Sustainable Agriculture in Fragile Resource Zones-Technological Imperatives

Resource Zones Technological Imperatives Introduction and Setting THIS paper deals with agriculture in the fragile or marginal resource areas such as mountains and rainfed arid/semi-arid tropical plains. In these areas sustainability or rather unsustainability, is not a matter of probability, but an already felt reality. After a brief comment on the key issues involved in the mainstream debate on sustainability, the paper presents a few negative changes (i e, indicators of unsustainability) relating to the resource base and productivity in these regions. The negative changes are a consequence of current patterns of resource use that over-exploit the resources. The important resource characteristics (often ignored while using the resources) and their sustainability implications are also discussed. After commenting on the indigenous measures and conventional development interventions to handle the constraints of fragile resource- agriculture, the paper examines the need for complementing the two. Finally, the major areas requiring research focus and the technology for enhancing the sustainability of fragile resource-agriculture are discussed.