Agronomists have a particular responsibility in the matter because they have to package various technologies together.
The paper listsseven key areas of restructuring research including (a) nich technologies; precision farming (b) transfering science and not just technology (c) ecological indicators for monitoring eco-system health, (d) augmenting farmers’ coping strategies through agronomic management (e) rethinking post graduate research (f) monitoring inter-species/eco-system interactions and (g) combining ethical concerns with agronomic research goals. The Honey Bee experience is summarised in part two of the paper along with the illustrations of grassroots innovations. Models of rewarding creativity are briefly mentioned in part three.
Paper makes a particular plea for INSTAR (International Network for Sustainable Technological Applications and Registration of Small Innovations).