Farmers innovations for sustainable resources management and conservation of biological diversity

Abstract

The agricultural transformation during green revolution is no more green in most developing countries. The declining productivity of inputs clearly points to the non-sustainable nature of current growth processes. While there is rethinking going on in the formal research system itself, the informal research system managed by innovative and creative farmers, pastoralists, artisans, fishermen and women has been undergoing a silent revolution. In this paper this creativity at grassroots level is discussed as a source of healing the sick soils, souls and spirits. The paper discusses how blending between formal and informal science can stem the tide of non-sustainable growth and provide a more eco-friendly and eco-ethical path to future sustenance. We narrate in part one of the paper the diagnoses of the problem. What can formal science do and cannot in the context of meeting challenge of sustainable natural resource use. In part two we discuss the context in which farmers innovations emerge and evolve at individual as well as collective level. In part three the problem of knowledge erosion is discussed and the case of Honey Bee network is presented which aims at stemming this erosion. In present some suggestions for rewarding creativity and some lesions for rethinking the mainstream technology generation and diffusion systems.