International Ag-Sieve
International Ag-Sieve
"no technology that treats the farmer as the last link in a hierachically oriented, expert-dominated chain of transmitted wisdom has a chance of succeeding. the extension service model of bringing the word from the smart scientist to the yokel is outmoded and should be scrapped."
On the dry island of Hierro in the Canary Islands, there is a legend of the rain tree: a giant 'Til' tree (Ocotea foetens), "...the leaves of which condensed the mountain mists and caused water to drip into two large cisterns which were placed beneath. the tree was destroyed in a storm in 1612 a.d. but the site is known, and the remnants of the cistern preserved...[this one tree] distilled sufficient water from the sea mists to meet the needs of all the inhabitants."
"the best opportunities for achieving quick gains in productivity may be by making small, simple improvements in farmers' current practices. this approach must be based on research firmly rooted in the environment and land-use system of the target group of armers and must reflect the farmers' own criteria for success. in this context, on-farm research is indespensable in achieving agroforestry's long-term research objectives."
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