Strategies to increase food production Appropriate / intermediate technology

1. Strategies to increase food production Appropriate / intermediate technology

2. Starter What does the term ‘appropriate’ mean? What do you think appropriate means in relation to technologies used to manage food supplies? What do you think we need to consider when deciding if a technology is appropriate for a particular place or issue?

3. Learning Outcomes • To understand what appropriate technology is and how it can be used to manage food supply in LEDCs.

4. What is appropriate technology? • Mid-way between high technology and traditional, low technology farming methods. • Founded in 1973 by Dr E.F. Schumacher as an alternative means of development for poorer communities. • “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for life“. Appropriate technology is the use of small scale, sustainable low tech ideas which are appropriate to the local climate and environment, and the wealth, skills and needs of the local population.

5. What is appropriate technology? • The aim of appropriate technology is to increase the standard of living for the developing world without condescension, complication, or environmental damage. • Appropriate technology strategies are more labour intensive, require fewer resources, and use low cost or readily available materials wherever possible. • Special attention is paid to the social, cultural, and ethical aspects of the communities the technology is intended for.

6. Drip irrigation Known as trickle or micro irrigation. Saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves and pipes.

7. Contour barriers Contour barriers help to slow down surface run off, conserve water and reduce erosion of the soil.

8. Fertilizer Farmers use cheap, organic fertiliser, such as animal dung, rather than imported chemical fertilisers.

9. Mechanisation Tools are built and maintained locally rather than being imported in as expensive machinery.

10. Case study: Kukri Mukri, Bangladesh Read the case study on small scale enterprises for women in Kukri Mukri. Outline the difficulties faced by farmers of the Char Lands in Bangladesh. Describe the scheme Action Aid introduced. How was the technology appropriate to locals? Summarise the advantages of the scheme.

11. Prep • Choose one of the high technology strategies that we have not studied and prepare case study notes on it, including what it is, where and how it is used. Micro propagation Growth Hormones Integrated Pest management Irrigation

12. Learning Outcomes • To understand what appropriate technology is and how it can be used to manage food supply in LEDCs. Exam question “With reference to examples, outline the advantages of appropriate/intermediate technology” (10 marks)