MAHATMA PHULE KRISHI VIDYAPEETH

RCSM COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, KOLHAPUR

Course No: AGRO – 247

Semester: - IV (New) Credit:-1+0=1

TITLE: FARMING SYSTEMS AND

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

THEORY NOTES

Prepared by

Dr. Y. R. JADHAV,
Professor of Agronomy,
AGRONOMY SECTION,
RCSM COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, KOLHAPUR
 Course No: AGRO – 247 Semester: - IV (New) Credit:-1+0=1
Title: Farming Systems and Sustainable Agriculture

INDEX

Ex. No. Title of the practical

1&2 Farming Systems - Definition, scope, concept and objective of Farming Systems.
3 Classification of Farming Systems and factors affecting it
4 Study of different components of Farming System and their maintenance
5&6 Definition of cropping systems, cropping pattern, multiple cropping systems & its
classification, advantages & disadvantages.
7 Study of efficient cropping systems and allied enterprises.
8 & 9 Assessment tools for determiner production and efficiencies in cropping
systems and farming systems (based on land use efficiency, biological
potential and economic criteria).
10 & 11 Sustainable Agriculture: Definition, Principles, Goals, Problems and its
importance in Agriculture, Sustainability Index and Conservation Agriculture
12 Impact of LEIA (Low External Input Agriculture) and HEIA (High External Input
Agriculture) on crop productivity.
13 Integrated Farming System, historical background, characteristics,
objectives, components and its advantages.
14 Development of site specific IFS models for different Agro climatic zones, its
resource use efficiency and optimization technique.
15 Farming systems in relation to environment, its resource cycling and flow of
energy.
16 Visit to various IFS Models.

Lec. No. 1-2. Farming Systems - Definition, scope, concept and objective of Farming
Systems.

Nature is dynamic. It causes inheritable changes in all living organisms. For thousands
of years, farmer around the world have been selecting and conserving varieties of different
crop plants that they cultivated. This process has generated a rich wealth of varieties in each
crop plant, seen to be most abundant in countries near the equator and India is no exception.
In the world there are 12 mega centers of biodiversity, of which 2 are present in India. This is
because in India, the different soils and agro-climatic situations are present. So Indian farmers
grow a large number of crops

The Indian economy is predominantly rural and agriculture oriented. In agriculture,

85% of the holdings are less than two hectares and the declining trend in the average size of
the farmer holdings, poses a serious problem. Majority of them are dry lands, which depend
on erratic monsoon rains. The rest of the area is cultivated with supplemental irrigation. The
farmers concentrate mainly on crop production, which is invariably subjected to a high degree
of uncertainty in income and employment.

Progress of any country depends upon prosperity of farmers. This in turns depends
upon the adaptation of improved technology and judicious allocation of resources. Human
race depends more on farm products for their existence than anything else since food and
clothing- the prime necessaries are products of farming. Even for industrial prosperity,
farming forms the basic raw material. Majority of the farmers are cultivating their lands
without backup of scientific skills. To make farming economically viable and environmentally
sound and sustainable, a holistic all around approach is must. To meet the multiple objectives
of poverty reduction, food and nutrition security, competitiveness and sustainability, several
researchers have recommended the farming system approach.

A farming system is the result of complex interactions among a number of inter-

dependent enterprises/components, where an individual farmer allocates certain quantities and
qualities of four factors of production, viz., land, labour, capital and management to which he
has access. Farming system approach is a powerful tool for natural and human resource
management in developing countries such as India. It is multidisciplinary whole-farm
approach and can be effectively in solving the problems of small and marginal farmers. The
approach aims at increasing employment and income from small holdings by integrating
various farm enterprises and recycling crop residues and by-products within the farm itself. In
view of the decline in per capita availability of land from 0.5 ha in 1950-51 to 0.15 ha by turn
of century and a projected further decline to less than 0.1 ha by 2020, it is imperative to
develop strategies and agricultural technologies that enable adequate employment and income
generation, especially for small and marginal farmers who constitutes more than 80 per cent
of farming community.

Under the gradual shrinking of land holding, it is necessary to integrate land based
enterprises like fishery, poultry, duckery, apiary, field and horticultural crops etc within the
bio-physical and socio-economic environment of farmers to make farming more profitable
and dependable. No single farm enterprise is likely to be able to sustain the small and
marginal farmers without resorting to integrated farming system (IFS) for the
generation of adequate income and gainful employment year round. Farming system
approach, therefore, is a valuable approach to address problems of sustainable economic
growth for farming communities in India. The basic aim of IFS is to derive a set of resource
development and utilization practices, which lead to substantial and sustained increase in
agricultural production.

System Approach: Management practices are developed for individual crops and
recommendations are made for individual crops. The residual effects of individual crops are
not considered in crop-based recommendation. In this resources are not utilized efficiently. To
a farmer, instead of crop, land is a unit and management practices should be for all crops that
are to be grown on a piece of land.
Therefore, System Approach is applied to agriculture for
1. Efficient utilization of all resources,
2. Maintaining stability in production and
3. Obtaining higher net returns.
Farming is a dynamic, biological and open system with human or social involvement.
Being primarily biological with a high degree of dependence on weather variables and
changing socio-political environments. Farming is inherently more risky than any other
system.
“Farming’ is the process of harnessing solar energy in the form of economic plant
and animal products, and “System” implies a set of inter related practices/processes
organized into a functional entity. A system consists of several components, which depend on
each other. A system is defined as a set of elements or components that are inter – related and
interacting among themselves.

Farming system specially refers to a group combination of enterprises in which the products
and / or the byproducts of one enterprise serve as the inputs for production of other enterprise.
Farming system consists of several enterprises like cropping system, dairying, piggery,
poultry, fishery, bee keeping etc. These enterprises are interrelated. The end product and
wastes of one enterprise are used as inputs in others. The wastes of dairying like dung;
urine, refuse etc. are used for preparation of FYM, which is an input in cropping systems. The
straw obtained from the crops is used as fodder for cattle. Cattle’s are used for different field
operations for growing crops. Thus, different enterprises of farming systems are highly
interrelated.

“Farming System” therefore designates a set of agricultural activities organized

while preserving land productivity, environmental quality and maintaining desirable level of
biological diversity and ecological stability. The emphasis is more on a system rather than on
gross output. In other words, “Farming system” is a resource management strategy to
achieve economic and sustain agricultural production to meet diverse requirements of the
farm household while preserving the resource base and maintaining high environmental
quality. The farming system in its real sense will help the following ways to lift the economy
of Indian agriculture and standard of living of the farmers.

Definition: Farming system is a decision making unit comprising the farm household,
cropping and livestock systems that transform land, capital and labour into useful products
that can be consumed or sold (Fresco and Westphal, 1988) -Or-

Farming system is a resource management strategy to achieve economic and sustained

production to meet diverse requirement to farm household while presenting resources base
and maintaining a high level environmental quality (Lal and Millar 1990) –Or-

Farming system represents an appropriate combination of farm enterprises viz. cropping

system, livestock, poultry, fisheries, forestry and the means available to the farmer to raise
them for increasing profitability. They interact adequately with environment without
dislocating the ecological and socio-economic balance on the one hand and attempt to meet
the national goal on the other.

Thus, farming system is the result of a complex interaction among a number of

interdependent components. To achieve it, the individual farmer allocates certain quantities
and qualities of four factors of production. Land, labour, capital and management, which has
access to processes like management, which has crop, livestock and off farm enterprises in a
manner, which within the knowledge he possess will maximize the attainment of goal he is
striving for.

Farm: It is organized economic unit in which crop and animal production is carried
out with purpose of producing economic net returns.

Farming system: is a sub part of farm system, which includes crop production, animal
production and combination of both i.e., mixed farming.
Farm area: Productive land–cropped area/fields pastures, plantations, fishponds, forests etc.
+ Indirectly productive land – farm building, ditches, roads etc.
+ Fallow land
+ Unproductive land, rocks, deserts within farm boundaries.
The term ‘farming system’ and mixed farming are used interchangeably; however,
there are some of subtle differences between these two.
Mixed Farming – Mixed farming is defined as a system of farming on a particular
farm which includes crop production, raising live stock, poultry, fisheries, bee keeping etc. to
sustain and satisfy as many needs of the farmer as possible. Subsistence is important
objective of mixed farming. While higher profitability without altering ecological balance is
important in farming system.

Cropping System: It represents cropping patterns used on a form and their interaction
with farm resources, other farm enterprises and available technology, which determine their
makeup. It is an important component of farming system.

Cropping pattern means the proportion of area under various crops at a point of time
in a unit area. Or It indicates the yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops and fallow
in an area. Crop sequence and crop rotation are generally used synonymously.

Crop rotation refers to recurrent succession of crops on the same piece of land either
in a year or over a longer period of time. Component crops are so chosen that soil health is not
impaired.

Cropping Scheme: The plan according to which crops are grown on individual plots
of a farm with an object of getting maximum return from each crop without impairing the
fertility of soil is known as cropping scheme.
Characteristics of Indian agriculture: The all round progress of agriculture based country
like as depends on the development of agriculture is the main livelihood of native Indians.
The farming system depends on the characteristics of Indian Agriculture as –
a) Uneven distribution of land.
b) Fragmentation of holding.
c) Existence of small and marginal farmers.
d) Regional variation
e) Dependence of seasonal rainfall
f) Production of different kind of crops
g) Low productivity of land
h) Increasing of disguised unemployment
i) Disorder in marketing of Agricultural products
j) Weak land reformation.

Scope of farming system: Farming enterprises include crop, livestock, poultry, Fish, tree,
sericulture etc. 1. A combination of one or more enterprises with cropping when carefully
chosen planned and executed gives greater dividends than a single enterprise, especially for
small and marginal farmers. 2. Farm as a unit is to be considered and planned for effective
integration of the enterprises to be combined with crop production activity.

The need for farming system approach in present scenario is mainly due to high cost
of farm inputs, fluctuation in the market price of farm produce, risk in crop harvest due to
climatic vagaries and biotic factors. Environmental degradation, depletion in soil fertility and
productivity, unstable income farmer, fragmentation of holdings and low standard of living
add to the intensity of problem.

Farming system approach is an approach for developing farm household system, built
on the principles of productivity, profitability, stability and sustainability. All components are
complimentary and supplementary to each other. The development process involves
participation of rural communities. Farming system approach emphasizes understanding of
farm household, community inter-linkages, reviews constraints and assesses potentials. It
combines improvements desired from better technology. It needs efficient support services
and requires better policies. Farming system approach is necessary:-

To develop farm-household system and rural communities on a sustainable basis.

To improve efficiency in farm production.
To raise farm and family income.
To increase welfare of farm families and satisfy basic needs.
Farming system addresses two issues: reduction in risk with monoculture activities
and promoting enterprises diversification, value addition and development of alternate income
sources with efficient utilization of farm resources. It brings about enterprise diversification
for sustainability and additional benefits, better management of important farm resources like
land, labour, capital etc. The FS provides an opportunity for effective recycling of the
products and by-products. It helps to generate flow of cash to farmers round year by way of
disposal of milk, fruits, fuel, manure etc beside other agricultural output.

