scholarly journals The legacy of traditional rice cultivation by descendants of Indian contract laborers in Suriname

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Ramdayal ◽  
Harro Maat ◽  
Tinde van Andel
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Rice Cultivation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Weedy Rice ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
East Indian ◽  
Rice Landraces ◽  
Contract Laborers ◽  
Traditional Rice

Abstract Background Some 35,000 indentured laborers from India were recruited to work on plantations in Suriname between 1868 and 1916. It is likely that most were familiar with farming before they were shipped to this former Dutch colony in the Caribbean. Around 1900, those who did not return received a piece of land where most of them started growing rice as a staple crop. Agronomists characterized their traditional landraces as inferior and infested with weedy rice and started to ‘purify’ these landraces. No research has been done on whether these ancient rice varieties still exist. We aimed to document the rice varieties (both landraces and more modern cultivars) grown currently or in the recent past by (descendants of) Hindustani smallholders in Suriname, their origin, morphological and agronomic characters, local uses and cultural and spiritual relevance. Given the rapid decline in small-scale rice cultivation in the past 40 years, we wanted to know why people continued or abandoned rice farming and what aspects of traditional practices still survived. Methods We interviewed 26 (former) small-scale Hindustani farmers and asked about the varieties they cultivated and traditional agricultural practices. We collected seed samples, local names and associated information, and compared these to information from agricultural reports from the colonial period. We also interviewed 11 Maroons, one Javanese farmer, and three persons of mixed ethnicity, who were somehow involved in the cultivation of East Indian rice varieties. Results and discussion Hindustani smallholders in Suriname largely lost their traditional rice landraces. Most of the interviewed farmers grew modern cultivars, developed after 2000. Some cultivars from the 1950s were still planted for fodder, but these were heavily mixed with weedy rice and other weeds. Maroon farmers in the interior, however, still actively cultivated varieties with names like ‘coolie rice’, which probably descend from landraces introduced by the Indian contract laborers, although this needs to be confirmed by molecular research. Although traditional cultivation practices seem to have been lost, smallholders still retain pleasant memories of the manual planting, harvesting, and processing of rice, as well as the gender-based practices and beliefs associated with the cultivation of the crop. The oral history of former rice farmers and traditional rice varieties (possibly obtained from Maroon fields) could play a role in museum settings as living vehicles for memories of the descendants of Asian contract labourers in Suriname and Guyana.

scholarly journals Memories of traditional rice cultivation by descendants of Indian contract laborers in Suriname

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Ramdayal ◽  
Harro Maat ◽  
Tinde van Andel
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Geographic Origin ◽  
Rice Cultivation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Weedy Rice ◽  
Rice Farming ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
Contract Laborers ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Migration

Abstract Some 35,000 indentured laborers from India were recruited to work on plantations in Suriname after 1863. Many of them started to grow rice for their subsistence, but were stimulated to replace their traditional landraces for improved cultivars. Few Hindostani smallholders still cultivate rice today, and little is known on their varieties or motivations to continue or abandon this crop. We interviewed 30 persons currently or formerly involved in small-scale Hindostani rice farming, collected rice varieties and documented people’s personal memories and motivation for rice cultivation. In the historic literature, ca. 16 varieties were mentioned to be grown by Indian contract laborers, of which nine were remembered by our interviewees. We recorded 55 variety names, their agronomical and culinary characteristics, geographic origin, and (former) cultivation localities. Most active smallholders grew cultivars developed after 2000, but one landrace (Raymoen) and some old cultivars developed in the 1930-1950s (Rexora and Dima) were still grown for fodder, although heavily adulterated with weedy rice. Maroon farmers in the interior, however, cultivated several varieties of ‘coolie rice’ that they obtained from Hindostani farmers in the past, although this needs to be confirmed by molecular research. Small-scale rice farming in Suriname is declining due to competition with large-scale cultivators, urbanization, better education prospects and migration to the Netherlands. The vivid memories of the (former) rice farmers on traditional practices, gender-based labor division and how rice farming is integrated in the system of beliefs, as well as the few remaining varieties that potentially originated in India, deserve to be better safeguarded and shared with the public than they are today.

scholarly journals Factors influencing the creation of synergies between research-based technologies and farmers’ indigenous knowledge systems and practices in Sierra Leone

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Finda B Jenkins ◽  
Kemoh Bangura ◽  
Nazir Mahmood ◽  
Moses Gborie ◽  
Adam Sheka Kanu
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that affected the synergy between scientific research and technology and farmers' indigenous knowledge systems and practices during the 2018 planting season in Sierra Leone. The study clearly demonstrated the importance of understanding indigenous knowledge and identifying areas where policy makers, service providers and researchers may intervene in future agricultural extension, research and development activities, since farmers also make recommendations on areas that need improvement. The results demonstrated that significant proportion of rice farmers (both male and female) across the ten districts (53.8%) cultivated traditional rice varieties as a result of limited access to improved rice varieties. The results further demonstrate that improved techniques need to be integrated with indigenous practices of farmers through their learning fields; back up with the availability, accessibility and affordability of agro inputs, as farmers admitted that they cannot increase rice production by growing it their own ways. The conclusion of this paper is that, despite many changes in agricultural practices, indigenous knowledge has been used by most small-scale farmers in agricultural production, mainly because it has been tested over several generations.

