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Tropical Ag Development 1 [ TAD1 ]

This reading list provides links to resources suggested for participants in ECHO's Tropical Agriculture Development series as they prepare to attend.  Some of the subject matter may assist the students in formulating thoughts and questions helpful in maximizing the learning experience.

  1. A Beginners Guide to Small-Scale Tropical Agriculture

    Key Resource
    So you want to help people in the tropics. Beautiful! The tropics are waiting for you. No matter what your abilities, you can make life better for others in the tropics. Your concern for the physical and spiritual well-being of people can be translated into fruitful service. Your first asset is...
    Smallholder Farm Integrated Pest Ma... Integrated System Tropical Agriculture

  2. Underutilized Crops for Small Farm Abundance

    Key Resource
    2018-02-09 Traditional diets included a wide variety of ingredients from myriad wild and domesticated plants. Regional cuisines were shaped by native species in their local environment and by gradually-adopted plants from distant places. The modern global food system and market pressures have reversed this...
    Underutilized Crops Squash and Gourds ... Leafy Vegetables Perennial Vegetables Grain Legumes (Pul... Pulses Grain Crops Grains

  3. Introducing A New Fruit Crop

    Key Resource
    2011-01-20 Over the past 30 plus years that we have been working with small-scale farmers in Central Africa, we have enjoyed the wonderful lushness of its forests, savannahs, and rivers. In addition, we have been privileged to get to know some of the many people groups, with their different cultures and...
    Fruit Trees Food Security Orchard Tropical Food Crops Nuts

  4. Micro-Scale Water Harvesting

    1999-03-19 Three programs in Honduras have been looking for ways that poor hillside farmers can capture rainwater in their own fields and hold it there for two or three months. This water could then be used for supplemental irrigation during droughts or for extending the cropping season into the dry season....
    Rural Development Water Harvesting Water Catchment Microcatchment

  5. Green Manure Crops

    Key Resource
    1985-01-01 Green manure crops are crops that are [often times in North America] grown to be turned under to increase soil fertility. Leguminous green manure crops ( i.e., those which can make nitrogen fertilizers from atmospheric nitrogen) can offer small-scale Third World farmers a tremendous number of...
    Green Manures and ... Green Manure Cover... Green Manures Cover Crops Mucuna Jackbean Soil Fertility Conservation Agric... Mulch

  6. Seed Saving: Steps & Technologies

    Key Resource
    2010-06-01 Seeds naturally have a place in almost any endeavor having to do with agricultural development. Seeds of most food plants are small and, as such, are more easily transported and can be shipped longer distances than vegetative cuttings. For the farmer, seeds represent the promise of a continued...
    Seeds Seed Saving Seed Storage Seed Systems Seed Drying Seed Production Seed Germination Seed Selection Seed

  7. An Introduction To Soil Fertility

    Key Resource
    2009-01-20 All plants need certain mineral elements for proper growth, development, and maintenance. The basic structure of all organisms is built of carbon (C), oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H). Plants obtain these elements from water (H2O) in the soil and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, so no input is...
    Acidic Soil Soil Fertility Soil Nutrients Plant Nutrition Soil Health Plant Health

  8. Biochar: An Organic House for Soil Microbes

    Key Resource
    2013-06-01 Rick Burnette wrote an article for Issue 7(July 2010) of ECHO Asia Notes, titled “Charcoal Production in 200-Liter Horizontal Drum Kilns.” My article takes the charring process a step further by exploring the rapidly re-emerging world of biochar. Biochar is a form of charcoal, produced through...
    Soil Microorganisms Biochar

  9. Best Practices in Improving Degraded Land

    Key Resource
    2012-11-14 The UNCCD estimates that over 250 million people are affected by land degradation, and about 1 billion people in over 100 countries are at risk. According to the WMO, 33% of the world’s land surface is vulnerable to land degradation.Degraded lands lead to overall reduced productivity and reduced...
    Soil Management Soil improvemnt Saline Soils Land Degradation

  10. The Connection Between Agriculture & Poverty Alleviation

    2017-02-09 This presentation will look at the differences between relief, rehabilitation, and development. We will see some of the challenges involved in determining which one of those three interventions is needed in different situations and we will talk about what to consider when transitioning from...
    Relief Rehabilitation Development Poverty Alleviation Agricultural Devel... agriculture East Africa

  11. Diagnosing Crop Nutrient Deficiencies in the Field

    This article is from ECHO Asia Note #29 The old adage ‘You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know you have one’ underpins the basic science of diagnosing plant nutrient deficiencies. For years, farmers and scientists have worked together to identify a set of visual clues that can be used to...
    Plant Nutrition Plant Health Nutrient Deficiency Asia

  12. Soil and Soil Life #2

    2022-09-14 Outline Characteristics of Soil Indicating Health Life in the Soil Farmer Constraints in Building Soil Health Competing Uses of Organic Matter Soil Loss Roaming Animals Fire
    TAD1 Soil Health Soil Fertility ECHO Courses

  13. Participatory Methods and Tools in Community Development

    2015-05-19 A participatory learning approach, applied at each stage of a community development project, is crucial to reaching the level of stakeholder involvement needed for lasting, positive change. The use of participatory survey and planning methods in the development process encourages community...
    MEAS Agriculture Extension Participatory Lear...