Concept of Farming System: The newly developed concept of integrated farming is a

synthesis of our age-old traditional knowledge and modern scientific techniques. But our
traditional technologies did not produce enough. As we could no longer expand our arable
lands much, the challenge was to increase the productivity of our farmlands to feed the fast
growing population. Traditional agriculture failed to meet food needs and there was a
necessity for new technologies. Investigations revealed that the low productivity was due low
external input traditional agriculture.

The concept of farming system is -

 To earn profit from different enterprises.

 To preserve land productivity.
 To preserve environment quality.
 To maintain desirable level of biological diversity and ecological stability.
 A farm is a system in that it has inputs, processes and outputs. Depending on the type
of farming (arable/pastoral, commercial/subsistence), type and amount of inputs, processes
and outputs will vary. Income through arable farming alone is insufficient for bulk of the
marginal farmers. The other activities such as dairying, poultry, sericulture, apiculture,
fisheries etc assume critical importance in supplementing their farm income. Livestock rising
along with crop production is the traditional mixture of activities of the farmers all over the
country, only the nature and extent varies from region to region. It fits well with farm level
infrastructure, small land base and abundant labour of small man and ensures full utilization
of by products.

Farming system approach addresses itself to each of the farmer’s enterprises, inter-
relationships among enterprises and between the farm and environment. Thus, farming system
research has the objective of increasing the productivity of various enterprises in the farm
while enterprises the crop production. But these approaches are not strictly compartmental in
the sense that any change in cropping system may bring about an inevitable change in the
farming system.
Farming system approach introduces a change in farming techniques for high
production from a farm as whole with the integration of all the enterprises. The farm
products other than the economic products, for which the crops are grown, can be better
utilized for productive purposes in the farming systems approach. A judicious mix of cropping
system with associated enterprises like dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, sericulture etc. suited
to the given agro-climatic conditions and socio economic status of farmers would bring
prosperity to the farmer.

In India, the cultivable land is 143.8 million hectares and there is very little possibility
of extending it further. Therefore, to meet the requirement of food grains for increasing
population, the only option open is through time and effective space utilization in agriculture.
The time concept relates to increasing the intensity of cropping under assured irrigated
conditions, whereas space utilization pertains to building up of vertical dimension through
multi-tier cropping and farming system approach. Thus, by making use of these time and
space concept either in irrigated or in rainfed areas, the productivity per unit area per unit time
can be substantially enhanced. Therefore, the only way to increase an agricultural production
in the small/marginal units of farming is to increase the productivity per unit time and area.
This may be achieved by breeding more productive varieties for different agro-ecological
situation, or development of quicker maturing varieties with equal yields or by improving
techniques of culture, fertilizer use, weed and pest control
Sustainability is the objective utilization of inputs without impairing the quality of
environment with which it interacts. Therefore, it is clear that farming system is a process in
which sustainability of production is the objective.
The overall objective is to evolve technically feasible and economically viable farming
system models by integrating cropping with allied enterprises for irrigated, rainfed, hilly and
coastal areas with a view to generate income and employment from the farm.

The specific objectives are –

1) To identify existing farming systems in specific areas and assess their relative
viability.
2) To formulate farming system model involving main and allied enterprises for different
farming situations.
3) To ensure optimal utilization and conservation of available resources and effective
recycling of farm residues within system and
4) To maintain sustainable production system without damaging resources / environment.
5) To rise over all profitability of farmhouse hold by complementing main /allied
enterprises with other.
Integration of farm enterprises depends on any factors such as
1. Soil and climatic features of the selected area.
2. Availability of the resources, land, labour & Capital.
3. Present level of utilization of resources.
4. Economics of proposed integrated farming system.
5. Managerial skill of farmer.
Lec. No. 3.Classification of Farming Systems and factors affecting it

Classification of Farming Systems: Many farms have a general similarity in size, products
sold and methods followed in cultural activities. When farms are quite similar in kind and
production of crops and livestock that are produced and methods and practices used in
production, the group is called as type of farming.

On the basis of the share of gross income received from different sources and
comparative advantage, the farming systems may be classified as below.

Classification of Farming Systems:

A) According to the size of farm:
a) Collective Farming: It is direct collection of plant products from non-arable lands. It may
include either regular or irregular harvesting of uncultivated plants. Honeying and fishing
usually go hand in hand with collection. Actual cultivation is not needed. Natural products
like honey, gum, flower etc are collected. Such plant product may be collected from forestry
area.
b) Cultivation Farming: 1. Small scale farming 2. Large scale farming
b) Cultivation Farming: In this system, farming community cultivates land for growing
crops for obtaining maximum production per unit area.
1. Small scale farming: In this type, farming is done on small of holding and other factors of
production are small in quantity and scale of production is also small.

Advantages:
i) Intensive cultivation is possible.
ii) Labour problem do not affect the production.
iii) It is easy to manage the farm.
iv) There is less loss due to natural calamities like frost, heavy rainfall and diseases.
v) Per unit output increases.
Disadvantages:
i) Small scale farming cannot take advantages of various economic measures.
ii) Cost of production per unit is more.
iii) Mechanization of agriculture is not possible.
iv) Farmers do not get employment round the year.

2. Large scale farming: When farming is done on large size holding with large amount of
capital, large labour force, large organization and large risk are called large-scale farming. In
other words when the factors of production are large in quantity, the scale of farming is said to
be large. In India 40 to 50 hectares land holding may be said large scale farming but in
countries like America and Canada even 100 ha. Farm is also called as small farms.
Advantages:
i) Production of large-scale farming is more economical. Cost of production per unit is less.
ii) Per unit production is increased.
iii) Better marketing of agricultural products is possible. Processing, transportation, storage,
packaging of produce is economical.
iv) Costly machines like tractor, combined harvester can be maintained on the farm.
v) Subsidiary occupation such as dairy, poultry, bee keeping based on maintain occupation
can be started.
vi) Proper utilization of factors of production is possible.
vii) Research work is possible.
viii) It increases bargaining power of the people.

Disadvantages: -
i) If demand of the produce decreases and production exceeds the market demand there will
be more loss to the large farm.
ii) In case of labor strike there will be more loss on the farm.
iii) Due to natural calamities like frost, drought, flood, insects and diseases the large farm will
suffer a lot.
iv) It will be difficult to manage large-scale farm.

B) According to proportion of land, labour and capital investment:- The farmer on given
plots of land obtain more or less definite quantity of yield of any particular time. If he wants
to increase his output they can either

i) Bring more land under cultivation.

ii) Apply more labour and capital to the same piece of land.

a) Intensive Cultivation – In intensive cultivation more labour and capital used in the same
piece of land. In other words land remains fixed in quantity while other factors are
increased. If the land is rare due to population pressure, while labour and capital are
comparatively cheap, intensive cultivation is preferred than extensive cultivation. The
application of intensive cultivation method depends mainly upon-
i) Increasing population and ii) Technical improvement
In the earlier stages of development population was small and technical knowledge of
agriculture was also limited hence extensive method was adopted but as population
increases intensive cultivation becomes necessary and improvement in technique make its
adoption is possible.
b) Extensive cultivation- When more are is brought under cultivation to increase the output
it is termed as ‘extensive cultivation’. In extensive cultivation land is chiefly available but
availability of other factors increases less proportionately. A cultivator wishing to increase
his output may follow either intensive method or extensive method but the selection of these
two methods is based on cost. If following extensive cultivation than by following intensive
cultivation can raise the additional output more cheaply, extensive method of cultivation
will be more useful. If on the other hand intensive cultivation seems to be the cheaper
method he will naturally adopt it. If land is cheaper and it can be and at a normal cost while
labour and capital are comparatively costlier, extensive cultivation will be cheaper method
of obtaining increased output. In early times when land was plentiful extensive cultivation
was followed. The extensive and intensive cultivation go side by side in a country for a
certain period of time and afterwards intensive cultivation may become more important
method. In most of the countries extensive and intensive methods of cultivation generally go
hand in hand.

C) According to value of products or income or on the basis of comparative advantage.

a) Specialized farming: the farm, in which 50% or more income of total crop production is
derived from a single crop, is called specialized farming. -or-

The farm in which only single crop is cultivated for selling in the market and the income of
the farm depends mainly on that crop is called “Specialized farming” by Hopkins.

According to the definition if 50% income is derived from paddy from any farm, this is called
paddy farm similarly sugarcane farm, wheat farm, vegetable farm, orchard farm etc.

Advantages:

1. Better use of land: More profitable to grow crops on a land best suited to it. e.g. Jute
growing or cultivation on swampy land in west Bengal.
2. Better Marketing: It allows grading, processing, storing, transporting, and financing
the produce.
3. Less equipment and labour
4. Costly and efficient machinery can be kept: A wheat harvester thresher can be
maintained in a highly specialized wheat farm.
5. The efficiency and skill of the labour increased: Specialization allows a man to be
more efficient and expert at doing a few thing
6. Farm records can be maintained easily.
7. Intensity of production leads to relatively large amount of output.
8. Better management: Fewer enterprises on the farm are liable to be less neglected
and sources of wastage can easily be detected.
Disadvantages: This disadvantage of specialization is evident when the farmer realizes that
“all his eggs are in one basket”.
1. There is greater risk: When failure of crop and decreasing market price of the
product, demand in market of product.
2. It is not possible to maintain soil fertility- lack of crop rotation.
3. The productive resources i.e. land; labour and capital are not fully utilized.
4. Irregular income of the farm as they get income only once or twice in a year
5. Proper Utilization of resources is not possible.
6. By product of crop are not properly utilized, as numbers of livestock’s are less in
number.
7. Due to specialization of a single enterprise, the knowledge about other enterprises
vanishes.
8. Does not help in supplying all the food needs of the family members of the farmer.

b) Diversified farming: A diversified farm is one that has several production enterprise or
sources of income but no source of income equal as much as 50% of the total income from
that source. On such farm farmers depends on several sources of incomes. It is also called as
general farming.

Advantages:

1. Better use of land, labour and capital: Better area of land through adoption of crop
rotations, steady employment of farm and family labour and more profitable use of
equipment are obtained in diversified farming.
2. The farmers & labour engaged all the year round in different activities.
3. Less risk to crop failure and market price of the product,
4. The by-product of this farm can utilize properly as cattle, poultry, birds etc. are reared
with crop production.
5. Regular and quicker returns are obtained from various enterprises.
6. Soil erosion can be checked as land kept under cultivated through the year.
7. Soil fertility can be maintained by adopting crop rotations.
8. Diversified farming is less risky then specialized farming.
9. Best use of all equipments.

Disadvantages:

1. Do not fetch desirable profit so long as co-operative marketing facility is not there
2. Proper inspection of different enterprises is difficult
3. It is not possible to farmers to maintain all types of machinery required for different
crops.
4. The wastage of farm in any farm is difficult to detect.

c) Mixed farming: mixed farming is one in which crop production is combined with the
rearing of livestock enterprise is complementary to crop production; so as to provide a
balance and productive system of farming. In the mixed farming at least 10% of its gross
income must be contributed by livestock activity. The upper limit being 45% under Indian
conditions so the farm on which at least 10 to 49% income is found from livestock is called
mixed farm. In mixed farming cow and buffaloes are included with crop production. If
farmers are rearing cows, buffaloes, sheep goat, and fisheries with crop cultivation this type of
farming is called diversified farming.

