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Laxmi Prasad Pant
University of Greenwich

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Journal article
Published: 04 August 2020 in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
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First paragraph: I cannot emphasize enough the relevance of the work reported in this book, most notably how Chinese consumers procure food, including so-called wet markets that are often blamed for infec­tious disease outbreaks (e.g., SARS-CoV in 2002 and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019). For this reason, JAFSCD has allowed me to review this book although it was ably reviewed by Anthony Fuller in the previous issue of JAFSCD (Fuller, 2020). This book provides theoretical as well as empirical analysis of food systems in China, a country with the largest human population. It also details the long-established his­tory of how traditional wet markets have become culturally important for food, nutrition, health, livelihoods, and wellbeing of Chinese residents. The book is divided into 10 self-contained chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the topic with a compelling story of how the authors’ journey to write this book began after they attended the BioFach China trade fair in Shanghai, the biggest annual organic food trade fair in the country (http://www.biofachchina.com/en/). This chapter also outlines the research objectives and methods for data collection and analysis. Chapter 2 provides further context surrounding China’s changing food systems after the economic liberal­ization in the late 1970s, following the death of Mao Zedong, former chairman of the People’s Republic of China. It was the time when industrial agriculture gained momentum in the country. Together with crop monoculture that eroded agricultural biodiversity and polluted air, water, and soil, industrial livestock production led to the concentration of animal wastes and excessive use of antibiotics and growth hormones. . . .

ACS Style

Laxmi Pant. Transforming Industrial Food Systems to Prevent Future Disruptions. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 2020, 9, 1 -3.

AMA Style

Laxmi Pant. Transforming Industrial Food Systems to Prevent Future Disruptions. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 2020; 9 (4):1-3.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Pant. 2020. "Transforming Industrial Food Systems to Prevent Future Disruptions." Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 9, no. 4: 1-3.

Journal article
Published: 07 January 2020 in Sustainability
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Within agricultural innovation systems (AIS), various stakeholder groups inevitably interpret ‘innovation’ from their own vantage point of privilege and power. In rural developing areas where small-scale and subsistence farming systems support livelihoods, dominant policy actors often focus heavily on participatory modernization and commercialization initiatives to enhance productivity, access, and quality. However, existing social hierarchies may undermine the potential of such initiatives to promote inclusive and sustainable farmer-driven innovation. Focusing on the chronically food insecure smallholder agricultural systems operating in Yatta Sub-county, Eastern Kenya, this paper explores how power dynamics between stakeholders can influence, and can be influenced by, participatory agricultural innovation initiatives. Findings suggest that there are often significant disparities in access to, and control over, platform resources between smallholder farmers and other stakeholder groups, resulting in large asymmetries. We discuss how these power dynamics may increase the risk of agricultural intervention, further marginalizing already disempowered groups and reinforcing power hierarchies to the detriment of smallholders. This study highlights the need for a deeper understanding of the institutional contexts that facilitate and maintain relationships of power within agricultural innovation systems, as well as the complexities associated with promoting transformational agricultural innovation.

ACS Style

Colleen M. Eidt; Laxmi P. Pant; Gordon M. Hickey. Platform, Participation, and Power: How Dominant and Minority Stakeholders Shape Agricultural Innovation. Sustainability 2020, 12, 461 .

AMA Style

Colleen M. Eidt, Laxmi P. Pant, Gordon M. Hickey. Platform, Participation, and Power: How Dominant and Minority Stakeholders Shape Agricultural Innovation. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (2):461.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Colleen M. Eidt; Laxmi P. Pant; Gordon M. Hickey. 2020. "Platform, Participation, and Power: How Dominant and Minority Stakeholders Shape Agricultural Innovation." Sustainability 12, no. 2: 461.

Journal article
Published: 02 January 2020 in Sustainability
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Agricultural mechanization in developing countries has taken at least two contested innovation pathways—the “incumbent trajectory” that promotes industrial agriculture, and an “alternative pathway” that supports small-scale mechanization for sustainable development of hillside farming systems. Although both pathways can potentially reduce human and animal drudgery, the body of literature that assesses the sustainability impacts of these mechanization pathways in the local ecological, socio-economic, cultural, and historical contexts of hillside farms is either nonexistent or under-theorized. This paper addresses this missing literature by examining the case of Nepal’s first Agricultural Mechanization Promotion Policy 2014 (AMPP) using a conceptual framework of what will be defined as “responsible innovation”. The historical context of this assessment involves the incumbent trajectory of mechanization in the country since the late 1960s that neglected smallholder farms located in the hills and mountains and biased mechanization policy for flat areas only. Findings from this study suggest that the AMPP addressed issues for smallholder production, including gender inequality, exclusion of smallholder farmers, and biophysical challenges associated with hillside farming systems, but it remains unclear whether and how the policy promotes small-scale agricultural mechanization for sustainable development of agriculture in the hills and mountains of Nepal.

