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  1. Agrodok 001, Pig Farming in the Tropics : from free range to small-scale intensive production systems
    1973-01-19 Good pig farming relies on a combination of inter-connected aspects, such as housing, breeding and reproduction, nutrition, disease preven- tion and control, and management. This practical booklet focuses on all these subjects and links them to the three main smallholder pig production systems:...





  2. Agrodok 002, Soil Fertility Management
    1985-01-19 This Agrodok is a revised edition, which incorporates two previously published Agrodoks (Agrodok 2: Soil Fertility, and Agrodok 28: Green Manures). These were combined because they canít be dealt with separately: green manures offer the small-scale farmer extra opportunities to improve soil...





  3. Agrodok 003, Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables
    1984-01-19 This Agrodok will focus on a few simple and relatively inexpensive preservation techniques that can be applied on a small scale by an individual or a small group (of families for example). Chapter 2 provides information on food spoilage in general, its causes and dangerous effects, as well as...





  4. Agrodok 004, Small-Scale Chicken Production
    1990-01-19 Poultry is an important farm species in almost all countries. It is an important source of animal protein, and can be raised in situations with limited feed and housing resources. Chickens are ‘waste-converters’: they ‘convert’ a scavenged feed resource base into animal protein. They are...





  5. Agrodok 005, Fruit Growing in the Tropics
    1992-01-01 The previous editions of this Agrodok, published in 1992 and 1999, gave a general introduction into fruit growing in the tropics and described 8 major crops. Working on this revision, the general introduction quickly filled the entire Agrodok! And if the major fruit crops are to be dealt with...





  6. Agrodok 006, Simple Construction Surveying for Rural Applications
    1990-01-01 The majority of farmers in the world still practise some form of subsistence farming. Their draught-animal and handwork-based farming practices, however, cannot be compared with the completely mechanised and highly automated precision-farming practices that are becoming the norm for many of their...





  7. Agrodok 007, Goat Keeping in the Tropics
    1991-01-01 Goats play an important role in food production systems in developing countries. Their great popularity can be explained by their good adaptation to many different climates (ecological adaptation) and the many uses for which they can be kept. Goats are especially important in developing...





  8. Agrodok 008, Preparation and Use of Compost
    1980-01-01 This booklet has been compiled to give information about how compost can be applied in the tropics and subtropics. It gives a simple description of the processes taking place in the soil and during composting. Practical suggestions are given for constructing a compost heap. A few selected compost...





  9. Agrodok 009, The Home Garden in the Tropics
    2008-01-01 This Agrodok replaces ‘The vegetable garden in the tropics’, which treated the garden as a series of plots for the production of vegetable crops. In this edition, features such as hedges and trees and shrubs that give a garden its permanent character, come to the fore. Moreover, the emphasis is...





  10. Agrodok 010, Cultivation of Soya and other Legumes
    2002-01-01 This Agrodok is based on a previous shorter edition, Soya. The text has been extended to include more practical information on growing and processing soya and other legumes into nutritious food products. We have included other legumes so that the information in the book will be useful in more...
  11. Agrodok 011, Erosion Control in the Tropics
    1983-01-01 In compiling the booklet we have kept the following objectives in mind: To emphasize the seriousness of the erosion problem. Erosion is not always recognized in time, and certainly not when it takes place surreptitiously. To give an insight into the causes and the course of the erosion process,...





  12. Agrodok 012, Preservation of Fish and Meat
    1994-01-19 This Agrodok is intended as a practical manual that reviews the simple techniques used to preserve fish and meat. The booklet gives guidelines for several preservation techniques. The methods described and the results achieved can, of course, differ locally. The general introduction deals with...





  13. Agrodok 013, Water Harvesting and Soil Moisture Retention
    1997-01-01 Water is one of the main requirements for healthy plant growth. Most arid and semi-arid regions, however, suffer from insufficient and unreliable rainfall. In these areas a high rate of evaporation in the growing season is also common. When it rains in (semi-)arid areas, the rainstorms are...





  14. Agrodok 014, Dairy Cattle Husbandry
    1996-01-01 More Milk Through Better Management This Agrodok provides information about the main aspects of dairy farming in the tropics such as feeding, breeding, health care, reproduction and recording. It is meant for smallholders with some education and some knowledge about dairy cattle. The second...
  15. Agrodok 015, Small-scale Freshwater Fish Farming
    1996-01-01 As fish farming practices are very diverse, we have chosen to limit ourselves to small-scale freshwater fish farming in the tropics. And, as pond fish farming is the most common form of fish cultivation in these areas, the information provided focuses on pond construction and pond management. The...





  16. Agrodok 016, Agroforestry
    1994-01-01 Farmers in large parts of the tropics have no tradition of aiming at maximum production per hectare; their main concern was to reduce the risk of crop failure. The principal reason is that - except in the main population centres - there were no convenient markets for food surpluses. The...