The scope of mixed farming to combination of crops and their complementary livestock
enterprises of mixed farming would certainly include a vast majority of our farms,
establishing a complementary relationship between crop and livestock enterprise.

Enterprise Contribution to gross income of farm Farming type

1. Cow and buffalo only 10 to 49% Mixed farming
 2.Cow, buffalo and poultry 10 to 49% Diversified farming

Advantages:

1. It offers highest returns on farm business, as the by products of farm are properly
utilized
2. It provides work throughout year
3. Efficient utilization of land, labour, equipment & other resources.
4. The crop by products such as straw, bhusa, fodder etc. is used for feeding of livestock
and in return they provide milk.
5. Manures available from livestock maintain soil fertility
6. It help in supplying all the food needs of the family members
7. Intensive cultivation is possible.
8. If one source of income is lost he can maintain his family from other source of
income.
9. Milk cattle’s provide draft animals for crop production and rural transport.
10. Mixed farming increases social status of the farmer.

In India the livestock is much closed connected with agriculture, because animal power is
the main source of power in agriculture. FYM is the main source for maintaining soil fertility
and animals make good use of subsidiary and by-products on farms and in turn they provide
milk under such circumstances mixed farming will most suit in Indian conditions.

Disadvantages:
1. Indigenous method of cultivation is used till now.
2. Draft and milch animals should be sold when they fail in production.
3. Healthy calf should be reared to replace age-old animals.

Requirement of mixed farming:

i) Complicated management practices.
ii) Sound cropping scheme.
iii) Good cattle in suitable number. Transport facility.
iv) Marketing (i. e. disposal) facilities.

d) Ranching: A ranch differs from other type of crop and livestock farming in that the
livestock graze the natural vegetation. Ranch land is not utilized for tilling or raising crops.
The ranches have no land of their own and make use of the public grazing land. A ranch
occupies most of the time of one or more operators.

Ranching is followed in Australia, America, Tibet and certain parts of India.

e) Dry Farming: Farmers in dry land, which receives 750 mm of rainfall or even less than
that struggle for livelihood. The major farm management problem in these tracts, where crops,
which are entirely dependent upon rainfall and the conservation of, soil moisture is needed.
Dry farming involves the adoption of the following practices.

a) Timely preparation of the land to a condition in which it is best able to receive and
conserve the available moisture.
b) Time and proper inter-culturing during growth period of the crop.
c) Improving the water holding capacity of the soil by the profitable application of organic
manure.
d) Use of such implements as is capable or rapidly breaking of the surface of the soil
immediately after harvest, as the optimum condition of the field for tillage operation is of a
very short duration.
e) Bunding of fields.
f) Use of optimum seed rates.
g) Thinning of excess plant populations.
h) Mixed cropping.
Environmentally sustainable dry land farming systems emphasis conservation and
utilization of natural recourses. Agronomic practices of conservation, tillage and mulch
farming, rotational cropping, use of legumes and cover crops for improving soil fertility and
suppressing weeds and efficient uses of cattle manure are some of the components of
sustainable farming system.

D) According to the water supply: i) Rainfed farming ii) Irrigated farming

i) Rainfed farming: Agriculture mainly depends on the rainfall in most part of country. 80 %
of total cultivated arable land is rainfed. Rainfed farming is a very risky system of farming
where the success of the crop depends on the cycle of the monsoon. Timely rainfall is the pre-
requisite of this farming. The uneven rainfall is quite detrimental to crop production.

Characteristics of Rainfed farming

1. Crop and varieties, which can withstand moisture stress, should be cultivated.
2. Kharif crops sown after receiving monsoon.
3. Not possible to adopt improved methods of cultivation, only one or two crops are grown.
4. Crops rotation is not followed.
5. Soils of these areas are deficits in nutrient.
6. Mixed cropping should be practiced and adopt deep-rooted crops.
7. Short duration varieties fit well in rainfed areas.
8. The crops that are tolerant to drought should be cultivated
9. Soil moisture should be preserve by mulching, FYM application.
10. Soil erosion, which may be called “Creeping death”, of the soil is a worldwide problem,
so necessary measures should adopt to keep the soil productive.
Principles of relevant components of environmentally sustainable farming systems should
include. 1. Reduce soil erosion and improving soil conservation.
2. Inclusion of legumes and cover crops in crop rotations.
3. Agro-forestry as an alternate land use system and
4. Judicious use of organic waste.

ii) Irrigated farming: Crop grown throughout the year; moisture is not a limiting factor.
Characteristics:

1. The round the year cropping pattern” becomes possible.

2. Intensive cropping is possible.

3. Production can be increased by proper utilization of productive resources.
4. Crop rotation can be executed properly due to adequate irrigation facility.
5. Manuring is safely done in irrigated crop.
6. The field experiment/research is possible, because of timely irrigation facility.
E) According to: I) Type of rotation: a) Ley system i) Unregulated Ley Farming
ii) Regulated Ley System:
b) Field system

c) Perennial crop system

I) Type of rotation: The word rotation has two meanings according to the time period
involved. There is long term alteration between various types of land use such as arable
farming, tree farming, grassland use etc. In this rotation means the sequence of this basic
type of land use on a given field. Within arable farming, there is also the term crop rotation,
which means the short-term sequence of different arable crops on one field.

a) Ley system: In this system, several years of arable farming are followed by several years
of grasses and legumes utilized for livestock production.

i) Unregulated Ley Farming: In this system natural vegetation of various grasses, bushy
growth on pastures is allowed to grow during the period of fallow. This is a improperly
managed pasture.

ii) Regulated Ley System: During the period of fallow, certain types of grasses are grown or
planted. These are the well-managed pastures with fencing and adopting rotational grazing
system.

b) Field system: In this case, arable (field crops) crops and grasslands are completely
separated and are grown simultaneously.

c) Perennial crop system: The crops which covers the land for many years e.g. Tea, Coffee,
Sugarcane. In some cases tree crops (Oil palm, rubber) are alternated with fallow in other with
arable farming, grazing etc.

II) Intensity of the rotation: a) Shifting cultivation b) Ley or fallow farming

c) Permanent cultivation d) Multiple cropping

II) Intensity of the rotation: It is denoted by ‘R’. It is simple and appropriate criteria for
classification, which gives the true relationship between crop cultivation and following within
the total length of one cycle of utilization.

No. of years of cultivation

R= x 100

Length of the cycle of land utilization

The length of the cycle is the sum of the number of years of arable farming + the
number of fallow years. “R” indicates the proportions of the area under cultivation in relation
to a total area available for arable farming.

a) Shifting cultivation: = R <33%

In the case there is more number of years of fallow than actual cultivation.

b) Ley or fallow farming: In this case R <66% and > 33%.

c) Permanent cultivation: In this large area is cultivated and small area is left fallow.

R = <66%

d) Multiple cropping: Where R = > 100%, If R = 150%, means 50% area is under two crops
in a year. If R = 300%, means three crops in a year are being grown.

F) Classification according to degree of commercialization: Depending upon the produce

sold in the market for earning money.

a) Commercialized farming b) Partly commercialized farming & c) Subsistence Farming

a) Commercialized farming: More than 50% of produce is for sale.

b) Partly commercialized farming: More than 50% of the value of produce is for home
consumption.

c) Subsistence Farming: Virtually, there is no sale of crop and animal products, but used for
home consumption. Subsistence farming is a type of farming where the farmer of our
country cultivates the crop in their land for the livings. Hence, the holding is small in size; so
improved method of cultivation is not possible. They fail to meet the total requirement. They
reared cattle, poultry; along with crop cultivation in limited land meet their requirement.

Advantages:

1. Utilizing productive resources profitably.

2. Farmers with their family members engaged thought year as they rearing cattle, poultry etc
3. Farmer meet their demand from the income from cattle, poultry etc. if crop failure
4. By product used properly.

Disadvantages:

1) Fails to adopt improved crop cultivation technique do to small holding

2) Cultivation mainly depends on monsoon rain
3) Procurement of seed, fertilizer as and when required is difficult.
4) Income of this farm is very low.
G) Classification according to degree of nomadism:
a) Total nomadism b) Semi nomadism c) Transhumans d) Partial nomadism
e) Stationary animal husbandry
Grassland farming: In this type of farming, it involves the rearing of animal for economic
production and is classified on the basis of degree of nomadism.

a) Total nomadism: In this system, the animal owners do not have permanent place of
residence. They do not practice regular cultivation. Their families move with the
herds.
b) Semi nomadism: Animal owners have a permanent place of residence, while
supplementary cultivation is practiced. However, for long periods of time, they travel
their herd to distant grazing areas.
c) Transhumans: Means seasonal migration of livestock to suitable grazing ground or It
is the situation in which farmer with a permanent residence send their herd with
herdsman for long period of time to distant grazing areas.
d) Partial nomadism: Farmer has permanent residence and who have herds at their
disposal, which remains in the vicinity.
e) Stationary animal husbandry: Occurs where the animals remain on the holding or in
the village throughout the entire year.
H) Classification according to cropping pattern and animal activities: In this system
classification according to the leading crops and livestock activities of the holdings.
e.g. Paddy holding, coffee- banana holding. Rice – Jute holding, Sugarcane farming.
I) Classification according to implements used for cultivation:
a) Spade farming b) Hoe farming c) Mechanized or tractor farming
a) Spade farming: manual labour is used.
b) Hoe farming: Bullock power to use for cultivation.
c) Mechanized or tractor farming: Power operated implements are used for cultivation.
e .g. plough, tractor.
J) Indigenous Farming System: Shifting cultivation, taungya cultivation and zabo
cultivation are the three major indigenous farm systems in India.

1. Shifting cultivation: If refers to farming system in north-eastern areas in which land under
natural vegetation (usually forests) is cleared by slash and burn method, cropped with
common arable crops for a few years and the left unattended when natural vegetation
regenerates. Traditionally, the fallow period is 10-20 years but in recent times it is reduced to
2-5 years in many areas. Due to increasing population pressure, the fallow period is
drastically reduced and system has degenerated causing serious soil erosion, depleting soil
fertility resulting to low productivity. In north-easten India, many annual and perennial crops
with diverse growth habits are being grown.

2. Taungya Cultivation: The Tanugya system is like an organised and scientifically managed
shifting cultivation. The word is reported to have originated in Myanmar (Burma) and tauang
means hill, ya means cultivation i.e., hill cultivation. It involves cultivation of crops in forests
or forest trees in crop-fields and was introduced to Chittagong and Bengal areas in colonial
India in 1890. Later, it had spread throughout Asia. Africa and Latin America, Essentially, the
system consists of growing annual arable crops along with the forestry species during early
years of establishment of the forest plantation. The land belongs to forest department or their
large scale leases, who allow the subsistence farmers to raise their crops and in turn protect
tree saplings. It is not merely temporary use of a piece of land and a poverty level wage, but
is a chance to participate equitably in a diversified and sustainable agro-forestry economy.

