Project 2: Changing Trend of Land Management through Time Trend Analysis

Project 2: Changing Trend of Land Management through Time Trend Analysis

Introduction:
This exercise is intended to know the process of farmers’ land management in different phase of time at their community land based on their perceivable criteria. This will also help the students to compare the practices, their effects and changes (positive and negative) over time in respect of crop choice, varietal choice, fertilizer use, irrigation scheduling, problem faced, conservation practices, yield etc. This project has two basic components. At first level a field survey should be made at a community adjacent to the locality of the students with participation of knowledgeable farmers. In the second level the community knowledge may be validated with consultation of research reports or with scientists who have been working in that particular region

Objectives:
• To identify the changes happened in the land over definite span of time
• To analyze the changes, causes/drivers/pressure leading to these changes
• To list out possible consequences
• To validate the farmers’ Knowledge with secondary sources of information
Methodology:
Requirements: color pen and papers, secondary data on land use

Steps
• Select a field around your locality
• Meet some knowledgeable practicing farmers from the field
• Explain the purpose in details
• Consider minimum twenty years period as unit of changes
• Initiate discussion over the variables like crop, variety, fertilizer, irrigation, yield, problem faced in land management etc.
• Try to understand the changes happened to the land
• Ask the farmers the reasons for the changes
• Make an idea about the possible consequences from the discussion
• Finally prepare a comparative table for different phases with concluding remarks

Changing trend of soil management
Nore: table is included.

Validation:
• Collect secondary data relevant to the exercise and analyze them over the definite periods
• Compare them with field findings
Conclusion:
Find out the strength and weaknesses of farmers’ assessment technique
Relevance:
This project will help the students to understand the changes in land management through farmers’ eyes and it will also promote respect towards the farming community