Sharing Ideas in Agriculture and Allied Fields

Sharing Knowledge is a Key

sharing knowledge is a key to success for the people. The knowledge being shared from the different parts of the people with different opinion and experience can bring change in mindset and overall production system in agriculture.

In the following debate, we discussed small scaled farming, water issue, Ashar, icecream plants species, Balochistan livestock and the climate change. 

This Blog is Composed of the Discussion between the Author and a European traveler/ethnoecologist and farmer.

Her name is Griet Belien. She has told about her in the messages below.

I wrote in response to her great comments at my post about the camel manure compost project.

I wrote as : thanks for your great feedback. I’m really thankful. please always support with your great knowledge. Here is the link of my article about the camel manure. 

https://camel4all.blog/2016/02/02/camels-dungzfrom-waste-to-a-worthwhile-farming-agent/

Griet Belien introduces her as following

Hi, thanks for the link. there is always a lot of interest and pleasure in sharing ideas and information, it is even, as you well know, the best basis for acquiring knowledge, apart from the field of course. So I read your posts with pleasure, it’s a little spice in the dominant platitude of FB I do not have a great knowledge of Camelidae, even if I have been in close contact with them during missions in Mongolia (bactrianus) or the Sahel (dromedarius). I know more about small ruminants (goats and sheep) and much more about equidae. I am now mostly in France, but I try to follow what is being done in terms of pastoralism in sub-desert areas, as well as these ecosystems and their biocenoses

Raziq

I’m happy to know further about your ideas and visions. I’m myself from semi-pastoralist background. we had more than 400 sheeps and goats in Balochistan Pakistan. The climate change really killed us and vanished my precious livestock.

The goat is one of the oldest companion.

Griet Belien

The problem with climate change is that this is only the beginning! Even here in the mountains of southern France, drought is hitting (proportionally speaking), many springs are drying up and plant associations are changing at an unprecedented rate. For the past 6 years I have been working to modify the vegetation cover on our property by favouring local trees of rapidly growing species (here mainly Fraxinus excelsior which is a good pioneer), in order to preserve the herbaceous stratum and therefore the pasture under tree cover. But of course and unfortunately this is often not possible in steppe to sub-desert regions. I don’t know Balochistan, I only crossed this region from India to Iran 30 years ago. And I stayed a few days last year in the Baluchi part of Iran, that’s what I know, besides some readings, so in the end not much

Raziq

I live in the northeastern part of the Balochistan (the Pashtun/Afghan inhibited region. This region is comparatively rich in biodiversity with a good vegetation cover to support livestock, especially shoats, cattle and the camel. Since my childhood, having very strong connection with the nature at large and the livestock and farmlands very special.

Raziq

I’m witness of the loss to our grazing lands and the biodiversity. The first and unrecoverable loss happened with the onset of the black rains after the Iraq war when the oil wells were put on flames. Then subsequently short and long droughts effected the worst. The so called agricultural revolution have very long shadows as we lost our natural sources of water, old Karez system and the underground water. I’m very much worried and concern about the drinking water.

Raziq

The vegetation cover affected very negatively, as loosing the grass or icecream species of plants for sheep and cattle. Some shrubs and other invador species increased in population.

I can count up to 30 birds, beetles, bugs species which we lost in front of my eyes.

Griet Belien

I know the “Qanat” or “Karez” system, in Iran and much better in the Maghreb, everywhere this system is in great danger, either, as you say, because of the so-called “modern” (standardized productivist) agriculture, or by abandonment when water supplies are provided in the villages. They have the advantage of bringing water to the street or home (and this is a relief for women) but the consequences are on the one hand the creation of fixed charges, often for the benefit of private companies, because this water is not free and fixed charges are a scourge for populations with low monetary income, and on the other hand, the abandonment of the maintenance of these traditional systems which often provided water of good quality.

concerning invasive species (and also invasive alien species), I note everywhere these same problems with sometimes exponential developments

Raziq

Here in Northeastern Balochistan and adjoining areas of Afghanistan and central Balochistan, we maintain/clean the Karez with the group of villagers called ‘Ashar‘. We the Pashtun/Afghan have a great tradition of the Ashar. The group of people in the village work voluntarily and support each other in work. The ashar is practiced for cropping, harvesting, loading etc.

 

Raziq

I write about the small scaled farming and the importance in food security under climate change context and conservation of the native genetic resources for food and agriculture. The blog name is the ‘people’s new world order’

 

https://wordpress.com/post/peopleworldorder.wordpress.com/84

 

https://camel4all.blog/2018/07/16/the-farming-system-that-ensure-biodiversity-conservation/

 

https://wordpress.com/post/peopleworldorder.wordpress.com/135