3. Zabo Cultivation: The Zabo is an indigenous farming system practiced in north eastern
hill regions, particularly in Nagaland. This system refers to combination of forest, agriculture,
livestock and fisheries with well-founded soil and water conservation base. Rainwater is
collected from the catchment of protected hill top of above 100 per cent slopes in a pond with
seepage control. Silt retention tanks are constructed at several points before the runoff water
enters in the pond. Cultivation fully depends on the amount of water stored in the pond. Land
is primarily utilized for rice. This system is, generally, practiced in high altitude hill areas,
where it is not possible to construct terraces and or irrigation channels across the slope. This is
a unique farming system for food production to make livelihood. Zabo means impounding of
water. The place of organ of zabo farming system is thought to be the Kikruma village in Phek
district of Nagaland.

K) On the basis of type of ownership:

1. Family farming

2. Co-operative farming: i) Co-operative better farming

ii) Co-operative joint farming
iii) Co-operative collective farming
iv) Co-operative tenant farming

3. Institutional farming 4. Capitalistic farming

5. State farming 6. Personal farming
7. Collective farming 8. Corporate farming

1. Family Farming: All agricultural operations are carried out by family members.
Management of inputs and farm is also done by the family members. The income is
distributed by the head of family as per family need.
2. Co-operative farming: All the members have ownership in the business. They pool
required resources voluntarily to run the business. The income is distributed according to
their share. Members are force to leave the society of any time without losing ownership
right.
i) Co-operative better farming: Farming is done by the members independently.
They have ownership on the land. They follow recommended plan of cultivation.
They obtained all the inputs from society. At the end of year profit is distributed
amongst the members.
ii) Co-operative joint farming: The members have ownership on the land and
cultivation is done jointly. Cultivation plan is prepared by the managing
committee and accordingly the work is carried out. Net profit is distributed
amongst the members according to inputs pooled by them.
 iii) Co-operative collective farming: The land is acquired by the society either as
freehold or leasehold. But the farming is done collectively by the members.
Members have no ownership on the land. The profit is distributed according to
inputs arranged by the members.
iv) Co-operative tenant farming: land is owned by the co-operative society on
freehold or leasehold basis. Whole land is divided into sub plots and distributed
amongst the members on rent. Members have no ownership on the land. The
cultivation plan is prepared by the co-operative society and members have to
follow it. The society supplying all the inputs and arrange for marketing of the
produce. The profit is distributed to the members in proportion to rent paid to
society.
3. Institutional farming: Farms are used for conducting research demonstrations by an
institution. Farming is not done on commercial scale. Farm is well laid out and equipped.

4. Capitalistic farming: Land is owned by businessman/capitalist. All the investment is made

by capitalist. Labourers are employed and paid. Intensive and improved methods of
cultivation are adopted. Profit/loss of the business is borne by the capitalist.

Table : 1. Main difference between various types of co-operative farming.

Types of farming Ownership Operation ship
Better farming Individual Individual
Joint farming Individual Joint
Tenant farming Collective Individual
Collective farming Collective Collective

5. State farming: Farming is done by the Government. Farm manager and other staff is
appointed for agricultural operations and day to day working. Farm may be mechanized
or unmechanized depending upon the size. Government fixes the policy and provides
finance for salary and contingencies. The profit /loss entirely borne by the Government.
6. Personal farming: Farmers have ownership on the land and farming is done
independently. The right of ownership is heritable and transferable. Farmers have small
holdings and they grow crops as per family requirement. Profit/loss is borne by the farmer
himself.
7. Collective farming: The members surrender their land, livestock and implement to the
society. Members of the society elect a managing committee which is responsible for
allocation of work, distribution of income marketing etc.
8. Corporate farming: This is just like a capitalistic system of farming but the right of
ownership is on the basis of shares taken by the members. The profit/loss is shared by the
members proportionately.

FACTORS AFFECTING TYPES OF FARMING: Functioning of any individual farming

system is strongly influenced (determined) by the external rural environment, including
policies and institutions, markets and information linkages. Regardless of their size,
individual farming systems are organized to produce food and to meet other household goals
through the management of available resources-whether owned, rented or jointly managed-
within the existing social, economic and institutional environment (FAO) 2001. They often
consist of a range of interdependent activities viz. crop production, post-harvest processes,
livestock keeping, fishery, agro-forestry etc. Off-farm incomes, which make a significant
contribution to the livelihood of many rural poor, are also included. Systematic representation
of the different exogenous and endogenous factors influencing the development of farming
system is given in Fig 1.2

This figure represents the inter-relationship between the key determinants of farming
systems. Some of these factors are internal to or part of the farming system, whereas others
are external. Principal exogenous (external) factors influencing the development of farming
system include: policies, institutions, public goods, markets and information are indicated on
the left side of the figure, lying outside the dotted line that marks the system boundary.
Availability of markets and the prices influence a farmer’s decision on enterprise pattern, on
purchases of inputs and on the timing of the produce sales. Availability of economic and
social infrastructure in rural areas determines the transport costs and the availability of
services to the household, notably human and animal health. Similarly, information and
educational services affect household strategy and decisions. Technologies which determine
the nature of production and processing and natural resources are largely endogenous
(internal) factors and are, therefore, depicted as lying mainly within the boundary of the
farming system. In general terms, the biophysical factors tend to define the set of possible
farming systems, whilst the socio-economic factors determine the actual farming system
which can be observed at a given time.

Functioning of any individual farming system is strongly influenced by the external

rural environment. Not only farms are closely linked to the off-farm economy through
commodity and labour markets, but the rural and urban economics are also strongly
interdependent. For example, as noted above, it is quite common for small farm households to
derive a significant part of their income, often 40 per cent or more, from off-farm activities.
Farm men and women are also linked to rural communities and social networks and this social
capital influences the management of farms. The key categories of determinants influencing a
farming system are as follows:

NATURAL RESOURCES AND CLIMATE: Interaction of natural resources, climate and

population determines the physical basis for a farming system. Increased variability of climate
and thus agricultural productivity substantially increases the risks faced by farmers, with
concomitant reduction in investment and input use. Certain soil and water regimes are suitable
only for given types of crops. In arid regions of India, climate is a major determinant of crop
yields. Low and erratic rainfall, extremes of seasonal temperature high evaporation loss,
meager groundwater potential and absence of perennial streams, salinity and rocky and
gravelly terrain the major factors affecting land use. Erratic nature of the meager rainfall (100-
450mm) with about 90 per cent during July-September, extreme temperatures (often > 45 0 C)
in peak summer and sub-zero in winter and high summer winds (<30 km h-1) during summer
are perpetual climatic problems for agriculture which determine the farming system. Crop
growing periods vary from 7 to 14 weeks depending upon location and type of soil. Average
incoming solar radiation varies from 22.05 MJ m-2 during April-May to 14.7 MJ m-2 in
January and the regions experience drought of varying intensity and duration.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Appropriate technology for different agro-climatic

conditions and local needs of the people helps determine the farming system of a regions.
Investment in agricultural science and technology has expanded rapidly during the last 4-5
decades. During this period, major technical and institutional reforms have occurred, which
have shaped the pattern of technological development and dissemination. Research-driven
growth in developing countries has largely been a result of the green revolution, which has
resulted in considerable advance in the field of food grain production, with the support of
policy and other aspects. Research has been focused, principally, upon intensifying crop and
livestock production. There has been much less research on integrated technologies for
diversifying the livelihoods of small farmers in developing countries and increasing the
sustainability of land use.

TRADE LIBERALIZATION AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT: Marketing and

processing are the two basic prerequisites produce from IFS under given agro-ecological
conditions. Once the market for alternative produce from IFS is assured, farmers get
motivated to diversify their farming system. Similarly, the rural marketing system plays a key
role in agriculture diversification. As a result of reduction of impediments to impediments to
international trade and investment, the process of trade liberalization is already generating
changes n the structure of production at all levels including smallholder-farming systems in
many developing countries. Not only the market development is accelerating, but patterns of
production and natural resources usage are also changing profoundly in response to market
forces. Availability of new production, post-harvest and transport technologies will also
change demand patterns by making possible the delivery of new products or established
products in new forms to markets, where they have been previously unattainable. With the
World Trade Act coming in to force, Indian agriculture is more exposed to the global market
than ever before.

POLICIES, INSTITUTIONS AND THE PUBLIC GOOD: Policy frameworks of

government for rural infrastructure transport, irrigation, storage facilities, processing and
providing incentives to the farmers encourages agricultural diversification.

Development of a dynamic farming system requires a policy environment which is

conducive. Moreover, the establishment of arm-rural-urban linkages requires effective
demand. Policy makers have increasingly shifted their attention to the potential to increase the
efficiency of service delivery through restructuring of institutions. Production incentives have
a dramatic effect on farming system. Policies on land ownership, water management and
taxation reform, inter alia, have a great bearing on the types of farming system in a region or
area. Efficient farming system needs efficient energy management.

INFORMATION AND HUMAN CAPITAL: Evolution of a farming system based on

increasing specialization (large scale broiler units) or integrated intensification (rice-fishery-
duckery) requires extra knowledge on the part of farm operators. Need for better information
and enhanced human capital has also increased, as production systems have become more
integrated with regional, national and international market systems. Lack of education,
information and training is frequently a key limiting factor to smallholder development. Many
observers anticipate that an information revolution, that is the bridging of the knowledge gap
between scientists and farmers, will be a key to agricultural growth of these small farms. It is
increasingly recognized and acknowledged by development workers that the empowerment of
women is crucial to raising levels of child and family nutrition, improving the production
distribution of food and agricultural products and enhancing the living conditions of rural
populations. Similarly, better access to credit, and extension services would enable women to
make an even greater contribution to eliminating rural hunger and poverty.

INDIGENOUS TECHNOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE:

Indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) is that which people in a given community have
developed over time and continue to develop. It is based on experience, often tested over long
periods of use, adapted to local culture and environment, dynamic and changing and lays
emphasis on minimizing risk rather than maximizing profits. It covers a wide spectrum: soil,
water and nutrient management, pasture and fodder management, crop cultivation, plant
protection, farm equipment, farm power, post-harvest preservation and management, agro-
forestry, bio-diversity conservation and also exploitation, animal rearing and health care,
animal products preservation and management, fisheries and fish preservation and ethnic
foods and homestead management. Thus, the indigenous technical knowledge of a farmer has
a great influence in managing the farm and arming system. During the first half of the 20 th
century when there was practically on external source of technological change, indigenous
knowledge dominated the farming system and agricultural output grew less than 0.1 per cent
per annum and that too was primarily on account of systematic expansion of labor and land.
Lec. No.4. Study of different components of Farming System and their maintenance.
Agriculture is recognized as the greatest living industry in our country. Agriculture is
practiced mainly by the small and marginal farmers, who constitute more than 80% of total
farming community. These small and marginal farmers were by passed from the process of
development during the green revolution. It is difficult to visualize a prosperous India without
the development of these farmers. Therefore, development of sustainable Integrated Farming
system by small and marginal farmers, who constitute more than 80% of the farming
community, is considered as the major pathway to develop sustainable agriculture.

