Your search found 5 records
1 Timsina, J.. 1992. Gender analysis in rice-based farming system research: A case in Chitwan, Nepal. Paper presented at the International Workshop on Gender Concerns in Rice Farming, Chiangmai, Thailand, 20-25 October 1992. 24p.
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: P 2436/8 Record No: H011441)
2 Humphreys, E.; Meisner, C.; Gupta, R. K.; Timsina, J.; Beecher, H. G.; Lu, T. Y.; Singh, Y.; Gill, M. A.; Masih, Ilyas; Guo, Z. J.; Thompson, J. A. 2004. Water saving in rice-wheat systems. Paper presented at the 4th International Crop Science Congress on New directions for a diverse planet, Brisbane, Australia, 26 September-1 October 2004. 28p.
Rice ; Irrigated farming ; Water conservation ; Water use efficiency ; Evaporation ; Percolation ; Drainage ; Crop production ; Paddy fields ; Rice ; Wheat ; Crop-based irrigation ; Irrigation scheduling / Asia
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.2 G570 MEI Record No: H035782)
3 Goswami, R.; Roy, K.; Dutta, S.; Ray, K.; Sarkar, S.; Brahmachari, K.; Nanda, M. K.; Mainuddin, M.; Banerjee, H.; Timsina, J.; Majumdar, K. 2021. Multi-faceted impact and outcome of COVID-19 on smallholder agricultural systems: integrating qualitative research and fuzzy cognitive mapping to explore resilient strategies. Agricultural Systems, 189:103051. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103051]
Smallholders ; Agricultural systems ; COVID-19 ; Pandemics ; Cyclones ; Coping strategies ; Irrigation water ; Salinity ; Crop production ; Soil fertility ; Livestock ; Market access ; Labour ; Farmers ; Household income ; Household expenditure ; Stakeholders ; Nongovernmental organizations ; Villages ; Qualitative analysis / India / West Bengal / Sundarbans
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050287)
(4.61 MB)
The shock of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted food systems worldwide. Such disruption, affecting multiple systems interfaces in smallholder agriculture, is unprecedented and needs to be understood from multi-stakeholder perspectives. The multiple loops of causality in the pathways of impact renders the system outcomes unpredictable. Understanding the nature of such unpredictable pathways is critical to identify present and future systems intervention strategies. Our study aims to explore the multiple pathways of present and future impact created by the pandemic and “Amphan” cyclonic storm on smallholder agricultural systems. Also, we anticipate the behaviour of the systems elements under different realistic scenarios of intervention. We explored the severity and multi-faceted impacts of the pandemic on vulnerable smallholder agricultural production systems through in-depth interactions with key players at the micro-level. It provided contextual information, and revealed critical insights to understand the cascading effect of the pandemic and the cyclone on farm households. We employed thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders in Sundarbans areas in eastern India, to identify the present and future systems outcomes caused by the pandemic, and later compounded by “Amphan”. The immediate adaptation strategies of the farmers were engaging family labors, exchanging labors with neighbouring farmers, borrowing money from relatives, accessing free food rations, replacing dead livestock, early harvesting, and reclamation of waterbodies. The thematic analysis identified several systems elements, such as harvesting, marketing, labor accessibility, among others, through which the impacts of the pandemic were expressed. Drawing on these outputs, we employed Mental Modeler, a Fuzzy-Logic Cognitive Mapping tool, to develop multi-stakeholder mental models for the smallholder agricultural systems of the region. Analysis of the mental models indicated the centrality of “Kharif” (monsoon) rice production, current farm income, and investment for the next crop cycle to determine the pathways and degree of the dual impact on farm households. Current household expenditure, livestock, and soil fertility were other central elements in the shared mental model. Scenario analysis with multiple stakeholders suggested enhanced market access and current household income, sustained investment in farming, rapid improvement in affected soil, irrigation water and livestock as the most effective strategies to enhance the resilience of farm families during and after the pandemic. This study may help in formulating short and long-term intervention strategies in the post-pandemic communities, and the methodological approach can be used elsewhere to understand perturbed socioecological systems to formulate anticipatory intervention strategies based on collective wisdom of stakeholders.
4 Timsina, J.; Weerahewa, J. 2023. Restoring ancient irrigation systems for sustainable agro-ecosystems development: reflections on the special issue. Agricultural Systems, 209:103668. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103668]
Restoration ; Ancestral technology ; Irrigation systems ; Agroecosystems ; Ecosystem services ; Sustainability ; Villages ; Tanks ; Degradation ; Local communities ; Rainwater harvesting ; Irrigation water ; Watersheds ; Water management ; Livelihoods ; Land use / Sri Lanka / Mahakanumulla Tank
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051948)
(3.72 MB)
Humans have relied on agriculture to feed their communities for thousands of years. Irrigation is practiced in many different forms over the years in countries all over the world. Although modern irrigation systems have been developed, and are in use in many countries, ancient irrigation systems (AISs) have also played a major role in sustaining food production, especially in smallholder farming in least developed and developing countries. The editorial team of Agricultural Systems put out a call for a special issue on restoring AISs for sustainable agro-ecosystems development to capture ancient marvels of traditional irrigation technology across the world.
