In India, some innovations that are used in subsistence farming are soaking lentil, arhar and chickpea seeds in buttermilk to protect the crop from wilt disease; scattering salt over rice crops to protect them from blight disease; intercropping marigolds with tomatoes and chili peppers to protect them from mosaic and nematodes and to control wilt disease in pigeon peas; putting twigs in the fields to encourage owls to nest and feed on rats; spreading cooked rice in fields to attract birds, which also eat the caterpillars; adding ash to the soil for extra nutrients; spraying a solution with bull dung on crops as an insect repellent; and using cow urine mixed with mustard oil and water to prevent various diseases and pests in the rice crops. (See Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, n.d., for more information.)

The Sustainable Sugarcane Production Technology Project was launched in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, because “sugarcane farmers in the District were facing several problems such as poor soil health, high input cost, fragmented land holdings, lack of technology, intensive use of resources (water and labour), effects of climate change and sudden increase in pest and diseases. As a result, sugarcane yield and farmer returns were highly inadequate.” The project introduced “an innovative set of agronomic practices that involved using fewer seeds, raising seedlings in a nursery, following new planting methods with wider plant spacing, and better water and nutrient management to increase the cane yields significantly” (Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Government of India, n.d., p. 23).

Here are some examples of more sophisticated innovations that can be used in subsistence, backyard and other traditional farming practices:

• Integrated pest management (IPM): Using a variety of preventative and traditional methods such as practising crop rotation, planting pest-resistant varieties of plants, weeding and trapping pests. (See Mwatawala et al., 2015, p. 5, for more information.) One vision for the future of pest management in regions like East Africa is to produce plant-based insecticides locally.
• Zero tillage: The soil is not disturbed between harvest and sowing because tilling and over ploughing leads to soil degradation over time. (See Johansen et al., 2012, for more information.)
• Inorganic soil cover: Human-made mulch that does not decompose or break down quickly — for example, plastic sheeting, landscape fabric and rubber mulch.
• Raised beds or ridges: These reduce the total surface area needed for irrigation, as only the areas between ridges/beds are irrigated or flooded.
• Homestead farming or intensive production of small livestock: Raising animals in controlled areas instead of letting them roam freely to reduce their vulnerability to risks and disasters, such as disease outbreaks, drought, floods, etc. This also allows for better livestock management.
• Hybrid seeds: Planting seeds that are pest-, drought- or flood-resistant.
• Improving drainage systems: This will help to alleviate flood risk.
• Having evacuation routes for livestock: These make it easier to move livestock to an alternative location during adverse weather.
• Harvesting rainwater by collecting rain from the roofs of buildings and storing it in tanks, wells or reservoirs: This method of conserving water reduces flooding and erosion and raises the water table.
• Practising agro-electric production: This approach combines a solar plant with crops grown between the rows of solar panels. The dual production on a single plot of land increases food security and revenue from the energy produced (see Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Government of India, n.d., pp. 95-98).

Some other innovations in sustainable agriculture that are applicable to subsistence food production through community farming are the construction of:

• gabion baskets made of mesh wire and filled with rocks, concrete, sand or soil to stabilise shorelines or riverbanks and prevent flooding or slope erosion.
• levees to divert water along a riverbed or coastline to land that can be used for agriculture. They are usually made of earth or piles of rocks and can be reinforced with wood, plastic, metal or concrete.
• community ponds in farming areas to save water to use during prolonged dry periods.

Information and communication technologies

Innovations in the form of mobile telephones and the Internet allow smallholder farmers to access real-time information about daily weather conditions, upcoming natural disasters and potential emergencies and market prices, and let them connect with other farmers. They can do their banking and can buy and sell goods and services online.

In India, a smartphone app is being used to rent farm equipment, and in Sub-Sahara Africa, farmers use a “virtual cooperative” to come together and negotiate with suppliers for better prices for goods. (See Sunga, 2017, for more information.)

The Ricult Farmer App provides “smallholder farmers with free weather data, satellite imagery, pest management, and measurement tools that utilize machine learning and AI. Perhaps just as useful, farmers can use the app to secure bank loans” (Ilaria-Mayerhofer & Smith, 2022).

Activity

Watch the video Digital Technologies are Empowering Rwandan Youth to Transform Farming by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It highlights the use of digital technology by young farmers in Rwanda.

After you have watched the video, list the three ways in which Daniel Nshimiyimama says digital technology is empowering him.

Innovations in agro-processing

The conventional methods of food processing include drying, dehydration, smoking, evaporation, extrusion and freezing. They can have a negative effect on the food’s natural colour, flavour and nutrient content.