The All India Agronomic Research Project (1968) gave birth to Project Directorate of
Cropping System Research at Modipuram District Meerut (UP) in 1989, which is now
designated as Directorate of Farming System Research (2009) with a net work on station
and on farm research across the country.

Components of farming systems: In the integrated farming system, it is always

emphasized to combine cropping with other enterprises / activities. The potential enterprises
which are important in farming system in the way of making a significant impact on farm
productivity by generating adequate income and employment and providing livelihood
security are crop production, cattle rearing, buffaloes, goat and sheep rearing, piggery, poultry,
duckery, apiculture, fishery, sericulture, mushroom cultivation, agro-forestry, biogas
production etc. Unlike farming systems in developed countries like U.K., USA, Australia etc.
where specialized farming is main characteristics of farming system, Indian agriculture is
characterized by mixed farming or integrated farming system. The above mentioned
enterprises are integrated within the farming system depending upon the agro-climatic
situations, market opportunity, farmers need etc.

1. Crop production: It is an important farming practice adopted invariably by every farmer.

It is an integral part of farm activities. The cropping system should provide food for family,
fodder to cattle and generate sufficient cash income for domestic and cultivation expenses.
These objectives could be achieved by adopting intensive cropping. Methods of intensive
cropping include multiple cropping and intercropping. Multi-tire cropping (the practice of
growing different crops of varying height, rooting pattern and duration is called multi-tire
cropping or multi-storied cropping) is mostly prevalent in plantation crops like coconut and
areca nut. The objective of this cropping is to utilize the vertical space more effectively.

ALLIED ENTERPRISES AND THEIR MAINTENANCE

A large number of allied enterprises like cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep and poultry rearing
are taken up along with the major component of crop production for increasing the farm
productivity.

DAIRY FARMING:

A cattle rearing is an age old practice of Indian farmer. Dairy farming is an important
source of income to farmers. Besides producing milk and/or draft power, dairy animals are
also good source of farm yard manure, which is good source of organic matter for improving
soil productivity. Farm by-products in turn are gainfully utilized for feeding the animals.

Cattle Rearing:

Cattle rearing in India are carried out under a variety of adverse climatic and
environmental conditions. Cattle are broadly classified into four groups.

 Draft breeds: Bullocks of these breeds are good draft animals, but the cows are poor
milkers. Examples include Nagore, Hallikar, Kangeyam, Mali.
 Dairy breeds: Cows are high milk yielders, but the bullocks are of poor draft quality.
Examples are Sahiwal, Sindhi, Gir.
 Dual Purpose: Cows are fairly good milkers and the bullocks are with good draft work
capacity (Hariana, Ongole and Kankrej).
  Exotic breeds: The exotic breeds are high milk yielder (Jersey, Holstein-Friesian,
Aryshire, Brown Swiss and Guernsey).

BUFFALOES:

Important dairy breeds of buffalo are Murrah, Nili Ravi (which has its home tract in
Pakistan), Mehsana, Suti, Zafarabadi, Godavari and Bhadawari, of these, Godavari has been
evolved through crossing local buffaloes in coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh with Murrah.

Housing: Each cow requires 12 to 18 m2 space and the buffaloes need 12 to 15 m2 ,

with a good ventilation is required. Open shed is mostly preferred. Dairy building should be
located at an elevated place to facilitate easy drainage. The floor should be rough and have
gradient of 2.5cm for every 25 cm length.

Breeding and maintenance: Cows remain in milk for 9-10 months, the average
calving interval being 16-18 months. A cow does not require more than 6-8 weeks of dry
period. From the economic point of view, cow should ordinarily be bred during the second
and third months after calving. The best time to serve a cow is during the last stage of heat. If
artificially inseminated, it is better to inseminate for 3 days continuously to have better
probability to conceive. Gestation period varies with individual cows and breeds and normally
it is about 280 days.

In the case of buffaloes, lactation period lasts for 7-9 months. She buffalo comes to
heat every 21-23 days. Gestation period is 310 days. Regular de-worming of calf is needed for
buffalo maintenance.

Feeding: Cattle feed, generally contains fibrous, coarse, low nutrient straw material
called roughage and concentrates as well as green fodder round the calendar year to harvest
potential yield. Out of total expenditure on livestock rearing, nearly 65% goes on feeding
cattle. To make dairy business economically feasible more quantity of farm grown green
fodder should be made available. Inclusion of processed and enriched straw with 2% Urea,
10% Molasses and 1% mineral mixture improves quality of dry fodder by 3 times and
reduces the feed cost considerably.

Roughages: Dairy cattle are efficient user of the roughages and convert large
quantities of relatively inexpensive roughage into milk. Roughages are basic need for cattle
and include legumes, non-legume hays, straw and silage of legume and grasses.

Concentrates: Grains and by-products of grains and oilseeds constitute the

concentrates. They are extensively used in dairy cattle ration. These include cereals (maize,
sorghum, oats, barley), cotton seeds industrial wastes (bran or wheat, rice, gram husk) and
cakes of oilseeds (groundnut, sesame, rapeseed, soybean, linseed)

Vitamins and mineral mixture: It is advisable to feed a supplement containing

vitamins A and D. Mineral mixtures containing salt, Ca, Mg and P should also be provided in
the ration. Ration per animal per day includes concentrate at 1 kg for 2 liters of milk yield,
green fodder (20-30 kg), straw (5-7 kg) and water (32 liters).

GOAT AND SHEEP REARING:

Rearing of goat is one of the important livestock enterprise followed by farmers, and
landless labourers. Not much financial inputs are required for sheep and goat rearing but
constant income is assured throughout year. They reared for wool, meat, milk, hide and skin
purpose. They are either stall-fed or allowed for open feeding. The system of sheep and goat
rearing in India is different from that adopted in the developed countries. In general, smaller
units are mostly maintained as against large scale in fenced areas in the developed countries.
Goat rearing:

In India, goat rearing is associated with different system such as crop or animal-based,
pastoral or sedentary, single animal or mixed herd, small or large scale. Goat is mainly reared
for meat, milk, hide and skin. Goat meat is the preferred meat in the country. A goat on hoof
(live goat) fetches a better price than a sheep on hoof.

Goat is known as a cow of poor person. It gives birth to 1-3 kids per time. Numbers of evings
are three per two years.

Housing: Goats can be maintained under stall-fed conditions. Goats do not thrive on marshy
or swampy ground. Goats are to be provided with a dry, comfortable, safe and secure place,
free from worms and affording protection from excessive heat and inclement weather. Kitts
are kept under large inverted baskets until they are old enough to run along with their
mothers. Males and females are generally, kept together. The space requirement for a goat is
4.5 to 5.4 m2

Nearly 40 goats can be maintained per acre of land by growing grass and fodder trees,
which gives12-15000 rupees net profit per year.

Breeding and maintenance: Goat matures in about 6-7 months. Breeding is allowed for buck
at one year and doe after 10 months of age. Gestation period is 145-155 days. It gives birth to
1-3 kitts per time. Number of evings is three per 2 years. The kitts can be weaned after 30-45
days. Mother can be allowed for mating 45-60 days after evings. When the young ones attain
a body weight of about 25-30 kg in about nine months, they can be sold.

Feeding: Goats are essentially browsers and eat plants, which any other animals won’t touch.
Goats eat 4-5 times that of their body weight. They eat more of tree fodder and hence 40-50
per cent of green fodder should contain tree leaf fodder and the rest with other grass species.
Goats should be fed with concentrates of maize, wheat, horse gram, groundnut cake, fish meal
and wheat bran. Common salt and vitamin mixtures should also be added.

Sheep rearing:

Sheep consume large quantities of roughages, converting a relatively cheap food into a
good cash product. Housing need not be elaborate or expensive. However, to protect the flock
from predatory animals, the height of the fencing should be raised to two meters.

Breeds of Indian sheep: There are three types of sheep in India, based on the
geographical division of the country.

 The temperate Himalayan region: Gurez, Karanah, Bhakarwal, Gaddi.

 Dry western region: Lohi, Bikaneri, Marwari, Kutchi, Kathiawari.
 Southern region: Deccani, Nellore, bellary, mandya, Bandur.

Breeding and maintenance: One ram can be maintained for 40-50 ewes. Unlike other farm
animals, ewes, in general, do not come in heat at regular intervals throughout the year but are
seasonal in this respect. Duration of the heat period will range from 1-3 days and 75 per cent
of the ewes remain in heat for 21-39 hours. Optimum time of service is towards the end of
heat period. Average heat interval is 18 days during the breeding season. Gestation period will
vary from 142-152 days with an average of 147 days. A normal ram is in full vigour for
breeding from the age of 2 ½ -5 years. Sheep grow fully at two year of age when the ewe is
ready for breeding. Under average range conditions, ewes may be expected to produce about
five crops of lambs.

Feeding: A sheep requires about 1-2 kg of leguminous hay per day depending on the age and
its body weight. Proteins may be supplied through concentrates such as groundnut cake,
sesame cake or safflower cake when the pastures are poor in legumes or when scarcity
conditions prevail. Normally 110-225 g of cake is sufficient to maintain an average sheep in
good condition. Feeding a mixture of common salt, ground limestone and sterilized bone meal
in equal parts is required to alleviate deficiency of minerals in the feed.

PIGGERY:

Pigs are maintained for the production of pork. They are fed with inedible feeds,
forages; certain grain by-products obtained from mills, meat by-products, damaged feeds and
garbage. Most of these feeds are either not edible or not very palatable to human beings. Pig
grows fast and is a prolific breeder, furrowing 10 to 12 piglets at a time. It is capable of
producing two litters per year under good management conditions. The carcass return is high
at 65-70 per cent of the live weight.

Breeds: Imported breeds of Large White Yorkshire and Landrace are being used widely.
Yorkshire is the most extensively used exotic reed in India. A good boar weighs 90kg in about
5-6 months and is strong on feet and legs. Mother of the pig to be selected should have large
litters of eight piglets or more.

Housing: Locally available materials can be used for housing. One pig requires about 2.7 m 2
with a wall of 1.2 m height. Eight boars can be kept in 2.7-4.5 m 2 area with 2.4-6.0 m2 open
space.

Feeding: Pigs are the most rapidly growing livestock and suffer more from nutritional
deficiencies than the ruminants. Main ingredients of swine ration are cereals and millets and
their by-products. Fiber content in swine ration should be very low (around 5-6%) for better
feed utilization efficiency. Mixed action should also contain 0.5 per cent of added salt. Swine
requires comparatively higher percentage of Ca and P than do cattle or sheep. On an average,
the consumption of feed is 3.5 per cent of total weight. Feed allowance is calculated as 2.5-3.0
kg 100-1 kg body weight + 0.25 kg feed per piglet with the lactating mothers.

Management: As a general rule, well- developed gilts weighting about 100 kg when 12-14
months old, may be used for breeding. Gestation period is, on an average, 114 days. Litter
size at birth may be 1-16 numbers with the body weight of 1-25 kg. Normal period between
births of piglets is 10-20 minutes. Time taken for the whole process of furrowing ranges from
1.5 to 4.0 hours. Sows are weaned after 40 days. Weaned sows come into heat in 3-10 days
after weaning and may be allowed to breed. The boar-sow ratio should be 1:15. It is profitable
to raise two litters from each sow each year.