ACS Style

Rachana Devkota; Laxmi Prasad Pant; Hom Nath Gartaula; Kirit Patel; Devendra Gauchan; Helen Hambly-Odame; Balaram Thapa; Manish N. Raizada. Responsible Agricultural Mechanization Innovation for the Sustainable Development of Nepal’s Hillside Farming System. Sustainability 2020, 12, 374 .

AMA Style

Rachana Devkota, Laxmi Prasad Pant, Hom Nath Gartaula, Kirit Patel, Devendra Gauchan, Helen Hambly-Odame, Balaram Thapa, Manish N. Raizada. Responsible Agricultural Mechanization Innovation for the Sustainable Development of Nepal’s Hillside Farming System. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (1):374.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rachana Devkota; Laxmi Prasad Pant; Hom Nath Gartaula; Kirit Patel; Devendra Gauchan; Helen Hambly-Odame; Balaram Thapa; Manish N. Raizada. 2020. "Responsible Agricultural Mechanization Innovation for the Sustainable Development of Nepal’s Hillside Farming System." Sustainability 12, no. 1: 374.

Article
Published: 08 January 2019 in Agriculture and Human Values
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This research examines a series of case studies from the agricultural sector to illustrate how various models of innovation embrace value proposition. A conscious value contestation at the interface of science, policy and civil society requires transformations in the triple-helix model of university-government-industry collaboration, because reiterations in the triple-helix model of innovation, such as quadruple, quintuple and higher helices, do not necessarily address civil society concerns for human values and science ethics. This research develops and tests a matrix model of university-government-industry-civil society collaboration, which involves the co-creation of inclusive and transformational spaces for value proposition. Findings suggest that the matrix model of innovation institutionalises citizen science as it serves as a moral heuristic to make seemingly apolitical science responsive to essentially contested societal values.

ACS Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. Responsible innovation through conscious contestation at the interface of agricultural science, policy, and civil society. Agriculture and Human Values 2019, 36, 183 -197.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. Responsible innovation through conscious contestation at the interface of agricultural science, policy, and civil society. Agriculture and Human Values. 2019; 36 (2):183-197.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. 2019. "Responsible innovation through conscious contestation at the interface of agricultural science, policy, and civil society." Agriculture and Human Values 36, no. 2: 183-197.

Journal article
Published: 01 August 2017 in Journal of Rural Studies
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Laxmi Prasad Pant; Helen Hambly Odame. Broadband for a sustainable digital future of rural communities: A reflexive interactive assessment. Journal of Rural Studies 2017, 54, 435 -450.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant, Helen Hambly Odame. Broadband for a sustainable digital future of rural communities: A reflexive interactive assessment. Journal of Rural Studies. 2017; 54 ():435-450.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant; Helen Hambly Odame. 2017. "Broadband for a sustainable digital future of rural communities: A reflexive interactive assessment." Journal of Rural Studies 54, no. : 435-450.

Journal article
Published: 01 October 2016 in Technological Forecasting and Social Change
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Paradox of mainstreaming agroecology refers to an apparent contradiction between upscaling niche innovations to produce more food in sustainable ways, and the concerns for a loss of core values and principles of agroecology in the mainstreaming process. This paper examines this paradox of mainstreaming and sidestreaming (continuity of niche practises) using longitudinal case studies of agroecological innovations in soil and water conservation, crop improvement, crop intensification, and market differentiation in the regional and rural contexts of developing countries. Findings suggest that there are latent and salient paradoxes of mainstreaming niche innovations, respectively explaining cooperative and competitive interactions with the incumbent regime of industrial food and agriculture. While the former paradox involves continuity of niche practises as well as regime conditions through incremental adaptations, the latter comprises regime shifts through transformational adaptations. However, as these two paradoxes are in flux a latent paradox can become salient when competitive elements of seemingly cooperative niche-regime interactions unravel.

