Innovation in Small-Farm Agriculture Improving Livelihoods and Sustainability

Innovation in Small-Farm Agriculture: Improving Livelihoods and Sustainability is an invaluable resource focussing on the current state of knowledge and scientific advances about the complex and intertwined issues of innovation and how they relate to livelihood of small-scale farmers. This book exposes readers with a holistic overview on how agriculture is most associated with the development and transfer of technologies to farmers and their participation in research and development initiatives to improve the relevancy and usefulness of its outputs and innovation which is not well documented.

The book offers comprehensive coverage of the most essential topics, including:

• Recent scientific advances on agricultural innovations for small farmers.
• Emphasizes on opportunities and constraints of techno-institutional paradigms.
• Highlight low-cost and eco-friendly interventions.
• Case studies on various innovations in agriculture spanning the different agricultural gamut.

Section I: Issues, Ideas, and Challenges in Agricultural Sector 1. Factors that Ensure a sistained and Scaled-Up Delivery of Innovation 2. Sustaining Smallholder Farming through Collective Action and Entrepreneurship
3. Technological Innovation Strategy to Strengthen the Competitive Advantages of Smallholder Farmers 4. Analyses of Rural Infrastructure for Agriculture Development 5. Gender Mainstreaming and Women Empowerment in Small Holdings: A Sustainable Way for Better Livelihood 6. A Pandemic Resilient Framework for Sustainable Soil Health and Food Security: Response beyond COVID-19 Section II: Strategies and Platform for Small Farm Livelihoods: Research and Development 7. Technology and Policy Options: Opportunities for Smallholder Farmers to Achieve Sustainable Agriculture 8. The Role of Agricultural R& D within the Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) Framework 9. Viable Nutrient Management Options for Sustaining Small Farm Agriculture 10. Improving Livelihood and Farm Income of Small-Scale Farmers through Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture 11. Biogas Technology for Improving Livelihoods and Agricultural Sustainability 12. Emerging and Remerging Diseases and their Innovative Management in Jute and Allied Fibre Crops under Small Farm
13. Transition towards Agroecology among Family Farmers: Crop Protection Practices 14. Does Conservation Agriculture Work for Small-Scale Farmers in Developing Nations? A Mini-Review 15. Technological and Social Innovations in the Context of Small Brazilian Rural Properties 16. Nano Fertilizers for Sustainable Crop Production: A Perspective in Small Farm Agriculture
Section III: Innovative Agriculture-Multi-stakeholder Approach in Different Continents: Practice and Performance 17. Sustainable Intensification of Rice-Based Cropping System: Experiences from Eastern India
18. Scale-Appropriate Mechanization for Improving Productivity, Profitability, and Sustainability in Rice-Based Cropping Systems in India 19. Adoption Determinants of Improved Seeds and Technical Efficiency of Ugandan Small Farmers 20. Model for Quality Assessment of Small Farms in Cape Verde 21. Adoption of Improved Agronomic Practices by Small Farmers for sustainable Crop Production: Case Study from Uttar Pradesh, India 22. Integrated Nutrient Management Technology for Sustainable Vegetable Production ine Eastern India 23. Micropot Method of Nursery Establishment: An Innovative Approach for Greater Climatic Resilience and Higher Crop Productivity 24. Farmers' Innovations in Smallholdings: The Sustainable Transition in Agriculture of West Bengal 25. Promoting Gender Equality in the Context of Natural Resource Management: Opportunities, Challenges, and Management Policies in Indian Mid-Himalayas 26. Making Rice-Farming System More Climate Resilient and Nutrition Sensitive: Heritage of Kurichiya Tribe Community of Western Ghats 27. Agricultural Innovation and Technology Adoption among Small-Scale Producers in Developing Countries: Is Biotechnology a Sustainable Alternative?

Dr. Amitava Rakshit, an IIT-Kharagpur alumnus is the faculty member in the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry at Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, UP, India. His research areas include: Nutrient use efficiency, Simulations modeling, organic farming, Integrated Nutrient Management and bioremediation. His consulting capabilities are: Composting Techniques, Soil Health Management, Input quality Control. He was involved in "Participatory Research" and "Lab to Land" Programmes of ICAR; Dept. of Agricultural Cooperation, Govt. of India; Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal;NHB, New Delhi and NHM for on farm demonstrations of agro-technologies in cereals/pulses/oilseeds/cash crops/vegetables/fruits. Actively involved in imparting training and dissemination of technical knowledge and information to diversified end users. He has supervised approximately seven research projects, many in partnership with industry. He is widely acknowledged for his skills in linking research with the broader community in regional languages. He has been working closely with undergraduate and post-graduate students in BHU presently. He has visited Norway, Finland, Denmark, France, Austria, Russia, Thailand, Egypt, Turkey, UAE and Bangladesh number of occasions pertaining to his research work and presentation. Dr. Rakshit has previously worked at Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal in research extension and implementation roles. He is the fellow of TWAS Nxt (Italy), BiovisionNxt (Freance), Society of Earth Scientists, Crop and Weed Science Society. He is presently the Chief Editor of International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Biotechnology (NAAS: 4.55). He is serving as review college member of British Ecological Society, London since 2011-12. He was awarded with Best Teacher’s Award by BHU (ICAR, New Delhi) both at under graduate and post graduate layer in 2012 and 2014. He is a me