“Since fruit and vegetables are so diverse, many different types of processed foods can be produced including dried and canned products, chutneys, pickles, jams, sauces, pastes, snacks, oils and juices. … Fruit and vegetables can be canned or frozen, but processed products must be packaged and stored properly in order to achieve their potential shelf life of up to one year. … Wherever possible, processed fruit and vegetables should contain a minimum of food additives and ingredients such as salt and sugar, in order to preserve their nutritional benefits and to make a positive contribution to fighting all forms of malnutrition” (FAO & CIRAD, 2021, p. 88).

Innovations in agro-processing include:

• Microwave and ohmic heating: These generate heat directly inside the products without using an external heating surface and are suitable for processing foods that contain water.
• Ultrasound: This uses vibrations or sound waves to analyse the composition, structure and physical properties of products and is used in defoaming, freezing and tenderising meat and sterilising equipment
• High-pressure processing: This involves applying intense uniform pressure to a product to destroy micro-organisms and is suitable for processing products with 40 per cent free water
• Pulsed electric field processing: This involves applying pulses or very quick releases of high electrical voltage into a raw product and is used in preserving fluid or semi-fluid food
• Pulsed light treatments: this involves using rays of light from ultraviolet to infra-red wave lengths in pulses or very quick flashes to inactivate micro-organisms and is used in drying and decontaminating food, sanitising packaging materials and disinfecting processing equipment.

These innovative methods of food processing are used in pasteurisation, sterilisation, oil/juice extraction, filtration, blanching and drying. They use less water and energy than traditional processes, so they have less impact on the environment. (See Kautkar & Pandey, 2018, for more information.) However, they are more suited to large-scale production. (See De Vries et al., 2018, for more information.)

Agro-processing in subsistence agriculture

Simple technologies include drying, fermenting, canning, freezing, preserving and juicing. Fruits, vegetables and flowers can be processed and stored for immediate or future use or for selling later.

Here are three examples of products that are prepared using locale-specific, traditional agro-processing practices suitable for subsistence food production:

• togwa: a non-alcoholic drink prepared in Tanzania
• fermented cassava (bila): a speciality of the Naila village in Fiji
• unleavened cassava bread: popular in Warapoka, Guyana

(See Faure et al., 2018, for more information.)

Activity

Can you identify a traditional or an innovative agro-processing practice in your community?

Reading

Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Government of India. (n.d.). New beginning. Government of India. https://darpg.gov.in/sites/default/files/Book-on-Innovations-released-by-Hon%27ble-PM-on-CSD,2017.pdf
Licence: Public domain

De Vries, H., Mikolajczak, M., Salmon, J.-M., Abecassis, J., Chaunier, L., Guessasma, S., Lourdin, D., Belhabib, S., Leroy, E., & Trystram, G. (2018). Small-scale food process engineering: Challenges and perspectives. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 46, 122-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2017.09.009

Faure, G., Chiffoleau, Y., Goulet, F., Temple, L., & Touzard, J.-M. (Eds). (2018). Innovation and development in agricultural and food systems. Éditions Quæ. https://agritrop.cirad.fr/589871/1/ID589871.pdf
Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations & Agricultural Research Centre for International Development. (2021). Fruit and vegetables: Opportunities and challenges for small-scale sustainable farming. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb4173en
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

Ilaria-Mayerhofer, A., & Smith, N. K. (2022). Technologies give farmers in the developing world a way to grow. OPEC Fund for International Development. https://opecfund.org/news/technologies-give-farmers-in-the-developing-world-a-way-to-grow
Licence: Public domain (https://opecfund.org/terms-of-use)

Johansen, C., Haque, M. E., Bell, R. W., Thierfelder, C., & Esdaile, R. J. (2012). Conservation agriculture for small holder rainfed farming: Opportunities and constraints of new mechanized seeding systems. Field Crops Research, 132, 18-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2011.11.026

Kautkar, S., & Pandey, J. P. (2018). An elementary review on principles and applications of modern non-conventional food processing technologies. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Science, 7(5). doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.705.103
Licence: See https://www.researchgate.net/ip-policy

Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. (n.d.). Indigenous technologies practiced by farmers. Vikaspedia: Government of India. https://vikaspedia.in/agriculture/best-practices/sustainable-agriculture/crop-management/indigenous-technologies-practised-by-farmers
Licence: Public domain (https://www.vikaspedia.in/portal-policies)

Mwatawala, M. W., Mziray, H., Malebo, H., & De Meyer, M. (2015). Guiding farmers’ choice for an integrated pest management program against the invasive Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae) in mango orchards in Tanzania. Crop Protection, 76, 103-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2015.07.001

Stevenson, P. C., Isman, M. B., & Belmain,S. R. (2017). Pesticidal plants in Africa: A global vision of new biological control products from local uses. Industrial Crops and Products, 110, p 2-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2017.08.034

Sunga, I. (2017, 5 January).These 5 innovations will transform the lives of smallholder farmers. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/these-5-innovations-will-transform-the-lives-of-smallholder-farmers/
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License