  14. Small Farm Resource Development Project

    Key Resource
    1993-06-01 During the course of each year a number of individuals working in community development spend some days studying and planning at ECHO. In reality their felt need is not so much for a bit more knowledge (study), but for a project plan for how they are going to proceed to help local farmers. A...
    Small Farm Resourc... Agricultural Devel...

  15. Abundance Agroforestry - A Syntropic Farming Guidebook

    2019-01-20 Reviewed by Dawn Berkelaar ECHO has an extensive network of agricultural experts working in diverse areas of production and development. Many members contribute to our various publications and resources, often writing or contributing to our existing documents. Some provide self-developed...
    Latin America and ...

  16. GMCC Resource List

    2022-09-13 General Information : Green Manure Crops (ECHO Tech Note 10) An Introduction to Soil Fertility (ECHO Tech Note 57) Nutrient Quantity or Nutrient Access? A new Understanding of How to Maintain Soil Fertility in the Tropics (EDN 74) The Use of Green/Manure Cover Crops for Relay Cropping in Northern...

  17. Principles and Practices of a Small-Scale Farm

    2022-09-13 Outline No Silver Bullet Approach Emphasis on Diversity Valuing Cultivars and Collections of Selected Species Strong Dependence on Perennials in Farming Good Mix of Annual Cropping Systems Approach to Agriculture for Small Scale Emphasis on Extending the Growing Season On-site Production of...

  18. Exploring Poverty: Mindset

    2022-09-12 Outline How Do You Define Poverty? Exploring Poverty Expanding Our Understanding BIG 5 Contributers Dependency Overly Restricted Measurements Three Dimensions of Poverty Categories of Poverty How to Respond Poverty Mindset Renewing the Ch---Mindset

  19. Soils and Soil Life #1

    2022-09-13

  20. Building Soil Fertility with GMCCs

    2022-09-13 Outline What are Green Manures? Cover Crops? Velvet Bean Cowpea / Niebe Hyacinth bean Root Nodules Sorghum Sudan Grass Keys to Success Soil Cover vs. Soil Incorporation Sunn Hemp Intercropping with Legumes

  21. Basic Botany: An Introduction to the Plant Sciences

    2022-09-14 Outline Classification Photosynthesis Water and Nutrient Movement Monocot vs. Dicot Plant Growth

  22. Seed Saving Steps and Technologies

    2022-09-14 Outline Understand the Essential Steps in Seed Saving Look at Practical Tools and Technologies for Seed Saving Identify the Importance of Saving Seeds Pollination Steps in Saving Seeds Harvest Seeds

  23. Agroforestry: The Role of Trees in Smallholder Farming

    2022-09-14 Outline Agroforestry Basics Characteristics of Agroforestry Benefits of Agroforestry Agroforestry Practices

  24. Underutilized Tropical Crops

    2022-09-15 Outline Perennial Greens and Inderutilized Tropical Crops Benefits of Underutilized Crops Select / Promtion of Underutilized Crops

  25. Introduction to Community Development

    2022-09-15 Outline Case Study Definition(s) Relief, Rehabilitation, Development ECHO Principles Pitfalls To Avoid Tools for Practice

  26. Creating your own Solar CITIES 3 IBC digester:

    Making your own Solar CITIES IBC Tote Tank Biodigester has never been easier!! Here's all you need to do to jump into the backyard or basement biogas game and become a first flamer (yes, you can build them on your roof, porch or patio too!):
    TAD1 Solar CITIES IBC Tote Bank Digester

  27. Biogas Digest, Volume I: Biogas Basics

    This information service on biogas technology has been developed and produced on the order of the GTZ project Information and Advisory Service on Appropriate Technology (ISAT) for the ISAT Website in a collaborative effort. Information within this document includes the basics of biogas, the...
    Biogas ISAT TAD1 Appropriate Techno...

  28. Biogas Digest, Volume II: Biogas - Application and Product Development

    This information service on biogas technology has been developed and produced on the order of the GTZ project Information and Advisory Service on Appropriate Technology (ISAT) for the ISAT Website in a collaborative effort. Information included in this document include application and production...
    TAD1 Biogas ISAT Appropriate Techno...

