A CASE STUDY OF onION PRODUCTION IN THE TIPAJARA WATERSHED , MIZQUE BOLIVIA By FRANKLYN B . ARAGONA submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN FORESTRY MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2003 CHAPTER VIII : CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS In this study , I have provided a detailed description of certain key components of the farm system in the Tipajara watershed . I have documented the agricultural intensification process that occurred after the Agrarian Reform of 1952 , and I have shown how increasing land fragmentation due to larger family sizes spurred the introduction of irrigation technology in the community of Tipa Tipa . I have also shown how national and local changes in infrastructure caused changes in village life and the farming system . Agricultural intensification has done little to halt environmental degradation ; evidence suggests that intensification may accelerate environmental degradation and have adverse affects on certain groups within the community , e . g . women and the poor . A shrinking land base has resulted in high levels of migration to urban areas , but future gains in production are still necessary if the land is to sustain continued population growth . Onions , one of the primary cash crops in the region , suffer from an epidemic of disease causing organisms that drastically affect yields and thereby reduce the possibility that farmers will make a profit . Within the population of onion farmers , there are farmers that earn money and farmers that do not ; those that do not earn money are in the majority . The winning farmers were measurably different from the losing farmers . Farmers that earn money are able to properly balance costs to optimize yields and returns . For the vast majority of farmers , improvements in yield have greater potential to improve profitability than improvements in marketing techniques . Improved marketing techniques have the potential to increase the amount of money a farmer earns , especially for those farmers that already have high yields . Still , improved marketing techniques have not yet been proven effective in increasing the average price per bag for onions . The case for change is overwhelming . The current state of agriculture in the Tipajara watershed is unsustainable . Chronic problems with disease and reduced yields have driven many farmers to desperate and ineffective farming practices . Environmental degradation continues through many channels : increased erosion , deposition of toxic chemicals into the environment , and more deforestation . I have written several recommendations that , if properly implemented , have the potential to address many of the problems outlined in this thesis . RECOMMENDATIONS Realizing that different management strategies are necessary for different land types , I have divided the lands of Tipa Tipa into three distinct categories based on land cover and current use ( Figure 7 . 8 page 64 ) . Zone one comprises irrigated lands . Zone two is hillside agriculture and extremely eroded lands . And zone three is forest resources . Based on these divisions , I have made recommendations for each zone , which could be used as the basis for future improvements in the farm system . Zone one This irrigated area is used primarily for the production of cash crops and for the production of some staple crops . The primary objective of any agricultural project in this zone should be crop diversification and the development of a successful rotation scheme combined with an earnest attempt to reduce the total cultivated area of onions . The evidence in this thesis is conclusive : smaller parcels yield better results ; crop rotation is imperative . This does not necessarily mean that abandoning onions altogether is wise . As the statistical model for onions indicates , a careful balancing of costs and the appropriate management of farm inputs greatly improves the possibility of turning a profit . The reduction of total area cultivated has numerous advantages : 1 . Allows better management of a crop that is extremely input intensive 2 . Improves the possibility of profitability 3 . Makes more resources available for crop diversification 4 . Facilitates control of disease In the future , onions must be cultivated under an Integrated Pest Management ( IPM ) scheme . Organic alternatives to chemical biocides exist and should be experimented with . The destruction of volunteer plants , infected bulbs , and crop residues could have an enormous impact on the year - to - year increase in airborne fungal spores . Farmers could benefit greatly from learning the procedures for pesticide and fungicide application . Learning about and understanding the life cycle of the causal organisms will help farmers to combat them . Agricultural technicians in India were able to reduce the cost of harvesting by 70 % when using a simple , self - propelled onion digger windrower to perform the mechanical operation of harvesting ( Jadhav , Gharte , and Turbatmath 1995 ) . Such a technology has the potential to reduce the labor - intensive nature of the onion harvest in rural Bolivia . There is great potential to introduce intensive gardening techniques into zone one . A move towards an organic , intensively managed polyculture would improve family nutrition and provide a greater diversity of marketable crops . Such a risk management strategy would mitigate the effects of fluctuating markets , natural disasters , and disease epidemics . Zone Two Hillside lands are in desperate need of rehabilitation . These lands are excellent candidates for the use of agroforestry and silvopastoral systems . Ideally , these lands could be rehabilitated for the production of a number of useful products : grazing paddocks , cut and carry fodder , wood products , and rain fed cereal crops . There are also great opportunities for the construction of water catchments to expand the area of irrigated agriculture . Foreign aid dollars will certainly be necessary to subsidize the early rehabilitation process , as most local farmers have already dismissed the idea of investing labor and time into these highly eroded areas . This zone requires labor intensive soil conservation measures to halt the process of land degradation . Both live and dead barriers have great potential to curb erosion . Ideally , three dimensional GIS models would be used to develop a detailed management plan . Zone Three Due to the communal nature of these areas , it is extremely difficult to develop a plausible management plan . Few forest trees remain on these steep slopes , as most forest vegetation has been replaced by the shrubby pioneer species known as chacatea ( Dondonea viscosa ) . The soils that support this vegetation are generally infertile , steep , and rocky . Goats and cows are commonly seen trampling through these areas in search of the most palatable vegetation . Perhaps , as the PDAR ( 1991 ) suggests , the best approach to managing these lands would be to leave them alone . Priority should be given to the most intensively managed areas in the watershed , i . e . zones one and two . Under ideal conditions and proper management , sustainable practices in these zones could be adopted within 20 years . In the meantime , laws that preserve remaining trees need to be enacted and enforced . once sustainability has been achieved in zones one and two , a province wide , landscape level approach to forest management could be adopted . This approach would seek to promote natural regeneration pathways using active fire management practices and relic forest trees as a seed source . Such a project would require at least 50 years before the area began to recover its original forest vegetation . Unfortunately for Bolivians , conditions are far from ideal . Corruption is rampant , local officials suffer from a chronic lack of resources , and many rural community members have become disenchanted with agricultural development projects that all too often deliver questionable results . Still , the campesinos never ceased to amaze me with their extreme resiliency . Their acceptance of things as they are struck me as both naively childish and impossibly wise . More than any single thing , their talent to make something , however crude and rudimentary , out of almost nothing , stands out in my mind . Surely such skill is grounds for optimism . I truly believe that this skill is their key to a successful future . only projects that seek to enhance local innovation and build upon it will be successful in the future . This requires an enormous investment of time and energy into the human resources that exist at the rural level . For in the end , the development of human resources within local contexts is the only real solution to global poverty . 사업자 정보 표시 | | | 사업자 등록 번호 : -- | TEL : -- | 사이버 몰의 이용 약관 바로 가 기