ACS Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. Paradox of mainstreaming agroecology for regional and rural food security in developing countries. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 2016, 111, 305 -316.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. Paradox of mainstreaming agroecology for regional and rural food security in developing countries. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2016; 111 ():305-316.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. 2016. "Paradox of mainstreaming agroecology for regional and rural food security in developing countries." Technological Forecasting and Social Change 111, no. : 305-316.

Journal article
Published: 31 August 2016 in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
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First paragraphs:As a scholar working with the Regional and Rural Broadband research team in Canada (see http://www.r2b2project.ca), I was motivated to review Responsive Countryside: The Digital Age and Rural Communities, by Roberto Gallardo, to learn more about digitally engaged rural community development in the U.S. I begin this review with Gallardo's contextual discussion of the U.S. countryside. I then consider Gallardo's examples of digital revolutions in rural community development and finally reflect on this book's scholarly contributions.In defining the term "rural" in Chapter 1, Gallardo clearly appreciates that, unlike in the past, businesses and livelihoods in the countryside are not only about agriculture. Rural is a geographic concept that connotes location and lifestyle. In the U.S., there have been profound changes in rural areas (those without an urban core of at least 10,000 residents) and small cities (those with an urban core of 10,000 to 49,999 residents). Gallardo produces an evidence base that, contrary to general perceptions, the population in the U.S. countryside is growing. This also applies to rural parts of other countries, such as Canada. However, population growth rates in the countryside are slower than in metro areas. The U.S. population is also aging, and rural communities and small cities are aging faster than metro areas. Further, the U.S. population is becoming more diverse, with a decrease in white non-Hispanics and an increase in Hispanics, even in rural areas. Gallardo argues that these changes are due to new technologies, not the least of which are digital revolutions.....

ACS Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. Digitally Engaged Rural Community Development. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 2016, 6, 1 -3.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. Digitally Engaged Rural Community Development. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 2016; 6 (4):1-3.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. 2016. "Digitally Engaged Rural Community Development." Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 6, no. 4: 1-3.

Journal article
Published: 14 August 2015 in Regional Environmental Change
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Increasing on-farm crop diversity is one agroecological approach to enhancing food self-sufficiency that helps small-scale farmers keep their food systems stable by reducing risks associated with stressors, such as a pest outbreaks or droughts. But understanding how crop diversity and food self-sufficiency are related is unknown. To explore this complex relation, this study presents household data (n = 1664) from Nepal to test the hypothesis that families with high crop diversity enjoy greater household food self-sufficiency. Data are presented for three districts that are representative of three distinct agroecological regions of the country: (1) Sarlahi, which is affluent, market-oriented, and on the plains; (2) Makwanpur District in the hills, which has well-developed integrated farm production; and (3) the mountainous District of Humla, which has the poorest quality environment and is the most remote. Results show that in the Humla District, families with greater crop diversity were more self-sufficient. In contrast, farmers in Makwanpur, who have already established a high degree of crop diversity based on vegetable production, do not benefit from additional crop diversity in terms of their ability to provide for themselves. Finally, data from Sarlahi show that families’ food self-sufficiency benefits from crop diversification. We conclude that boosting crop diversity is a viable strategy for maintaining stability in food systems, but this varies depending on the accessibility of a farm and, in particular, access to markets.

ACS Style

Krishna Bahadur Kc; Laxmi Prasad Pant; Evan D. G. Fraser; Pratap Kumar Shrestha; Dinesh Shrestha; Anga Lama. Assessing links between crop diversity and food self-sufficiency in three agroecological regions of Nepal. Regional Environmental Change 2015, 16, 1239 -1251.

AMA Style

Krishna Bahadur Kc, Laxmi Prasad Pant, Evan D. G. Fraser, Pratap Kumar Shrestha, Dinesh Shrestha, Anga Lama. Assessing links between crop diversity and food self-sufficiency in three agroecological regions of Nepal. Regional Environmental Change. 2015; 16 (5):1239-1251.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Krishna Bahadur Kc; Laxmi Prasad Pant; Evan D. G. Fraser; Pratap Kumar Shrestha; Dinesh Shrestha; Anga Lama. 2015. "Assessing links between crop diversity and food self-sufficiency in three agroecological regions of Nepal." Regional Environmental Change 16, no. 5: 1239-1251.

Journal article
Published: 01 June 2015 in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
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Laxmi Pant; Bhim Adhikari; Kiran Kumari Bhattarai. Adaptive transition for transformations to sustainability in developing countries. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2015, 14, 206 -212.