POULTRY:

Poultry is one of the fastest growing food industries in the world. Poultry meat
accounts for about 27 per cent of the total meat consumed. Average global consumption is 120
eggs per person per year and in India, it is only 32-33 eggs capita year. As per nutritional
recommendation, per capita consumption is estimated at 180 eggs year-1 and 9 kg meat year-1.

Breeds: Majority of the stocks used for egg productions are crosses involving the strains or
inbred lines of white Leghorn. Toa limited extent; other breeds like Rhode Island Red,
California Grey and Australop are used.

Housing: Floor area of about 0.2 m2 per adult bird is adequate for light breeds such as white
Leghorn. About 0.3-0.4 m2 per bird is required for heavy breeds. The house should have good
ventilation and reasonably cool in summer and warm during winter. It should be located on
well-drained ground, safe from flood waters.

Feed: About 60-70 per cent of the total expenditure on poultry farming is spent on the
poultry feed. Hence, use of cheap and efficient ration will give maximum profit. Ration
should be balanced contacting carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins. Some of the
common feed stuffs used for making poultry ration in India are:

 Cereals: Maize, barley, oats, wheat, pearl millet, sorghum, rice-broken.

 Cakes/meal: Oilcakes, maize-gluten-meal, fish meal, meat meal, blood meal.
  Minerals/salt: Limestone, Oyster shell, salt, manganese.

From the day old to 4 weeks of age, birds are fed on starter ration and thereafter finisher
ration, which contains more energy and 18-20 per cent protein. Feed may be given 2-3 times
in a day. In addition to the foodstuffs, antibiotics and drugs may also be added to the poultry
ration. Laying hens are provided with oyster shell or ground limestone. Riboflavin is
particularly needed.

Maintenance: Chicks must be vaccinated against Ranikhet diseases with F1 Strain vaccine
within the first 6-7 days of age. One drop of vaccine may be administered in the eye and
nostril. When chicks get the optimum body weight of 1.0-1.5 kg around six weeks, they can
be marketed for broiler. Hens may be retained for one year for production (up to the age of
about 1 ½ years) since egg production would get reduced. One hen is capable of laying 180-
230 eggs in a year starting from the six month.

DUCK REARING:

Ducks are predominantly of indigenous type and reared for egg production on natural
foraging. They have a production potential of about 130-140 eggs per bird per year. In places
like marshy riverside, wetland and barren moors where chicken or any other type of stock do
not flourish, duck rearing can be better alternative.

Breeds: Important Indian breeds are Sylhet Mete and Nageswari, Which are mostly found in
the eastern region of the country. Khaki Campbell and Indian Runner are the most popular
breeds for egg laying. Indian Runner is the second best producer. White Pekin, Muscovy and
Aylesbury are known for meat production.

Housing: In mild climate, it is possible to raise ducks without artificial shelter. A light fence
of at least 1.2 m high enclosing the yard is enough to stop any predators. One nest of size 0.3
x 0.3 x 0.45 m to every 3 ducks is sufficient. A water channel of 0.5 m wide and 0.20 m deep
is constructed at the far end on both sides parallel to the night shelter in the rearing or layer
house.

Feed: Ducks normally require lesser attention. They supplement their feed by foraging, eating
fallen grains in harvested paddy fields, small fishes and other aquatic materials in lakes and
ponds. However, for intensive rearing, pellet feeding may be given.

Maintenance: The general, management of ducks is similar to that of the chickens. The
incubation period is 28 days. During the early part of the life, newly hatched ducklings require
warm temperature under the natural or village conditions.

APICULTURE

Apiculture is the science and culture of honeybees and their management. Apiculture
is a subsidiary occupation and it is an additional source of income for farm families.

Species: The two bee species, of India are Apis cerana indica and A. mellifera. A.
cerana is known as Indian bees, while A. mellifera is known a European/ western bee.

Apis cerana: Serves commercial bee keeping in most parts of the country. It has
instinctive behavior of swarming and absconding. Its honey yield varies from 12 to 15 kg per
hive per annum with foraging range between 0.8 and 1.0 km.

Apis mellifera: This species has achieved a great success in north-western stages of
India. Average honey production from this species is between 30 and 40 kg per hive per
annum with foraging range extending up to 2-3 km.

Management: Flowers of large number of plants species are visited by honeybees for nectar
and pollen. Most important sources of nectar and pollen are maize, mustard, sunflower and
palm litchi, pongamia, coconut, seasmum etc. The beginner should start with 2 and not more
than 5 colonies. The hive consists of bottom-board, brood chamber, brood chamber frames,
super chamber, super chamber frames, top cover, inner cover, and entrance rod. The most
suitable time for commencing bee keeping in a locality is the arrival of the swarming season.
Swarming is a natural tendency of bees to divide their colonies under conditions that are
generally favorable for the survival of both parent colony and the swarm. This occurs during
the late spring or early summer.

Honey collection: Honey is a sweet viscous fluid produced by honeybees mainly from the
nectar of the flowers. The nectar collected by been is processed and placed in comb cells for
ripening. During the ripening, sucrose is converted into glucose and fructose by an enzyme
called invertase, which is added to it by the bees. Honey is an excellent energy food with an
average of about 3500 calories per kg. It is directly absorbed into the human blood stream,
requiring no digestion.

FISHERY: With the traditional management, farmers obtain hardly 300-400 kg of wild
and culture fish per ha annually. However, composite-fish culture with the stocking density of
5000-7500 fingerlings ha-1 and supplementary feeding can boost the total biomass production.

Pond: Depth of the pond should be 1.5-2.0 m. Clay soils have higher water retention
capacity and hence are best suited for fish rearing. Pond-water should have appropriate
proportion of nutrients, phosphate (0.2-0.4. ppm), nitrate (0.06-0.1 ppm) and dissolved
oxygen (5.0-7.0 ppm). Water should be slightly alkaline (pH 7.5-8.5). If the pH is less than
6.5, it can be adjusted with the addition of lime at regular interval of 2-3 days. Higher pH
(>8.5) can be reduced with the addition of gypsum. Application of fresh dung may also reduce
high pH in the water. Soil of the pond should be tested for N and P content. If the nutrient
content is less, nitrogenous fertilizers like superphosphate can be added. Organic manures
such as FYM and poultry droppings may also be applied to promote the growth of phyto and
zooplanktons. Species of fish are:

1. Catla (Catla catla) is the fast growing fish. It consumes lot of vegetation and
decomposing higher plants. It is mainly a surface and column feeder.
2. Rohu (Labeo rohita) is a column feeder and feeds on growing fish. It consumes lot of
vegetation and decomposing higher plants. It is mainly column and surface feeder.
3. Calbasu (Labeo calbasu) is a bottom feeder on detritus. Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) is
also a bottom feeder, taking detritus to large extent, diatoms, filamentous and other
algae and higher plants. Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a bottom feeder and
omnivorous.
4. Silver carp (Hypophthalmichlthys molitrix) is mainly a surface and phytoplankton
feeder and also feeds on micro-plants.
5. Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is a specialized feeder on aquatic plants,
cutgrass and other vegetable matter. It is also a fast growing exotic fish.
6. In composite fish culture, phytophagous fish (catla, rohu and mrigal) can be combined
with omnivorous (common carp), plankton-feed (silver carp) and mud-eaters (mrigal
and calbasu) in a composite fish culture system.

Management: For higher productivity, fish are to be provided with supplementary feeding
with rice bran and oilseed cakes. This will enable faster growth and better yield. Each variety
of carps could be stocked to 500 fingerlings with the total 5000-8000 ha -1 . This stocking
density will enable to get a maximum yield of 2000 to 5000 kg ha -1 of fish annually under
good management practices.
SERICULTURE:

India occupies second position among silk producing countries in the world,
next to China. The total area under mulberry is around 200 thousand ha in the country.
More than 98 per cent of mulberry-silk is produced from five traditional sericulture states
(Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Jammu and Kashmir)

Morticulture: Cultivation of mulberry plants is called as moriculture. There are about

20 species of mulberry, of which four are commonly cultivated. They are Morus alba, M.
indica, M. serrata and M. latifolia. The crop can yield well for 12 years, after which they are
pulled out ad fresh planting is done. Yield of mulberry leaves is 30-40 t ha-1 year-1 .

Silk worm rearing: There are four types of silk worm: (1) Mulberry silk worm-
Bombyx mori, (2) Eri silk worm- Philosamia ricini, (3) Tassar silk worm- Antheraea mylitta
and (4) Muga silk worm- Antheraea assami.

Rearing and maintenance: Fertilized moth is covered with an inverted funnel or cellule and
eggs are allowed to be laid over a cardboard. Parasites may be removed by brushing the egg
masses with a fine brush. In a bamboo tray, rice husk is spread. Tender chopper mulberry
leaves are added to the tray. The hatched out larvae are transferred to the leaves. It is
important to change the leaves every 2-3 hours during the first 2-3 days.

The cocoon is constructed with a single reel able thread of silk. If the moths are
allowed to emerge from the cocoons, the silk thread is cut into pieces. Hence, the pupa are
killed 2-3 days before the emergence of moth and processed. The cocoons required for further
rearing are kept separately and moths are allowed to emerge from them.

MUSHROOM CULTIVATION

Mushroom is an edible fungus with great diversity in shape, size and colour.
Essentially, mushroom is a vegetable that is cultivated in protected farms in a highly sanitized
atmosphere. Just like other vegetables, mushroom conations 90 per cent moisture with high in
quality protein. Mushrooms are fairly good source of vitamin C and B complex.

Species: There are three types of mushrooms popularly cultivated in India: (1) Oyster
mushroom- Pleurotus sp, (2) Paddy straw mushroom-Volvariella volvacea and (3) White
button mushroom- Agaricus bisporus.

Oyster mushroom: Take fresh paddy straw and cut into small pieces of 3-5 cm
length. Soak them in water for 4-6 hours and then boil for half an hour. Drain the water and
dry the straw in shade till it is neither too dry nor wet. Take polythene bags of 60 x 30 cm size
and make two holes of one cm diameter in the center of the bag such that they face opposite
sides. Tie the bottom of the bag with a thread to make a flat bottom. Fill the bag with paddy
straw to 10 cm height and inoculate with the spawn. Likewise, prepare 4-5 layers of straw and
spawn alternatively. Last layer ends up in straw of 10 cm height. Keep this in a spawn running
room maintained at a temperature of about 22-280 C and with RH 85-90 per cent. After 15-20
days when the spawn running is completed, cut open the polythene bag and take it to cropping
room and allow it to grow for 7 days and harvest the mushroom. Mushroom yield is around
0.5-1.0 kg bag-1

Paddy straw mushroom: Cut the straw into long pieces of 60-90 cm and soak in
water for 12 hours and sterilize 15 minutes. Arrange the straw in bundles. Lay the moistened
straw bundles. on the slightly raised concrete floor or on wooden platform in layers of four
bundles width. Spawn or seed the beds simultaneously in each layer either by broadcasting or
placing the grain spawn at different spots. Sprinkle grain dhal over each layer on the spawn.
Don’t spawn below the topmost layer. Maintain it at 30-35 0 C. Harvesting is ready after 25-30
days. Yield is around 1-1.5 kg bed-1.