  17. Agrodok 017, Cultivation of Tomato
    1989-01-01 Production, Processing and Marketing Tomato is one of the most widely cultivated crops in the world. It is an important source of vitamins and an important cash crop for smallholders and medium-scale commercial farmers. This Agrodok focuses on good practices for growing a healthy tomato crop and...





  18. Agrodok 018, Protection of Stored Cereal Grains and Pulses
    1985-01-01 This manual deals with problems concerning losses of stored products by storage pests: moulds (fungi), insects and rodents. It is targeted at those who are involved with providing information on storage to farmers and co-operatives. The Agrodok describes the main storage pests and gives...





  19. Agrodok 019, Propagating and Planting Trees
    1998-01-01 This Agrodok is a companion to Agrodok 16: Agroforestry. Trees and shrubs play important roles on the farm and in the environment. Unfortunately too many trees are lost because of overgrazing, excessive fuelwood collection and deforestation. Agroforestry supports the efforts of people in rural...





  20. Agrodok 020, Backyard Rabbit Keeping in the Tropics
    1983-01-01 While living in Indonesia many years ago, my wife and I wanted to become involved in some kind of animal husbandry, but our back-yard was too small to house large animals like goats or sheep, let alone cows. For this reason, we chose to raise rabbits. One of the results of that choice was the...





  21. Agrodok 021, On-Farm Fish Culture
    1998-01-01 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...





  22. Agrodok 022, Small-Scale Production of Weaning Foods
    1997-01-01 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





  23. Agrodok 023, Protected Cultivation
    2004-01-01 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...





  24. Agrodok 024, Urban Agriculture
    2002-01-01 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...





  25. Agrodok 025, Granaries
    2000-01-01 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...





  26. Agrodok 026, Marketing for Small-Scale Producers
    2000-01-01 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....





  27. Agrodok 027, Establishing and Managing Waterpoints for Village Livestock
    2000-01-01 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...





  28. Agrodok 028, Identification of Crop Damage
    2004-01-01 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...





  29. Agrodok 029, Pesticides: Compounds, Use and Hazards
    1989-01-01 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...





  30. Agordok 030, Non-chemical Crop Protection
    2007-01-01 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...





  31. Agrodok 031, Storage of Agricultural Products
    1995-01-01 This booklet discusses how agricultural products are harvested and stored by farmers. In most cases, the products are stored without further handling for a shorter or longer period. Unfortunately losses of 25 percent for stored grain crops and 40-50 percent for vegetables are not unusual in the...





  32. Agrodok 032, Beekeeping in the Tropics
    1988-01-01 You can keep bees as an interesting hobby or as a source of income. This booklet provides you with information on how to work with honey bees. In most regions of the world this will be the European bee Apis mellifera, although in large parts of (sub)tropical Asia the rather similar species Apis...





  33. Agrodok 033, Duck Keeping in the Tropics
    1999-01-01 This Agrodok covers a number of subjects which arise if you yourself, or people you work with, are considering keeping ducks. The aim is to give practical advice on small-scale duck keeping for those who work directly with small-scale farmers. A theoretical background is given in order that users...





  34. Agrodok 034, Improving Hatching and Brooding in Small-Scale Poultry Keeping
    1985-01-01 Poultry plays an important role in most developing countries, as it contributes to the livelihood of rural smallholder farmers who keep village chickens. General information on chicken farming is discussed in many booklets on the subject, like Agrodok No. 4: small-scale chicken production. This...





  35. Agrodok 035, Donkeys for Transport and Tillage
    2002-01-01 Although the donkey is indigenous to the Northeast part of Africa, its use on the continent as a whole is limited. The donkey is probably most appreciated in its true home, in arid and mountainous areas, where it is used most extensively. It is widely acknowledged that these animals can play a...





  36. Agrodok 036, Preparation of Dairy Products
    1985-01-01 This Agrodok is meant to serve as a manual for those who want to start small-scale production of dairy products in developing countries. The booklet introduces the reader to small-scale dairy production using simple techniques. It also gives an idea of the opportunities available to earn some...





  37. Agrodok 037, Small-Scale Seed Production
    2004-01-01 With Variety Improvement of Cereals and Pulses Seed production and the maintenance of crop cultivars by small farmers is a subject that has attracted increasing attention over the past decade. The increasing dominance of large multinationals in the seed trade, the controversy over genetic...





  38. Agrodok 038, Starting a Cooperative
    2004-01-01 Farmer-Controlled Economic Initiatives Agricultural cooperatives usually develop in rural economies during the transformation from self-sufficiency farming to full market production. At this stage farmers often start realising their weak individual economic position in the market. By joining...





  39. Agrodok 039, Non-Timber Forest Products
    2006-01-01 The Value of Wild Plants Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are wild plant and animal products harvested from forests, such as wild fruits, vegetables, nuts, edible roots, honey, palm leaves, medicinal plants, poisons and bush meat. Millions of people – especially those living in rural areas in...