AMA Style

Laxmi Pant, Bhim Adhikari, Kiran Kumari Bhattarai. Adaptive transition for transformations to sustainability in developing countries. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 2015; 14 ():206-212.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Pant; Bhim Adhikari; Kiran Kumari Bhattarai. 2015. "Adaptive transition for transformations to sustainability in developing countries." Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 14, no. : 206-212.

Articles
Published: 15 July 2014 in Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
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Current agroecological approaches to farming have provided a limited understanding of transformations to sustainability, particularly in subsistence agrarian economies of geographically isolated regions of the world. Some suggest mitigating social and ecological impacts of modern industrial farming while others advocate for local adaptation to changes in socioecological systems, such as climate change, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss. This article investigates effective pathways of fundamental transformations in technologies, livelihoods, and lifestyles referred to as “agricultural sustainability transitions” in the Karnali Mountains, the most impoverished region of Nepal. Findings suggest that neither management of change referred to as transition management nor adaptation to change referred to as adaptive management effectively leads to agricultural sustainability transitions in this region of the country. An integration of these two approaches, which this article theorizes as “adaptive transition management,” can help charter transition pathways through system innovation making new and improved technologies more accessible and adaptable to smallholders while developing local capacity to adapt to changes in agroecological systems.

ACS Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant; Krishna Bahadur Kc; Evan D. G. Fraser; Pratap Kumar Shrestha; Anga Bahadur Lama; Santosh Kumar Jirel; Pashupati Chaudhary. Adaptive Transition Management for Transformations to Agricultural Sustainability in the Karnali Mountains of Nepal. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 2014, 38, 1156 -1183.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant, Krishna Bahadur Kc, Evan D. G. Fraser, Pratap Kumar Shrestha, Anga Bahadur Lama, Santosh Kumar Jirel, Pashupati Chaudhary. Adaptive Transition Management for Transformations to Agricultural Sustainability in the Karnali Mountains of Nepal. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 2014; 38 (10):1156-1183.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant; Krishna Bahadur Kc; Evan D. G. Fraser; Pratap Kumar Shrestha; Anga Bahadur Lama; Santosh Kumar Jirel; Pashupati Chaudhary. 2014. "Adaptive Transition Management for Transformations to Agricultural Sustainability in the Karnali Mountains of Nepal." Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 38, no. 10: 1156-1183.

Journal article
Published: 03 April 2014 in Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement
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Laxmi Pant. Long-term solutions for a short-term world: Canada and research development. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement 2014, 35, 329 -331.

AMA Style

Laxmi Pant. Long-term solutions for a short-term world: Canada and research development. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement. 2014; 35 (2):329-331.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Pant. 2014. "Long-term solutions for a short-term world: Canada and research development." Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement 35, no. 2: 329-331.

Journal article
Published: 15 January 2014 in Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
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ACS Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. Critical Systems of Learning and Innovation Competence for Addressing Complexity in Transformations to Agricultural Sustainability. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 2014, 38, 336 -365.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. Critical Systems of Learning and Innovation Competence for Addressing Complexity in Transformations to Agricultural Sustainability. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 2014; 38 (3):336-365.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. 2014. "Critical Systems of Learning and Innovation Competence for Addressing Complexity in Transformations to Agricultural Sustainability." Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 38, no. 3: 336-365.

Journal article
Published: 05 November 2013 in Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement
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This paper integrates the theory of patriarchal bargains and strategic niche management theory to study whether or not creating strategic niches of struggle and negotiation as opposed to indiscriminate gender mainstreaming can help secure rural women's rights. Empirical data for this study were collected on rural women's tasks, resources, and benefits in the Kaski district of western Nepal using mixed methods. Findings suggest that unless women find a protected niche in which they can struggle and negotiate for their rights, patriarchal bargains would not be successful, partly because of women's lower control over land and services associated with land. Résumé Cet article combine les approches de la négociation au sein des structures patriarcales et de la gestion stratégique de niche pour évaluer comment se comparent la création de niches stratégiques de lutte et de négociation et l'approche intégrée de l’égalité des sexes (gender mainstreaming) dans l'avancement et la sécurisation des droits des femmes rurales. À cette fin, l’étude a récolté et analysé des données sur le partage des tâches, des ressources et des bénéfices entre les femmes et les hommes du district de Kaski dans l'ouest du Népal. Les résultats indiquent qu'en partie à cause de leur plus faible niveau de contrôle sur l'accès à la terre et aux services liés au travail de la terre, les femmes ne sont pas bien servies par la négociation au sein des structures patriarcales à moins de trouver une niche protégée dans laquelle elles peuvent lutter et engager des négociations pour leurs droits.