  29. Drying of Foods

    There are two main reasons for drying food: to prevent (or inhibit) the growth and activity of micro-organisms and hence preserve the food to reduce the weight and bulk of food for cheaper transport and storage. This technical brief describes some of the requirements for proper drying and...
    Practical Action food drying Appropriate Techno... TAD1

  30. Small-Scale Drying Technologies

    Globally, drying is the most widely used method for preserving foods for use in the home or for sale. When drying foods such as fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs and nuts value is added by dryingand in such cases an investment in improved drying technologies may be economically viable. This...
    Practical Action food drying Small Scale Appropriate Techno... TAD1

  31. Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables

    This Agrodok (#3) is meant to be a practical manual giving a review of the simple techniques used to preserve fruits and vegetables. The general introduction deals with the principles of spoilage prevention. Following this, the various methods of preserving are explained, and the main points of...
    Food Preservation Canning & Preserving TAD1

  32. Chimney Solar Dryer Manual

    The UC Davis chimney solar dryer was designed to provide efficient drying even in hazy or partially cloudy conditions. Constructing the dryer is simple, and it can be built from low-cost materials found locally in markets and shops around the world. The objective of this manual is to provide the...
    Solar Dryers food drying Food Preservation TAD1 Appropriate Techno... Research

  33. Ensiling Sugar Cane Tops With Different Additives

    Document Reference: Boodoo, A. A.; Delaitre, J. C.; Preston, T. R., 1977. Ensiling sugarcane tops with different additives. Trop. Anim. Prod., 2 (2): 185-188 A number of different additives (molasses, urea, calcium hydroxide, ammoniated molasses and sand) were tested in silage made from chopped...
    Sugar Cane Sugar Cane Tops Silage Ammoniated Molasses TAD1

  34. Silage Making for Small-Scale Famers

    How to improve the nutrition of farmers’ milking animals when each family keeps only one dairy cow? During the cold, continental winter, the major fodders available are wheat or maize straw, together with hay and concentrated feeds. As a minimum, it is essential to provide a green fodder...
    Silage Feed Processing TAD

  35. Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture

    Document Reference: Munroe, Glenn. (2007). Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture. Org Agric Centre of Canada. This document includes information regarding the difference between vermiculture and vermicomposting, the five worm essentials, basic types of vericulture systems, and much...
    TAD1 Vermiculture Vermicompost

  36. A Fresh Look at Life below the Surface

    2007-07-20 This article takes a fresh look at what is going on in the soil, especially in relation to soil organic matter and the organisms it supports; how this life in the soil is impacted by our land care practices; and how it in turn impacts the productivity of our farms.
    Soil Organic Matter Soil Microorganisms Nutrient Retention Nutrient Cycling Beneficial Microo... Earthworms Compost Soil Health Mychorrizal Conservation Agric... Conservation Farming Soil

  37. Best Practices in Conservation Agriculture

    Key Resource
    2016-09-28 Farmers in many parts of the world, because of human population growth, have little choice but to crop their land continuously, with scarce resources to replace nutrients withdrawn by each successive crop. Crop residues are often lost as a source of organic matter and mulch, usually through...
    Conservation Agric... Mulch Soil Conservation Plant Diversity Crop Diversity Soil Disturbance Soil Fertility Soil Remediation Soil Erosion

  38. “Cafeteria Feeding” of Chickens

    2007-10-20 Chickens are an important source of meat and eggs for many small-scale farmers. When only a few chickens are kept, they are usually able to meet their dietary needs with kitchen scraps and a bit of grain, and by scavenging for seeds, insects, worms, etc. However, if the flock size is increased...
    Livestock Chickens Forages Poultry Feed Poultry

  39. ECHOcommunity Mobile App

    2021-01-20 Available on iOS 10.0+and Android 5.0+ Updated 8/2024. Search "echocommunity" in the App Store on your iPhone or in Google Play on your Android phone. ECHO has provided resources to farmers and development workers for over 40 years. ECHOcommunity.org contains thousands of documents and videos...
    iOS Android

  40. Silage Making for Small Scale Farmers

    How to improve the nutrition of farmers’ milking animals when each family keeps only one dairy cow? During the cold, continental winter, the major fodders available are wheat or maize straw, together with hay and concentrated feeds. As a minimum, it is essential to provide a green fodder...
    Silage TAD1

  41. Biogas

    2007-01-01 Biogas is a well-established fuel for cooking and lighting in a number of countries. It is a gas mixture comprising around 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide that is formed when organic materials, such as dung or vegetable matter are broken down by microbiological activity in the absence of air,...
    Biogas TAD1