Agricultural practices are changing at an unprecedented rate in small pockets of the dry zone of ... more Agricultural practices are changing at an unprecedented rate in small pockets of the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Commercial vegetable production is flourishing underwritten by groundwater accessed via agro-wells, increased market access and new business opportunities. Since the early 1990s, small-holder farmers have been excavating agro-wells for highland field irrigation and reaping unprecedented returns. Highland fields were previously subject to rain-fed shifting cultivation with long fallow periods. Water from agro-wells with the addition of chemical inputs, along with the advent of mobile phones, reliable road transport, new markets, greater access to credit and a more secure post-conflict environment, have now made frequent highland cropping viable and profitable. This has ignited the entrepreneurial spirit of farmers whose financial inputs and investments and labour is bringing rapid socio-economic transformation. In a country where the dry zone constitutes roughly a third of the land area, and where many dry zone households lack surface water for dry season cropping, these pockets of groundwater driven dry season production may pose a way out of poverty. While acknowledging the significant impact of agro-well-based farming in lifting farmers out of poverty, the paper ends on a cautionary note. This type of agricultural intensification is predicated on a social-ecological system linked to a specific institutional architecture and an aquifer with highly variable water availability. Current success in poverty alleviation masks an inherent fragility and risk that warrants further investigation before attempts are made to scale out groundwater based dry season farming to other parts of the dry zone
The foundation of rice production in the dry zone of Sri Lanka is a hydraulic civilization spanni... more The foundation of rice production in the dry zone of Sri Lanka is a hydraulic civilization spanning at least 2,000 years, and based on constructed small irrigation tanks. Dotted across much of the dry zone, and often constituting cascades, the traditional management of these tanks for dry season irrigation water brought together sophisticated engineering skills, deep ecological knowledge and social organisation around the practical need for cooperation and spiritual belief systems. While these small tanks are often referred to with respect to their centrality to irrigating rice, the staple crop, the use of both natural and built elements in managing the tanks and their surrounding landscapes in fact constitute a remarkable multi-functional system that has provided a range of ecosystem services for human well-being. Despite its ancient roots, the ecological principles inherent in the traditional knowledge shaping this system resonate closely with modern concepts around natural resource management such as wise use, sustainability, social ecological systems and green infrastructure
Abstract: Donors and aid agencies are now looking to strategies of pro-poor economic growth to ra... more Abstract: Donors and aid agencies are now looking to strategies of pro-poor economic growth to raise living standards in developing countries. I critically examine how particular conceptualisations of economy and economic development shape the broader context within which pro-poor ...
Pro-poor financial models for alleviating poverty have
considerable policy support among donor ag... more Pro-poor financial models for alleviating poverty have considerable policy support among donor agencies and development programming. In most developing countries access to financial and banking services is severely constrained, particularly in regions remote from urban areas and district townships, and limits opportunities for poorer communities to benefit from economic growth. This paper reports on strategies for financial inclusion that have addressed this problem in two regions of Indonesia, Southeast Sulawesi and Flores Island.
Agricultural practices are changing at an unprecedented rate in small pockets of the dry zone of ... more Agricultural practices are changing at an unprecedented rate in small pockets of the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Commercial vegetable production is flourishing underwritten by groundwater accessed via agro-wells, increased market access and new business opportunities. Since the early 1990s, small-holder farmers have been excavating agro-wells for highland field irrigation and reaping unprecedented returns. Highland fields were previously subject to rain-fed shifting cultivation with long fallow periods. Water from agro-wells with the addition of chemical inputs, along with the advent of mobile phones, reliable road transport, new markets, greater access to credit and a more secure post-conflict environment, have now made frequent highland cropping viable and profitable. This has ignited the entrepreneurial spirit of farmers whose financial inputs and investments and labour is bringing rapid socio-economic transformation. In a country where the dry zone constitutes roughly a third of the land area, and where many dry zone households lack surface water for dry season cropping, these pockets of groundwater driven dry season production may pose a way out of poverty. While acknowledging the significant impact of agro-well-based farming in lifting farmers out of poverty, the paper ends on a cautionary note. This type of agricultural intensification is predicated on a social-ecological system linked to a specific institutional architecture and an aquifer with highly variable water availability. Current success in poverty alleviation masks an inherent fragility and risk that warrants further investigation before attempts are made to scale out groundwater based dry season farming to other parts of the dry zone
The foundation of rice production in the dry zone of Sri Lanka is a hydraulic civilization spanni... more The foundation of rice production in the dry zone of Sri Lanka is a hydraulic civilization spanning at least 2,000 years, and based on constructed small irrigation tanks. Dotted across much of the dry zone, and often constituting cascades, the traditional management of these tanks for dry season irrigation water brought together sophisticated engineering skills, deep ecological knowledge and social organisation around the practical need for cooperation and spiritual belief systems. While these small tanks are often referred to with respect to their centrality to irrigating rice, the staple crop, the use of both natural and built elements in managing the tanks and their surrounding landscapes in fact constitute a remarkable multi-functional system that has provided a range of ecosystem services for human well-being. Despite its ancient roots, the ecological principles inherent in the traditional knowledge shaping this system resonate closely with modern concepts around natural resource management such as wise use, sustainability, social ecological systems and green infrastructure
Abstract: Donors and aid agencies are now looking to strategies of pro-poor economic growth to ra... more Abstract: Donors and aid agencies are now looking to strategies of pro-poor economic growth to raise living standards in developing countries. I critically examine how particular conceptualisations of economy and economic development shape the broader context within which pro-poor ...
Pro-poor financial models for alleviating poverty have
considerable policy support among donor ag... more Pro-poor financial models for alleviating poverty have considerable policy support among donor agencies and development programming. In most developing countries access to financial and banking services is severely constrained, particularly in regions remote from urban areas and district townships, and limits opportunities for poorer communities to benefit from economic growth. This paper reports on strategies for financial inclusion that have addressed this problem in two regions of Indonesia, Southeast Sulawesi and Flores Island.
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Papers by Jayne Curnow
considerable policy support among donor agencies and
development programming. In most developing countries
access to financial and banking services is severely constrained,
particularly in regions remote from urban areas and district
townships, and limits opportunities for poorer communities
to benefit from economic growth. This paper reports on
strategies for financial inclusion that have addressed this
problem in two regions of Indonesia, Southeast Sulawesi and Flores Island.
considerable policy support among donor agencies and
development programming. In most developing countries
access to financial and banking services is severely constrained,
particularly in regions remote from urban areas and district
townships, and limits opportunities for poorer communities
to benefit from economic growth. This paper reports on
strategies for financial inclusion that have addressed this
problem in two regions of Indonesia, Southeast Sulawesi and Flores Island.