Button mushroom: It requires a complex method of preparing compost, which is

used as a substrate for mushroom production. Spawning is done by three methods: surface
spawning, layer spawning and trough spawning. Fill the trays with compost and do spawning.
After spawning, compost is pressed hard to make it compact. Trays are arranged in the
cropping room in tiers and cover with newspaper sheet sprayed with 2 per cent formalin.
Temperature of 20-250 C and RH of 90-95 per cent should be maintained. After spawn running
is completed in 15-20 days and do casing. Pin heads appear within 10-15 days after casing.
Cropping continues for 60-75 days. Mushrooms can be harvested at button stage. Yield ranges
from 6-7 kg m-2

AGRO-FORESTRY

Agro-forestry is a collective name for land-use system and technologies, in which

woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos etc.) are deliberately combined on the same
land-management unit as agricultural crops and/or animals, either in some form of spatial
arrangement or in a temporal sequence. In agro-forestry system, there are ecological and
economical interactions among different components.

1. Agro-forestry normally involves two or more species of plants (or plants and animals)
at least one of which is woody perennials.
2. An agro-forestry system always has two or more outputs.
3. The cycle of an agro-forestry system is always more than one year.
4. Even the simplest agro-forestry system is structurally, functionally and socio-
economically more complex than a monocropping system.
Agro-forestry is important for meeting fodder, fuelwood and small timber of farmers,
conserving soil and water, maintenance of soil fertility, controlling salinity and water logging,
positive environment impact and alternate land use for marginal and degraded lands. Selection
of proper land-use system conserves biophysical resources of non-arable land besides
providing day-to-day needs of farmer and livestock within the farming system. Commonly
followed agro-forestry systems in India are:

1. Agri-silviculture (crops + trees), which is popularly known as farm forestry.

2. Agri- horticulture (crops + fruit trees).
3. Silvi-pasture (trees + pasture + animals).
4. Agri-horti-silviculture (crop + fruit trees + MPTs + pasture).
5. Horti-silvi-pasture (fruit trees + MPTs + pasture).
6. Agri-silvi-pasture (crop + trees + pasture).
7. Homestead agro-forestry (multiple combinations of various components).
8. Silvi-apiculture (trees + honey bees).
9. Agri-pisci-silviculture (crops + fish + MPTs).
10. Pisci-silviculture (fish + MPTs) etc.

Agri-silviculture: This system emphasizes rising of trees and cultivation of field crops and
/or fodder crops in the available space between the trees. in arid and semi-arid regions, hardy
trees like Prosopis cineraria (khejri) Eucalyptus sp, Acacia tortilis, Hardwickia binata
(anjan), Azadirachta indica (neem), Ailanthes excelsa, Ziziphus jujuba etc. could be grown
along with dryland crops such as pulses (pigeon pea, black gram), millets (pearl millet, finger
millet, sorghum) etc. This is practiced mostly on arable lands, wherein multipurpose trees
used for fuel and fodder can be grown with crops in the fields as alley farming. The hedges
follow contour and compromise trees and shrubs like Leucaena or pigeonpea. Leguminous
perennials are more suitable due to fixation of nitrogen.

Agri-horti-silviculture: In this system, fruit trees are grown along with crops and
multipurpose trees (MPTs). Under Rainfed situation, hardy fruit trees like ber, pomegranate,
guava could be grown along with dryland crops like pigeon pea, til, moth bean, mustard etc.
Grafted ber (gola, seb, mundiya, banarsi kasak) may be planted at 6 x 6 m with 2 plants of
subabul in between. Under partial irrigation, guava, pomegranate, lemon etc have been
successfully grown at 6 x 5 m along with crop like wheat, groundnut and subabul (200 plants
ha-1) for quick leaf fodder and fuel wood production. For protection of fruit crops from
desiccation hog summer and cold, winter planting of subabul/sesbania at every 2 m apart as
windbreaks. Alternate plants of subabul/sesbania could be harvested for quick fodder, fuel and
wood production every 3rd year. Relative a grain yield varies from 70 to 85 per cent even in 3 rd
and 4th year.

Silvi-pastoral system: In this system, improved pasture species are introduced with tree
species. In this system, grasses or grass-legume mixture is grown along with the woody
perennial simultaneously on the same unit of land. In the marginal, sub-marginal and other
degraded lands, silvi-pastoral system has been found to be most economic agro-forestry
system especially in forests or plantations. It helps in reduction of the cost of concentrated
feed to animal during lean period. A number of fodder trees like Leucaena latisiliqua,
Bauhinia variegate, Albizzia labbek, Albizzia amara, Moringa olerfera, Sesbania sesban, S.
grandiflora, Hardwickia binata are identified for different regions of the country for silvi-
pastoral system. Trees provide fuel and timber in the extreme dry season and lean periods,
animal graze on pastures and feed on the leaves of nutritious trees and shrubs. Multilayered
vegetation covers are very effective in controlling runoff and soil loss from erosion prone
areas.

Horti-pastoral system: It involves integration of fruit trees with pasture. In the degraded
arid and semi- arid rangeland regimes, number of overgrazed plants of Ziziphus nummularis
are found which could be successfully budded with improved variety of ber (gola, seb,
umranb, banaras, kaska) besides planting MPTs like anjan, subabul, khejri along grasses and
legumes like Cenchrus, Lasiurus, Chrysopogon, Stylosanthes, Sirato etc.

Agri-silvi-pasture: It is a combination of agri-silviculture and silvi-pastoral system. In

arid degraded lands of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana, often Dryland crops (pearl millet,
moth, urad, til etc.) are grown in strips along with grass strips to avoid shifting sand reaching
cropped area. MPTs could be introduced both in the pasture strips as well as in the crop strips,
which besides protecting the crops from desiccating hot and cold wind would also provide
leaf fodder, timber etc. besides pasture when there is crop failure. Woody plants could be
Acacia senegal, ber, anjan, neem etc. Grasses could be Cenchrus, Lasiurus and Legume Stylo
sp.

Pastoral silvicultural system: Integrated crop farming is practed to meet the

requirements of grasses and fodder for livestock. Pastoral silvicultural system is the practice
in which grazing is the main component with scattered trees grown in the area. This practice
is adopted in semi-arid regions of the country comprising the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Cultivators leave the fields fallow with existing trees and protect the same.
Dichanthium annulatum is an important grass under this system. Important planted trees in
the system are Eucalyptus hybrid, Casuarinas equisetifolia, Borassus flabellifa and Phoenix
sylvestris. Generally trees are lopped for fuel and fodder. Custard apple, mango, Zizyphus and
tamarind fruits are used for domestic consumption.

BIO-GAS: Bio-gas is a clean, unpolluted and cheap source of energy, which can be
obtained by a simple mechanism and little investment. Gas is generated from the cow dung
during anaerobic decomposition. Bio-gas generation is a complex biochemical process. The
cellulolytic material is broken down to methane and carbon dioxide by different groups of
micro-organisms. It can be used for cooking purpose, burning lamps, running pumps etc.

Selection of a model: Two main designs of biogas plants are the floating gas holder
and fixed-dome types.

Float dome type: Different models are available in this category (KVIC vertical and
horizontal, Pragati model, Ganesh model).

Fixed dome type: Gas plant is dome shaped underground construction. Masonary
gasholder is an integral part of the digester called dome. Gas produced in the digester is
collected in dome at vertical pressure by displacement of slurry in inlet and outlet. Entire
construction is made of bricks and cement. Models available in this category are Janata and
Deen-Bandhu. Selection of a particular type depends on technical, climatologically,
geographical and economic factors prevailing in a given area.

Selection of size: Size of the biogas plant is decided by the number of family
members and the availability of dung. One cubic meter capacity plant will need two to three
animals and 25 kg of dung. Gas produced will meet the requirement of a family of 4-6
members. It would suffice to have a 2 m3 plant to cater to the needs of a family of 6-10
members.

Site selection and management: The site should be close to the kitchen or the place
of use. Plant should get clear sunshine during most part of the day. Generation of dung has a
direct bearing on the quantity of gas generated. Amount of gas production is considerably
higher in summer followed by rainy and winter season. Gas production would be maximum at
a temperature between 30 and 350 C. If the ambient temperature falls below 10 0 C gas
production is reduced drastically.

Bio-gas slurry: Slurry is obtained after the production of bio-gas. It is enriched

manure. Another positive aspect of this manure is that even after weeks of exposure to the
atmosphere, the slurry does not attract fleas and worms.

Lec. No.5-6.Definaion of cropping systems, cropping pattern, multiple

cropping systems & its classification, advantages & disadvantages.

Cropping systems: Cropping systems, an important component of a farming system,

represents a cropping pattern (i. e. the proportion of area under various crops at a point of time
in a unite area) used on a farm and their interaction with farm resources, other farm
enterprises and available technology, which determine their makeup. Or It is defined, as the
order in which the crops are cultivated on a piece of land over a fixed period or cropping
system is the way in which different crops are grown. In the cropping systems, sometimes a
number of crops are grown together or they are grown separately at short intervals in the
same field.
Cropping pattern: It is the pattern of crops for a given piece of land or cropping
pattern means the proportion of area under various crops at a point of time in a unit area or it
indicates the yearly sequence and spatial arrangements of crops and fallow in an area.

Classification of cropping systems

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Monoculture 2. Multiple cropping 3.following or fallow in rotation

a) Parallel multiple cropping b) Sequential multiple cropping

i) Mixed cropping i) Sequence cropping

ii) Inter-cropping a) Double cropping

iii) Relay cropping b) Triple cropping

iv) Alley Cropping c) Quadruple cropping

v) Multi-storied cropping ii) Ratoon cropping or ratooning

Components of farming system – Crops and Cropping
Classifications of cropping systems: -Depending on the resources and technology available,
different types of cropping systems are adopted on farms, which are as below.

A) Mono-cropping or single cropping: Mono-cropping refers to growing only one crop on a

particular land year after year. Or Practice of growing only one crop in a piece of land year
after year e.g. growing only rabi crops in dry lands or only zaid crops in diara lands (Lands
situated in river basins which often remain flooded during rainy season). This is due to
climatologically and socio economic conditions or due to specialization of a farmer in
growing a particular crop.

Groundnut or cotton or sorghum is grown year after year due to limitation of rainfall.
Flue-cured tobacco is grown in Guntur (A.P.) due to specialization of a farmer in growing a
particular crop. Rice crop is grown, as it is not possible to grow any other crops, in canal
irrigated areas, and under water logged conditions

Monoculture: Practice of repetitive growing only one crop irrespective of its intensity as rice
-rice-rice in Kerala, West Bengal and Orissa.
Sole cropping: One crop variety grown alone in pure stand at normal density.

B) Multiple cropping or poly-cropping: It is a cropping system where two or three crops are
gown annually on the same piece of land using high input without affecting basic fertility of
the soil.

Growing two or more crops on the same piece of land in one calendar year known as
multiple cropping. It is the intensification of cropping in time and space dimensions i.e.
more number of crops within a year and more number of crops on the same piece of land at
any given period. It includes inter-cropping, mixed cropping and sequence cropping.