The objectives of this special issue were to: (i) understand and analyse the hydrological and socio-economic networks anchored by AISs; (ii) explain the nature and sustainability of management of these systems in relation to local agro-ecosystems; (iii) analyse the implications of the AISs for land, soil and water quality, and agro-ecosystem services; (iv) qualitative and quantitative analysis of AISs, including bio-physical and bio-economic modelling of these systems; and (v) assess the feasibility of alternative technological, institutional and management strategies to enhance the productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability of the systems. The overall goal of the special issue was to develop a useful repository for this information as well as to use the journal's international reach to share this information with the agricultural systems research community and journal readership. This paper provides reflections of papers published in the special issue.
The special issue resulted in twelve high quality original research articles and one review article from Asia, Africa and Europe. The findings from various papers revealed that the AISs have been degraded due to human interventions or the anthropogenic activities across the world. Various papers emphasized that as a corrective measure, there is a need for developing and implementing rehabilitation projects in these systems. Authors identified that appropriate policy interventions by the relevant authorities would be a major step towards such rehabilitation process. However, resetting the ecosystem structure of the AISs strictly towards their historical manifestation is neither required nor feasible in the present context as it would contradict the expectations of stakeholders from these systems.
The knowledge generated through the special issue provides evidence-based information on various aspects of AISs. It helps aware governments, private sectors and development agencies for improved policy planning and decision making and for prioritizing the restoration, rehabilitation, and management of various AISs around the world.
The objectives of this special issue were to: (i) understand and analyse the hydrological and socio-economic networks anchored by AISs; (ii) explain the nature and sustainability of management of these systems in relation to local agro-ecosystems; (iii) analyse the implications of the AISs for land, soil and water quality, and agro-ecosystem services; (iv) qualitative and quantitative analysis of AISs, including bio-physical and bio-economic modelling of these systems; and (v) assess the feasibility of alternative technological, institutional and management strategies to enhance the productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability of the systems. The overall goal of the special issue was to develop a useful repository for this information as well as to use the journal's international reach to share this information with the agricultural systems research community and journal readership. This paper provides reflections of papers published in the special issue.
The special issue resulted in twelve high quality original research articles and one review article from Asia, Africa and Europe. The findings from various papers revealed that the AISs have been degraded due to human interventions or the anthropogenic activities across the world. Various papers emphasized that as a corrective measure, there is a need for developing and implementing rehabilitation projects in these systems. Authors identified that appropriate policy interventions by the relevant authorities would be a major step towards such rehabilitation process. However, resetting the ecosystem structure of the AISs strictly towards their historical manifestation is neither required nor feasible in the present context as it would contradict the expectations of stakeholders from these systems.
The knowledge generated through the special issue provides evidence-based information on various aspects of AISs. It helps aware governments, private sectors and development agencies for improved policy planning and decision making and for prioritizing the restoration, rehabilitation, and management of various AISs around the world.
5 Khan, Z. H.; Islam, Md S.; Akhter, S.; Hasib, Md R.; Sutradhar, A.; Timsina, J.; Krupnik, T. J.; Schulthess, U. 2024. Can crop production intensification through irrigation be sustainable? An ex-ante impact study of the south-central coastal zone of Bangladesh. PLOS Water, 3(2):e0000153. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000153]
Crop production ; Irrigation water ; Coastal zones ; Rice ; Maize ; Wheat ; Grain legumes ; Oilseeds ; Freshwater ; Surface water ; River water ; Water flow ; Salinity ; Farmland ; Ecosystem services ; Water levels ; Dry season ; Models ; Water management / Bangladesh / Tentulia River / Buriswar River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052615)
https://journals.plos.org/water/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000153&type=printable
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052615.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052615.pdf
(7.57 MB) (7.57 MB)
In Bangladesh’s south-central coastal zone, there is considerable potential to intensify crop production by growing dry winter season ‘Boro’ rice, maize, wheat, pulses and oilseeds using irrigation from southward flowing and predominantly freshwater rivers. However, the impacts of surface water withdrawal for sustained irrigation and its safe operating space remain unclear. We used field measurements and simulation modeling to investigate the effects of irrigation water withdrawal for Boro rice–the most water-consumptive crop–on river water flow and salinity under different climate change and river flow scenarios. Under the baseline conditions, about 250,000 ha could potentially be irrigated with river water that has salinity levels below 2 dS/m. The impact on river water salinity would be minimal, and only between 0.71 to 1.12% of the cropland would shift from the 0–2 dS/m class to higher salinity levels. Similarly, for the moderate climate change scenario (RCP 4.5) that forecasts a sea level rise of 22 cm in 2050, there would be a minor change in water flow and salinity. Only under the extreme climate change scenario (RCP 8.5), resulting in a sea level rise of 43 cm by 2050 and low flow conditions that are exceeded in 90% of the cases, the 2 dS/m isohaline would move landward by 64 to 105 km in March and April for the Tentulia and Buriswar Rivers. This would expose an additional 36.6% of potentially irrigable cropland to salinity levels of 2 to 4 dS/m. However, Boro rice will already be well established by that time and can tolerate greater levels of salinity. We conclude that there is considerable scope to expand irrigated crop production without negatively exposing the cropland and rivers to detrimental salinization levels while preserving the ecosystem services of the rivers.
Powered by DB/Text WebPublisher, from
