Biological and Cultural Diversity

Preface
Notes on Contributors
Introduction 1
1 Rice cropping practices in Nepal: indigenous adaptation to adverse and difficult environments 6
2 Farmer-based experimentation with velvetbean: innovation within tradition 32
3 Side-stepped by the Green Revolution: farmers' traditional rice cultivars in the uplands and rainfed lowlands 50
4 Environmental dynamics, adaptation and experimentation in indigenous Sudanese water harvesting 64
5 The indigenization of exotic inputs by small-scale farmers on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria 80
6 Farmer management of rootcrop genetic diversity in Southern Philippines 92
7 Farmer experimentation in a Venezuelan Andean group 113
8 Indian farmers opt for ecological profits 125
9 Indigenous agricultural experimentation in home gardens of South India: conserving biological diversity and achieving nutritional security 134
10 Living local knowledge for sustainable development 147
11 Varietal diversity and farmers' knowledge: the case of the sweet potato in Irian Jaya 158
12 The indigenous concept of experimentation among Malian farmers 163
13 Umnotho Wethu Amadobo: the clash between indigenous agricultural knowledge and a Western conservation ethic in Maputaland, South Africa 172
14 Local-level experimentation with social organization and management of self-reliant agricultural development: the case of gender in Ara, Nigeria 184
15 Chinese farmers' initiatives in technology development and dissemination: a case of a farmer association for rural technology development 192
Notes 199
References 202