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soil-conservation-people-religion-and-land.pdf - South West NRM

soil-conservation-people-religion-and-land.pdf - South West NRM

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10. Wider Use of Group Methods in Extension<br />

~dvisory, services faced with a wide ratio of advisors to<br />

l<strong>and</strong>hq&&rs, should exploit the effectiveness of group extension<br />

method,?-:rather than limiting their efforts largely to timeconsunifritj<br />

one-to-one contacts <strong>and</strong> less effective mass media.<br />

While both the latter methods are appropriate to certain stages<br />

of the adoption process, group methods, including specialised<br />

study groups, have not been used to their full potential in most<br />

States.<br />

11. Continuins Education for Field Staff<br />

I<br />

Technological change <strong>and</strong> the increasing complexity of I<br />

agricultural techniques has increased the need for in-service<br />

I<br />

training of advisory staff. There is a need to maintain the<br />

credibility of field staff as perceived by l<strong>and</strong>holders, by wellplanned<br />

courses on integrated production systems using updated ]<br />

information on the most recent products, implements <strong>and</strong><br />

techniques. Without an intimate knowledge of modern<br />

methodology, advisory services will not achieve general<br />

acceptance.<br />

12. Use of Soil Conservation Consultants<br />

C<br />

Procedures should be developed to engage consultants -<strong>and</strong><br />

contractors to speed up responses to requests for farm planning<br />

<strong>and</strong> <strong>soil</strong> <strong>conservation</strong>. A backlog of many months exists for<br />

action on requests from l<strong>and</strong>holders in some regions. At an<br />

estimated cost of $40-50 per hour to supply government advisory<br />

officers, consultants could make a significant contribution to<br />

meeting the dem<strong>and</strong> for <strong>soil</strong> <strong>conservation</strong> advice at competitive<br />

rates to the taxpayer.<br />

13. Home Study Courses in Soil Conservation<br />

The National Soil Conservation Programme should initiate<br />

external courses in all States in consultation with educational<br />

institutions. Full use should be made of modern distance<br />

teaching techniques to bring effective home study to all<br />

interested l<strong>and</strong>holders. The nationally offered course by the<br />

Dar Downs Institute gives useful indications of the<br />

str <strong>and</strong> weaknesses of a first attempt to meet this need.<br />

-.==a?-?<br />

--=__<br />

14. -fore of Women<br />

The potential of rural <strong>and</strong> city women to contribute to achieving<br />

a comprehensive community awareness of the socio-economic 1<br />

significance of l<strong>and</strong> degradation should be consciously<br />

exploited. Women are in an especially good position to<br />

inculcate a new appreciation of l<strong>and</strong> ethics <strong>and</strong> stewardship into<br />

the younger generation.<br />

!<br />

!I

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