Agrodoks

Agrodok 021, On-Farm Fish Culture - 01.01.1998

This Agrodok describes how you can integrate fish culture with crop and animal production on a farm. This book follows on from Agrodok No.15 'Small-scale freshwater fish farming', which describes in detail the basic principles of raising fish and building a fish pond.

Once agricultural activities on a farm have been diversified integration can be the next step. A farmer can diversify by raising different kinds of crops or animals. The different activities become integrated when the waste products from one activity are used for the production of another crop or animal. For example, animal dung can be used to improve the fertility of the soil, which will increase plant growth. Animal dung can also be used as a fertilizer in a fish pond to increase fish production. By using these methods production on an integrated farm will be higher than on a farm where activities are carried out separately. Production costs can be kept low by using the by- products (e.g. stalks and leaves) from the different activities on the farm for fish culture. These by-products form an inexpensive way of making fish feed, which is cheaper than having to buy feed.

Version 2, 2004 

Agrodok 022, Small-Scale Production of Weaning Foods - 01.01.1997

This Agrodok booklet has been published by Agromisa Foundation. We hope that the information given in this booklet will help people in developing countries in preventing malnutrition among young children.

Version 2, 2005 

Agrodok 023, Protected Cultivation - 01.01.2004

Construction, Requirements and use of Greenhouses in Various Climates

The demand for an Agrodok on greenhouse cultures came from communities of farmers and market gardeners with small enterprises. Their need mainly concerns simple solutions to protect their crops using plastic film, in (sub)tropical countries as well as in the cooler mountainous regions of Africa and South America. We hope that this Agrodok will furnish this need.

In the near future, film will be used more and more and in very many forms too. It will mean that with little investments, farmers and market gardeners will soon be able to work more intensively and efficiently. This will enhance their cropping programme and the quality of their crops so that they can get a better market value for their products and, furthermore, reduce climatic risks.

Version 1, 2004 

Agrodok 024, Urban Agriculture - 01.01.2002

Growing Vegetables in Cities

Urban agriculture can be described as follows:

“All forms of agricultural production in or directly adjacent to the city, which mainly provide urban markets with food products for sale to consumers or for consumption by the city-dwelling growers themselves.”

This Agrodok has primarily been written for women and men involved in urban agriculture: those new to crop growing in towns, as well as the producer with prior experience in rural agriculture or horticulture who plans to grow food or market garden crops in urban areas.

Version 2, 2005

Agrodok 025, Granaries - 01.01.2000

This booklet appears in a series of Agrodoks published by CTA and the Agromisa Institute in Wageningen. Agrodoks provide practical information on small-scale sustainable agriculture in the tropics. Until now, the Agrodok series has generally focused on subjects that are directly related to the cultivation, production, processing, storage and soil use of a variety of agricultural products (food crops, cattle, small farm animals, dairy products). However, Agromisa has recently become aware of a growing need for information directed more at the level of organisation and management of these products. This booklet on granaries is an attempt to meet part of this need.

Version 2, 2005 

Agrodok 026, Marketing for Small-Scale Producers - 01.01.2000

Rural people in developing countries usually produce their own food. In addition to food, households also need money, to pay for clothes or school fees for the children, for example. Many households have set up other activities on the side, in addition to basic food production, to earn money. These activities vary from cultivating cash crops to making handicrafts or selling corn cakes at the local market.

Income from secondary activities is very important for many households, because it can help them achieve a considerably higher standard of living. Of course, these activities do have to be profitable in order to help the family’s income.

Version 2, 2004 

Agrodok 027, Establishing and Managing Waterpoints for Village Livestock - 01.01.2000

A Guide for Rural Extension Workers in the Sudano-Sahelian Zone

The purpose of this guide is to help farming communities in the sudano-sahelian zone to finance, install and manage waterpoints for their village herds. The guide is written particularly for extensionists working in livestock water projects in this zone. It outlines in detail a method being used by the Dpgt rural develpment and land use project in North Cameroon since 1994, with extensionists working under the auspices of the Cameroon Ministry of Agriculture and the cotton company Sodecoton. This is a programme sponsored by the French agencies Agence française de développement and Fonds français d’aide et de coopération.

Version 2, 2004

Agrodok 028, Identification of Crop Damage - 01.01.2004

Caused by Diseases, Pests or Mineral Deficiencies

The purpose of this booklet is to help farmers in remote areas prevent and control diseases and plagues in their crops. These farmers may not have access to agricultural extension officers or other experts who could diagnose the cause of the crop damage and suggest immediate steps to control it, or advise the farmers on how to prevent it from recurring in the future.

Before applying any pesticide in such an emergency situation, the farmer will have to determine the nature of the damage that has been done, i.e. he will have to know what type of damage-causing agent caused the problem. Was it caused by an insect, a mite, a fungal, bacterial or viral disease, a nematode or a nutrient deficiency? This book therefore focuses on these various groups of pests and pathogens to help explain the possible causes of and solutions to crop damage.

Version 1, 2004 

Agrodok 029, Pesticides: Compounds, Use and Hazards - 01.01.1989

Agromisa would like to stress from the start that use of chemical pesticides should be completely avoided wherever possible. All options for using alternative, non-chemical methods of crop protection should be explored first. Only if none of these are possible should chemical control be considered as a last resort.

It can be very difficult for an individual farmer or advisor in the field to gain a clear understanding of all the aspects of pesticide use. This Agrodok defines principles of correct and effective application for user, environment and consumer of the harvested product. Risks of human poisoning and risks of environmental damage can be minimized if everyone involved in the trade, distribution and application of pesticides knows how to handle and apply them safely.

Version 2, 2007

Agordok 030, Non-chemical Crop Protection - 01.01.2007

As a farmer of arable crops or vegetables, you strive to achieve the highest yield and the best quality product possible. Of course you would prefer to do this with a minimum investment of energy and resources, but you are continuously bothered by all kinds of harmful organisms (pests) that threaten to reduce the quality and yield of your crops. Protecting your crops from these pests is extremely important, but it is difficult to achieve maximum results with a minimum of effort. You have to look not only at a measure’s immediate effect, but also at its long-term effect. This booklet gives an overview of the main non-chemical measures you can take to protect your crops from pests. Most of these measures are preventive: they involve planning and farming practices that will help you to keep pest numbers down and limit the damage they do.

Version 1, 2007