Knowledge Management

BEDROC's knowledge management comprises of a range of strategies and practices used to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise of knowledge, either embodied in individuals, communities or embedded in organizational processes or practices.

While the entire world is debating on the truth behind “climate change” and its implications, the farming communities in the coastal deltaic plains of Nagapattinam are grappling with field level manifestations in terms of changes in rainfall patterns leading to flooding, ground water drafts increasing salination of their fields as well as their water tables, higher tidal surges bringing in saline backwaters deeper into their lands and declining returns from their crops. While Climate Change may as yet be debatable, the problems faced by the farmers are a reality and they are evolving their own local level adaptations which may or may not be scientific or even effective.

Knowledge, awareness, good practices, hand holding supports have never been as critically required as during this juncture where the future of agriculture is precariously balanced on a precipice. There are already evidences of change of crops from staple paddy to casuarina plantations, shift from agriculture to other livelihoods, farm lands being converted to shrimp farms or even real estate. The general feeling among the farming communities is one of helplessness. They have low access to information and complain about the inadequacy of the knowledge delivery mechanisms in place. They generally get their information from the private dealers selling fertilisers, pesticides or seeds. Otherwise they just experiment or follow whatever the large farmers, who have access to information, are practicing.

Ironically, the entire world outside is discussing precisely this subject at great length and there are already great strides made in understanding the nature of the issues and promoting adaptations and solutions.  There is a great need for bringing the global to the local and also sensitising the global about the local. What would be ideal is an information channel, which is accessible to and understood by the local communities, as well as the policy makers, the researchers, the academicians and the implementers. As the languages spoken by both are different, this channel needs a converter which can understand both, rural as well as technical, speak.