The Weedy Rice Complex in Costa Rica. I. Morphological Study of Relationships Between Commercial Rice Varieties, Wild Oryza Relatives and Weedy Types

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 575-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Griselda Arrieta-Espinoza ◽  
Elena Sánchez ◽  
Sergio Vargas ◽  
Jorge Lobo ◽  
Tania Quesada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Morphological Study ◽  
Weedy Rice ◽  
Rice Varieties

scholarly journals Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) For Cold Tolerance at The Bud Burst Stage in Rice Using SNP Markers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caijing Li ◽  
Jindong Liu ◽  
Jianxin Bian ◽  
Tao Jin ◽  
Baoli Zou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Association Study ◽  
Cold Tolerance ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Bud Burst ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
Rice Landraces ◽  
Genome Wide

Abstract Background: Rice is a crop that is very sensitive to low temperature, and its morphological development and production are greatly affected by low temperature. Therefore, understanding the genetic basis of cold tolerance in rice is of great significance for mining favorable genes and cultivating excellent rice varieties. However, there were limited studies focusing on cold tolerance at the bud burst stage, therefore, considerable attention should be paid to the genetic basis of cold tolerance at the bud burst stage (CTBB).Results: In this study, a natural population consisting of 211 rice landraces collected from 15 provinces of China and other countries were firstly used to evaluate the cold tolerance at the bud burst stage. Population structure analysis showed that this population divided into three groups and was rich in genetic diversity. Our evaluation results confered that the japonica rice was more tolerance to cold at the bud burst stage than indica rice. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) were performed through the phenotypic data of 211 rice landraces and 36,727 SNPs dataset under a mixed linear model, and 12 QTLs (P < 0.0001) were identified according to the seedling survival rate (SSR) treated at 4 ℃, in which there are five QTLs (qSSR2-2, qSSR3-1, qSSR3-2, qSSR3-3 and qSSR9) which were co-located with previous studies, and seven QTLs (qSSR2-1, qSSR3-4, qSSR3-5, qSSR3-6, qSSR3-7, qSSR4 and qSSR7) which were reported for the first time. Among these QTLs, qSSR9, harboring the highest-peak SNP, explained biggest phenotypic variation. Through bioinformatics analysis, five genes (LOC_Os09g12440, LOC_Os09g12470, LOC_Os09g12520, LOC_Os09g12580 and LOC_Os09g12720) were nominated as candidates for qSSR9. Conclusion: This natural population consisting of 211 rice landraces with high density SNPs will serve as a better choice for identifying rice QTLs/genes in future, and the detected QTLs associated with cold tolerance in rice bud burst stage will be conducive to further mining favorable genes and breeding of rice varieties under cold stress.

scholarly journals Selection of drought-tolerant rice varieties from the rice variety bank of Can Tho university

2019 ◽  
Vol 02 ◽  
pp. 65-70
Author(s):  
Tin Q. Huynh
Keyword(s):  
Water Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Rice Variety ◽  
Mekong Delta ◽  
Rice Cultivation ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
Wetting And Drying ◽  
Drought Tolerant ◽  
Susceptible Control ◽  
Rice Improvement

Drought has been a big problem and damaged seriously to rice cultivation and production in Vietnam and the Mekong Delta region; evaluating drought tolerance of rice is a major objective for the rice improvement programmes in Can Tho University. Fifty-two collected rice varieties including resistant and susceptible control varieties were screened for water stress under the artificial drought condition. Marker RM223 was used to identify the drought tolerance genotypes for some selected varieties with good and moderate tolerant scores. After 30 days of water stress, the results were 6 varieties of good tolerant, 8 varieties of moderate tolerance, 36 varieties of moderately susceptible and 2 varieties of susceptible to drought. Analyses of PCR showed that 10 varieties expressed the similar bands with the resistant control variety. Four varieties (LH8, MTL812, Lua Canh and VB1) with good tolerant to drought were recommended to use for genetic materials of rice breeding program and applying in alternative wetting and drying irrigation technique for rice cultivation.

scholarly journals Agricultural Practices in Lawngtlai Rural Development Block of Mizoram

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 01-08
Author(s):  
R. Lalthankhumi ◽  
Joseph Lalmalsawma
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Horticultural Crops ◽  
Shifting Agriculture ◽  
Development Block ◽  
Major Factors

Agriculture constitutes one of the major sources of income among the people of Mizoram. The areas used for cultivation in Mizoram are usually slashed and burnt down to ashes and are abandoned for years, the land is used and the same plot is re-use after 3-5 years. More than half of the total population is either directly or indirectly involved in agriculture. However, the income from agriculture is less than 5% of the State Gross Domestic Product (State Economic Report, 2015). In the last few decades Mizoram witnessed several changes in agriculture pattern as many farmers have been shifting from cultivation to small- scale agricultural farming. This paper highlights the transformation of agricultural practices and the major factors affecting agricultural production and attempt is made to examine the prevailing socio- economic aspects associated with farmers with special reference to Lawngtlai Rural Development Block and a questionnaire method was used for collecting relevant information for the purpose. The research found that there exist major transformations of agricultural practices in the last couple of decades. The cycle of shifting agriculture period has been shortened drastically. It is also revealed that farmers are gradually adopting settled farming from shifting agriculture and that government intervention and assistance has been increasing more and more in this field. It is suggested that agricultural practice be transformed from jhuming to settled farming and from cultivating the traditional crops to cash crops with governmental and institutional support for shifting to higher income in agricultural and horticultural crops.

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