  40. Agrodok 040, Small-Scale Mushroom Cultivation
    2005-01-01 Oyster, Shiitake and Wood Ear Mushrooms This Agrodok contains detailed information on how to grow three kinds of mushrooms: oyster, shiitake and wood ear mushrooms. These mushrooms are rather easy to grow on a small scale. Cultivation of the common white button mushroom and of the rice straw...





  41. Agrodok 041, Small-Scale Mushroom Cultivation - 2
    2007-01-01 Agaricus and Volvariella Mushrooms contain a lot of proteins and minerals, several B vitamins and are regarded as a healthy food or food supplement. Moreover, due to certain chemical compounds valued for their medicinal properties, mushrooms gain more and more interest from the health food...





  42. Agrodok 042, Bee Products
    2005-01-01 Properties, Processing and Marketing Honey bees live in colonies, as described in detail in Agrodok 32 Beekeeping. The worker bees in the colony collect various substances in nature, which their colony uses, for example to feed the adult bees and make the colony grow, as nesting material or to...





  43. Agrodok 043, Rainwater Harvesting for Domestic Use
    2006-01-01 In many areas RWH has now been introduced as part of an integrated water supply, where the town water supply is unreliable, or where local water sources dry up for a part of the year. But RWH can also be introduced as the sole water source for communities or households. The technology is flexible...





  44. Agrodok 044, Ethnoveterinary Medicine
    2007-01-01 A Practical Approach to the Treatment of Cattle Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa Until 1989, ethnovet practices were mostly carried out at individual level, with little coordination. In 1989 the Cameroon Ethnovet Council was founded. This council has about 300 members, all practising ethnovets....





  45. Agrodok 045, Mitigating the Effects of HIV/AIDs in Small-Scale Farming
    2008-01-01 Mitigating the effects of HIV/AIDs in small-scale farming is a handbook for agricultural extension officers and those who support them in government, NGOs and international organizations. Much of what is contained in this Agrodok has been dealt with in much greater detail in the many HIV/AIDS...





  46. Agrodok 046, Zoonoses
    2008-01-01 Diseases Transmitted from Animals to Humans Zoonoses are infectious diseases – including parasitic infections – that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Zoonoses pose a significant threat to human health, especially when humans and animals live close together and when humans are in contact...





  47. Agrodok 047, Snail Farming
    2008-01-01 Production, Processing and Marketing There is no reliable documentation on when and where humans started consuming snails as a food supplement. In many places where snails occur, especially in tropical and sub-tropical areas like West and East Africa, natives gather snails, eat them and sell the...





  48. Agrodok 048, Entering the Organic Export Market
    2010-01-01 Entering the Organic Export Market The aim of this Agrodok is to provide smallholder farmers’ organisations and similar groups with the information that they need to decide whether organic export marketing activities might be right for them and what they need to do to become involved in these...





  49. Agrodok 049, The Rural Finance Landscape
    2008-01-01 A Practitioners Guide Rural financial services vary in scale and objective. Community-based savings and lending groups, for example, make small but essential amounts of money available to their members. Where agricultural production, processing and marketing is more capital intensive the demand...





  50. Agrodok 050, Packaging of Agricultural Products
    2011-01-01 This Agrodok is written for small-scale producers and traders in developing countries who package (or are interested in packaging) agricultural products for storage or selling. It describes methods and materials to pack foods that are grown and/or processed on farms and then transported to...





  51. Agrodok 051, Improving Lowland Rice Cultivation
    2014-01-01 Useful Management Practices for Smallholders in Tropical Africa This Agrodok on lowland rice is primarily meant for smallholders in tropical Africa, because the advocated cultivation and processing practices reflect the main circumstances encountered by rice farmers on this continent. The aim of...





  52. Agrodok 052, Backyard Grasscutter Keeping
    2014-01-01 This Agrodok provides up-to-date information on grasscutter farming to benefit the informed farmer and extension and rural development officers. 1 Introduction 8 It targets farmers wishing to diversify their farms as well as their families’ diet, and those considering growing grasscutters for the...





  53. Agrodok 053, Crop Residues for Animal Feed
    2015-01-01 Especially in Stall-Feeding The idea for this booklet on straw feeding emerged some years ago during a meeting, while discussing an Agrodok on dairy cattle husbandry. That Agrodok was to have a chapter on animal feed, especially fodders such as grasses and crop residues. However, this would have...





  54. Agrodok 054, Edible Insects in Africa
    2015-01-01 An Introduction to Finding, Using and Eating Insects When you first saw the title of this book, you may have found the idea of eating insects unfamiliar or strange. Actually, we all eat insects every day without knowing it. Insects or parts of insects are present in almost all processed food....





  55. Agrodok 055, Beef Production
    2016-01-01 Beef, meat from cattle, is produced worldwide in an enormous variety of systems; by nomads in semi desert areas, to intensive dairy farmers who sell male calves for their meat and cull cows that no longer produce enough milk, as well as ranchers whose main aim is to produce meat. The main aim of...