Description:
''Specific research needs relating to crop improvement for drought resistance must
be considered within the broader context of a total agricultural research and
extension strategy. At the simplest, the goals of such a strategy are to develop
appropriate technologies for increasing the efficiency of food and fiber production
while maintaining the long-term stability of the land resource. Whatever the goals,
implementation of new technologies ultimately rests with millions of individual
farmers. Each farmer and his farm is unique. How do we prescribe a technology
that is relevant to the land, labor, capital, and management resources of each
individual?
If, given a specified minimum set of soil-crop-weather and management data, it
were possible to predict the performance of a particular crop system at a particular
location, then it would be possible to predict an appropriate technology. This is an
attainable objective, but it requires major shifts in the prevailing logic and
methods of agricultural research (Nix 1968, 1976, 1979). Basically it requires a
shift in emphasis away from the currently dominant reductionist or analytical
approaches to holistic or synthesizing approaches. These two approaches are
complementary rather than competitive.
Adopting a systems approach emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary teamwork. Knowledge and insight from the range of biological, physical, social, and
economic disciplines become necessary. It formalizes what is known about crop
production systems — their more important components, processes, and feedback
mechanisms — and helps to identify significant, subtle constraints. Most importantly, the possible consequences (ecological, agronomic, economic) of introducing a new technology can be evaluated by using modeling and simulation techniques and field experiments designed to test model predictions...''
Source/publisher:
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
Date of Publication:
2018-12-25
Date of entry:
2019-01-25
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Geographic coverage:
- Myanmar
Countries:
Myanmar
Language:
English
Local URL:
Format:
pdf
Size:
4.74 MB
Resource Type:
text
Text quality:
- Good