While researching how India’s monsoon rains affect farming I ran into an agricultural explanation by PBS. While I thought the amount of rain would make it more difficult to farm it is in reality much needed, if anything, it is the wind that can destroy the crops. Over the years irrigation systems have been developed that lessen the impact of fluctuations in the monsoon season but it has not eliminated the effects of the wind. Over the last few decades it has been necessary to monitor monsoon progression, developing contingency plans, and building seed reserves of alternative crops to protect India’s agricultural industry which eploys approximately 2/3 of the population. In 2008 India was ranked first in tea, jute, sugar cane, and cashew production. Approximately 43% of India’s land is used for farming and nearly a third is for rice cultivation. Some of the first information written for agriculture in India is found in the Rig- Veda. It describes plowing, fruit and vegetable cultivation, fallowing, and irrigation.
While this explains a lot of India’s history I would like to see how much this applies to the Tibetan communities. I would like to see what different corps the Tibetans grow in contrast to Indians. What percentage of Tibetans work on the farm? Although I won’t be able to find exact statistics I would like to observe the different percentages maybe on a per family basis. Do more girls or boys work on the farms? What is the communication like between the sexes on the farms?
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