ACS Style

Kiran Bhattarai; Laxmi Pant. Patriarchal bargains in protected spaces: a new strategy for agricultural and rural development innovation in the western hills of Nepal. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement 2013, 34, 461 -481.

AMA Style

Kiran Bhattarai, Laxmi Pant. Patriarchal bargains in protected spaces: a new strategy for agricultural and rural development innovation in the western hills of Nepal. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement. 2013; 34 (4):461-481.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kiran Bhattarai; Laxmi Pant. 2013. "Patriarchal bargains in protected spaces: a new strategy for agricultural and rural development innovation in the western hills of Nepal." Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement 34, no. 4: 461-481.

Journal article
Published: 06 March 2013 in Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement
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Laxmi Prasad Pant. TheLeast Developed Countries Report 2010: towards a new international development architecture for LDCs. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement 2013, 34, 142 -145.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. TheLeast Developed Countries Report 2010: towards a new international development architecture for LDCs. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement. 2013; 34 (1):142-145.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. 2013. "TheLeast Developed Countries Report 2010: towards a new international development architecture for LDCs." Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement 34, no. 1: 142-145.

Journal article
Published: 26 July 2012 in World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development
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Laxmi Prasad Pant; Helen Hambly-Odame; Andy Hall; Rasheed Sulaiman V.. Beyond the supply chains of technology and commodity. World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development 2012, 9, 175 -193.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant, Helen Hambly-Odame, Andy Hall, Rasheed Sulaiman V.. Beyond the supply chains of technology and commodity. World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development. 2012; 9 (3):175-193.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant; Helen Hambly-Odame; Andy Hall; Rasheed Sulaiman V.. 2012. "Beyond the supply chains of technology and commodity." World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development 9, no. 3: 175-193.

Journal article
Published: 04 May 2012 in The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension
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Purpose: The fields of competence development and capacity development remain isolated in the scholarship of learning and innovation despite the contemporary focus on innovation systems thinking in agricultural and rural development. This article aims to address whether and how crossing the conventional boundaries of these two fields provide new directions for developing learning and innovation competence in international development. Design/methodology/approach: Using mixed methods research, this article assesses work environments for experiential learning and innovation, and investigates effective ways of enhancing core competence in agricultural research, education, extension and entrepreneurship. Findings: Findings suggest that while the focus on input and output indicators are relevant for technological innovation competence development, outcome indicators, such as measures of changes in cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains of learning and innovation, would better serve the purpose of developing organisational and institutional learning and innovation competence. Practical implications: This research concludes that crossing the conventional boundaries of competence development and capacity development serves as a way to renew the role of education within the innovation systems thinking. However, such an attempt to enhance human capabilities and functionings through education should integrate theory-based, competence-based and experiential learning components as a coherent whole. Originality/value: This article demonstrates the value of crossing the conventional boundaries of the two seemingly unrelated fields—competence development through education and capacity development through extension—to provide new directions to operationalise innovation systems thinking in agricultural education and extension.

ACS Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. Learning and Innovation Competence in Agricultural and Rural Development. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 2012, 18, 205 -230.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. Learning and Innovation Competence in Agricultural and Rural Development. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension. 2012; 18 (3):205-230.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant. 2012. "Learning and Innovation Competence in Agricultural and Rural Development." The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 18, no. 3: 205-230.

Articles
Published: 01 May 2011 in Knowledge Management for Development Journal
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In recent decades competitive research grants are promoted in low-income countries to delegate public provisioning of research services, often considering this approach as an effective way to create knowledge, to generate innovation, to increase aid effectiveness and to enhance overall development impacts. However, as with any other mechanisms of funding, the effectiveness of competitive research funding varies in terms of the delegation of research execution along the continuum of researchers' total freedom to funding agencies' absolute direction. A case study of decade-long Nepalese experience shows that disbursing competitive research grants to promote multi-stakeholder collaboration, as often expected under the pluralist realm, is paradoxical with a focus on either curiosity-oriented or user-inspired research, particularly in low-income countries where stakeholders are becoming critically consciousness of lasting structural inequalities. The paper concludes that there is need first to reform the grant administration procedure for underrepresented communities of scholars, and, second, to develop the capacity of grant administrators as well as researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs to collectively address the dialectics of delegating research and other innovation services. This can be done by simplifying fund allocation procedure and diversifying the funding mechanisms, to make funds available for the following purpose: (1) curiosity-oriented agricultural science research of strategic importance; (2) applied interdisciplinary research for development problem-solving; and (3) collaborative research for innovation generation and small enterprise development.

