The Asian Agri-History Foundation
(AAHF), a non-profit trust, was established
and registered in 1994 to facilitate
dissemination of information on agricultural
history to promote research on sustainable
agriculture in the South and Southeast
Asia region. This region had generally
provided food security to its population
for several millennia, with only occasional
famines in a few limited pockets (due
primarily to drought). Farmers in
the region had evolved some of the
most sustainable agricultural management
technologies suitable for different
agroecoregions. In recent years, however,
South and Southeast Asia have often
been projected as food-deficient regions
where mass-scale starvation could
occur in the future despite the fact
that modern technologies have been
adopted over large areas.
Ironically, in the
past few years, the sustainability
of agriculture by following modern
technologies has been questioned,
and with good reason. How can we make
the agriculture in South and Southeast
Asia sustainable? The trustees of
AAHF believe that there is great deal
to be learnt from the traditional
wisdom and the indigenous, time-tested
technologies that have sustained the
farmers of South and Southeast Asia
in the past. The historical perspective
of gradual development of traditional
technologies will provide clues for
(i) understanding
how farmers adjusted to changing environment
in the past, and
(ii) developing appropriate
technologies leading to prosperous,
sustainable agriculture.
The Rajasthan Chapter
A large number of
distinguished individuals from the
Rajasthan state of India wanted to
establish a Rajasthan Chapter of the
Asian Agri-History Foundation (AAHF).
The trustees of AAHF had set up the
following guidelines for establishing
a Chapter. These are: (i) normally
there will not be more than one Chapter
in any one state; (ii) there should
not be less than 50 subscribers (to
the journal) in the particular state;
(iii) a Chapter can be set up at a
location in a state where at least
20 subscribers (to the journal) reside;
(iv) a formal request for setting
up a Chapter should originate from
a group of subscribers; and (v) the
group, making the request to set up
a Chapter, should confirm their genuine
interest in promoting the objectives
and activities of the AAHF.
Since all the above
criteria were fulfilled, the trustees
of AAHF approved the formation of
the Rajasthan Chapter in Udaipur.
The Chapter was formally inaugurated
on 16 December 2000. The Executive
Committee of the Chapter currently
constitutes the following: Dr K N
Nag (Chairman), Dr S L Choudhary (Secretary),
Dr P D Gemawat (Treasurer), and members
Dr M M Simlot, Dr B S Chundawat and Dr Abhishek Shukla.
AAHF has made some funds available
for specific activities of the Chapter.
However, the Chapter is raising its
own resources.
Two New Chapters were established in 2008:
19 September 2008:
Uttarakhand Chapter of Asian Agri-History Foundation was inaugurated during the National conference on Increasing Production and Productivity of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants through Traditional Practices held at GBPUAT, Pantnagar from 18 to 20 September. A brief ceremony was held under the Chairmanship of Vice-Chancellor,BS Bisht, GBPUAT, Pantnagar. YL Nene, Chairman, AAHF was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Others who were present during the function included Deans, Directors, and other officers, some members of AAHF from Uttarakhand, and SL Choudhary, Secretary, Rajasthan Chapter of AAHF. JP Tiwari, Dean, College of Agriculture welcomed all and recalled relevance of traditional agriculture to the modern agriculture. Dr Nene narrated the objectives and vision of AAHF and enumerated the purpose of creating Uttarakhand Chapter. He read out the Executive Body of Uttarakhand Chapter of AAHF, which included
BS Bisht, ViceChancellor, GBPUAT - Patron; JP Tiwari, Dean, College of Agriculture - President; J Kumar, Professor & Head, Plant Pathology - Secretary; ML Sharma, Professor, College of Agri-Business Management - Treasurer. Members in the Executive Body included
B Kumar, Sunita T Pandey, Saul Tiwari, Vir Singh, Alka Goel, Uma Malkania, SC Saxena, and AH Ahmad. SL Choudhary presented a set of publications to BS Bisht and gave an account of functiomng
of Rajasthan Chapter of AAHF. BS Bisht expressed his pleasure on the creation of Uttarakhand Chapter of AAHF and realized that creation of such a chapter was necessary to understand and rejuvenate traditional agriculture in the State of Uttarakhand. He stressed
that such knowledge must be integrated into modern cultivation practices so as to improve
as well as sustain agriculture production and productivity. J Kumar
expressed thanks to Nene for his offer of creating Uttarakhand Chapter and assured that all efforts would be made in realizing the vision of AAHF.
14 November 2008:
West Bengal Chapter of Asian Agri-History Foundation was inaugurated prior to the National Seminar on Improving Productivity and Quality of Tea through Traditional Agricultural Practices at the University of North Bengal, Siliguri, West Bengal. A brief ceremony was held in the presence of University staff, Tea Estates managers, and press reporters. YL Nene, Chairman, AAHF inaugurated the Chapter after explaining the purpose and scope of chapters throughout India. The office bearers Executive
Committee members are:
Ashok Lohia, Patron; RS Tewari, Chairman;
VS Parmar, Vice-chairman; Rajesh Pareek, Secretary; VN Pareek,
Treasurer; Members - GC Somani, Anil Bansal, Sandeep Mukherjee, JD Rai, Daipayan Sen.
|