ACS Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant; Krishna Prasad Pant. Unfolding the challenges of delegating research services for innovation and entrepreneurship in smallholder agriculture. Knowledge Management for Development Journal 2011, 7, 8 -31.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant, Krishna Prasad Pant. Unfolding the challenges of delegating research services for innovation and entrepreneurship in smallholder agriculture. Knowledge Management for Development Journal. 2011; 7 (1):8-31.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant; Krishna Prasad Pant. 2011. "Unfolding the challenges of delegating research services for innovation and entrepreneurship in smallholder agriculture." Knowledge Management for Development Journal 7, no. 1: 8-31.

Book chapter
Published: 27 April 2010 in Beyond the Biophysical
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This chapter explores the cultural dimensions of agricultural biodiversity conservation through a case study of the relationships between caste-based food traditions and local varieties of rice and finger millet managed by smallholder subsistence farmers in the Himalayan foothills of western Nepal. The empirical material for this study is derived from interviews with primary stakeholders, a household survey, and direct observation of cultural practices and spiritual traditions of rural farming communities. The different caste-based food traditions in the study area relate directly to differential use and appreciation of the local landraces of both crops, which are in turn conserved or managed to varying degrees. The empirical data provide strong evidence that agro-biodiversity management is not simply an agronomic or biogenetic issue, but that cultural preferences and practices are central to the creation, maintenance, and ultimate viability of biodiversity in agroecosystems. These findings suggest that future conservation efforts must engage local communities and their cultures fully in agro-biodiversity management, through participatory plant breeding, increased awareness and marketing of landrace identity within commodity supply chains, and through advocacy on behalf of smallholders’ rights.

ACS Style

Laxmi P. Pant; Joshua J. Ramisch. Beyond Biodiversity: Culture in Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation in the Himalayan Foothills. Beyond the Biophysical 2010, 73 -97.

AMA Style

Laxmi P. Pant, Joshua J. Ramisch. Beyond Biodiversity: Culture in Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation in the Himalayan Foothills. Beyond the Biophysical. 2010; ():73-97.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi P. Pant; Joshua J. Ramisch. 2010. "Beyond Biodiversity: Culture in Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation in the Himalayan Foothills." Beyond the Biophysical , no. : 73-97.

Articles
Published: 18 November 2009 in Knowledge Management for Development Journal
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Positive deviants challenge existing organisational structures and institutional set-ups, and promote alternative approaches to solving seemingly intractable social problems, either playing direct role of a boundary spanner or indirect role as activists. However, these roles of positive deviants have not yet been recognised to its potential in international development because the legacy of deviancy theory lies on negative deviants, such as addicts and criminals. This paper investigates the promise of positive deviants to bridging scientific research and local practices using empirical evidence from community-based participatory research of rice, a crucial subsistence crop in the Chitwan district of Nepal. Non-profit private and public stakeholders worked as boundary spanners, specifically to initiate stakeholder interaction with non-traditional partners, in spite of the lack of enabling environments to do so. Similarly, one of the members of a farmers' group developed a rice variety from a handful of seeds taken from a scientific experimental plot, initially without the knowledge of participating scientists. This research suggests that positive deviants have ingenuity to innovate, deviating from norms particularly when social and organisational environments limit stakeholder interaction for learning and innovation. This paper concludes that the collective intelligence of positive deviants can sustain or even stimulate innovation permitting people to survive, experiment new ways of doing things and even improve their living conditions under adverse social, political and agro-ecological circumstances.

ACS Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant; Helen Hambly Odame. The promise of positive deviants: bridging divides between scientific research and local practices in smallholder agriculture. Knowledge Management for Development Journal 2009, 5, 160 -172.

AMA Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant, Helen Hambly Odame. The promise of positive deviants: bridging divides between scientific research and local practices in smallholder agriculture. Knowledge Management for Development Journal. 2009; 5 (2):160-172.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laxmi Prasad Pant; Helen Hambly Odame. 2009. "The promise of positive deviants: bridging divides between scientific research and local practices in smallholder agriculture." Knowledge Management for Development Journal 5, no. 2: 160-172.