Melested (1954) has mentioned that multiples cropping is a philosophy of maximum

crop production per acre of land with minimum of soil deterioration.

1.) Rice – potato-green gram 2.) Rice – mustard – maize

3.) Rice – potato – sesame 4.) Jut – rice-potato

Cropping intensity is more than 200 per cent when the farm as a whole is considered;
the Multiple Cropping Index (MCI) is determined by the number of crops and total area
planted divided by the total arable area. When the value is three or more, it is said to be most
promising farm. This is also called as intensive cropping.

1. Polyculture: Cultivation of more than two types of crops grown together on a piece of
land in a crop season. e. g.1) Subabool + Papaya + Pigeon pea + Dinanath grass.
2) Mango + Pine apple + Turmeric 3) Banana + Marigold + berseem.

2. a) Relay Cropping – Growing the succeeding crop when previous crop attend its maturity
stage – or – sowing of the next crop immediately after the harvest of the standing crops. Or It
is a system of cropping where one crop hands over land to the next crop in quick succession.
e.g. 1) Paddy – lathrus 2) Paddy – Lucerne,
3) Cotton – Berseem 4) Rice – Cauliflower – Onion- summer gourds.
b) Overlapping Cropping: In this system, the succeeding crop is sown in the standing
crop before harvesting. Thus, in this system, one crop is sown before the harvesting of
preceding crops. Here the Lucerne and berseem are broadcasted in standing paddy crop just
before they are ready for harvesting.

Advantages:
1. Minimum tillage is needed for relay cropping and primary cost of cultivation is less
2. Weed infestation is less, as land is engaged with crops year round.
3. Crop residues are added in the soil and thus more organic matter.
4. Residual fertilizer of previous crops benefits succeeding crops.
3. Mixed Cropping: Mixed cropping is defined as the process of growing two – or – more
crops simultaneously in the same piece of land without keeping their identity with respect to
the field area. It is a common practice in dry land tracts of India. The object is to meet the
family requirement of cereals, pulses & vegetables. It is subsistence farming.
Mixed cropping may be classified into the following groups, based on their methods of
sowing (Singh 1990)

i) Mixed crops: In this group the seeds of different crops are mixed together and then sown
either in lines – or – broadcast. This system is not scientific and it causes problem in
performing all the agricultural operations and harvesting of the crops.
II) Companion crop - Under this of, the seeds of different crops are not mixed together but
different crops are sown in different rows e.g. 1) Two rows of mustard in eight rows of
wheat, 2) In arhar three rows of groundnut are sown. This method of sowing facilitates in
weeding, intercultural, plant protection and even in harvesting.
III) Guard crops: Under this system of cropping the main crop is grown in the center,
surrounded by hardy – or thorny crops, such as safflower around pea – or – wheat, mesta
around sugarcane, sorghum around maize, etc with a view to provide protection to main
crops.
IV) Augmenting crops – When sub crops are sown to supplement the yield of the main
crops, the sub crops are called augmenting crops such as Japanese mustard with berseem.
Here the mustard helps in getting higher tonnage of fodder inspite of the fact that; berseem
gives poor yield in the first cutting.
Mixed cropping should include crops that are not competitive with each other attacked
by similar insect – pest and diseases and having similar root system (must be include
shallow rooted and deep rooted).
3. Inter-cropping: Growing of two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land
with a definite row pattern e.g. growing setaria + red gram in 5: 1 ratio i.e. after every 5 rows
of setaria, one row of red gram is sown. Thus, cropping intensity in space dimension is
achieved.

Multiple cropping in the form of intercropping is predominant in the regions of dry, humid
and semi- arid tropics. The objectives of intercropping systems are:

1. Insurance against total crop failure under aberrant weather conditions or pest epidemics.
2. Increase in total productivity per unit land area.
3. Judicious utilization of resources such as land labour and inputs.
Intercropping was originally practiced as an insurance against crop failure under rainfall
conditions. At present the main objective of intercropping is higher productivity per unit area
in addition to stability in production. Intercropping system utilizes resources efficiently and
their productivity is increased.
When two crops are to be grown together, they are chosen in such a way that there is
variation in their growth duration. The peak periods of growth of the two crops species should
not coincide. In such arrangements, a quick maturing crop completes its life cycle before the
other crop starts. Willey (1979) described the concept as temporal complementary. Greater
differences in maturity and growth demands of the crop components, more opportunity is
provided for greater exploitation of growth factors and over yielding. This will be achieved
either by genetic difference in crop species or manipulation of planting dates. Normally short
and long duration crops are grown together.

Based on the per cent of plant population used for each crop in intercropping system, It
is divided in to two types viz; additive series and replacement series.

Additive series: Which is mostly adopted in India, one crop is sown with 100% of its
recommended population in pure stand, which is known as the base crops. Another crop
known as intercrop is introduced into the base crop by adjusting or changing geometry. The
population of intercrop is less than its recommended population in pure stand LER of additive
series is greater than replacement series. Additive series is more efficient than replacement
series in intercropping System.

In replacement series both the crops are called component crops. By scarifying
certain proportion of population of one component, another component is introduced. This
type of intercropping is practiced in western countries.

Component crop: is used to refer to either of the individual crops making up the
intercropping situation. Intercrop yield is the yield of a component crop when grown in
intercropping and expressed over the total intercropped area. (i. e. area occupied by both the
crops). A simple addition of both the intercrop yields this gives a combined intercrop yield.

Base crop: It is the one which is planted at its optimum sole crop population in an
intercropping situation and second crop is planted in between rows of base crop for obtaining
bonus yield from intercrop without affecting base crop yield.

Inter-cropping in cereals: - Inter-cropping with cereal is an excellent way of improving

the resource utilization because the cereal utilizes the rainy season resources while late
maturing crops exploits the post-rainy season resources such as residual moisture. Sorghum is
most commonly inter-cropped with pigeon pea on a variety of soils. Sorghum is harvested
after 3 ½ to 4 ½ months and pigeon pea matures in about 6-9 months depending on the
genotype.
In mono-cropping of groundnut climatic resources like rainfall, temperature and
solar radiation are utilized only during rainy season, however when red gram is introduced
as an inter-crop, these resources are used up to the end of winter season and also benefit of
late shower rains.
Soybean is also a good compatible companion crop with maize. Pearl millet is a
quick tillering and fast growing crop that attains full canopy development within 20-30 days
of seedling establishment. It can be inter-cropped with groundnut, black-gram or castor.
Inter-cropping in pulses: For pigeon pea, short duration grain legumes such as black-gram
and soybean are the best companion crops in Peninsular India. Groundnut is also a suitable
inter-crop.
Inter-cropping in cotton: It is initially a slow growing crop. Any short duration and fast
growing crops such as groundnut, black-gram, green-gram or cluster bean are the compatible
companion crops.
 Inter-cropping in Sugarcane: Sugarcane is slow growing up to 80-90 days. Since the crop is
planted in rows 0.8-1.0 m apart, considerable space is available for inter-cropping. Short
duration crops maturing in 80-90 days can be advocated as inert-crops. Black-gram and
soybean are found suitable. The green manure, dhaincha can be sown in the inter-space and
incorporated at about 2 months.
For successful intercropping, there are certain important requirements -

1. The time of peak nutrient demands of component crops should not overleap in maize +
green gram intercropping system, the peak nutrient demand period for green gram is around
35 DAS while it is 50 days for maize.
2. Competition for light should be minimum among the component crops.
3. Complementary should exist between the component crops.
4. The differences in maturity of component crops should be at least 30 days.
Advantage of intercropping:

1) Intercropping gives additional yield income/unit area than sole cropping.

2) It acts as an insurance against failure of crops in abnormal year.
3) Inter-crops maintain the soil fertility as nutrient uptake is made from both layers of soil.
4) Reduction in soil runoff and controls weeds.
5) Intercrops provide shade and support to the other crop
6) Inter cropping system utilizes resources efficiently and their productivity is increased
(Reddy and Reddi, 1992).
7) Intercropping with cash crops is highly profitable.
8) It helps to avoid inter-crop competition and thus a higher number of crop plants are grown
per unit area.
Disadvantages:

1) Yield decreases as the crops differ in their competitive abilities.

2) Management of I/c having different cultural practices seems to be difficult task.
3) Improved implements cannot be used efficiently.
4) Higher amount of fertilizer or irrigation water cannot be utilized properly as the
component crops vary in their response of these resources.
5) Harvesting is difficult.

Types of Inter-Cropping:

a. Mixed intercropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously with no distinct row
arrangement.
b. Row intercropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously where one or more crops
are planted in rows
c. Strip Inter-cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously in different strips wide
enough to permit independent cultivation but narrow enough for the crops to interact
agronomically.
d. Relay inter-cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously during part of the life
cycle of each. A second crop is planted after the first crop has reached its reproductive
stage but before it is ready for harvest
Inter-cropping may be divided into the following four groups (Singh 1990).

i) Parallel Cropping: Under this cropping two crops are selected which have
different growth habits and have a zero competition between each other and both of them
express their full yield potential. e. g. 1) Green gram or black gram with maize.
 2) Green gram or soybean with cotton.

ii) Companion cropping: In companion cropping the yield of one crop is not
affected by other, In other words, the yield of both the crops is equal to their pure crops.
That the standard plant population of both crops is maintained. e.g.1) Mustard, wheat,
potato, etc. with sugarcane 2) Wheat, radish, cabbage, sugar beet etc., with potato.
iii) Multi-storied cropping: or Multi-tire cropping: Growing plants of
different height in the same field at the same time is termed as multi-storeyed cropping. It
is mostly practiced in orchards and plantation crops for maximum use of solar energy
even under high planting density.
e. g.1) Eucalyptus + Papaya + Berseem
2) Sometimes it is practiced under field crops such as Sugarcane + Potato + Onion.
3) Sugarcane + Mustard + Potato.
4) Coconut + Pineapple + Turmeric / Ginger.

Multi-tire cropping: Inter-cropping is mostly prevalent in plantation crops like coconut and
areca nut. The practice of growing different crops of varying heights, rooting pattern and
duration is called multi-tire cropping. The objective of this system of cropping is to utilize
the vertical space more effectively. In this system, the tallest components have foliage
tolerant of strong light and high evaporative demand and the shorter component(s) with
foliage requiring shade and or relatively high humidity. e. g. Coconut + black pepper + cocoa
+ pineapple.

The multi-tire cropping plan is shown in Fig. below. In this system, coconut is planted
with a spacing of 7.5 m. Rooted cuttings of black pepper are planted on either side of coconut
about 75 cm away from the base. On the coconut trunk at a height of about one meter from
the ground level, the vines of pepper are trailed. A single row of cacao is planted at the center
of space between coconut rows. Pineapple is planted in the inter-space. Coconut growing to a
height of more than 10 m. occupies the top floor. Black pepper growing to about 6-8 m.
height forms the second floor. Cacao with its pruned canopy of about 2.5 m. height and
pineapple growing to about 1 m. height form the first and ground floors, respectively.

Fig. Multi-tire cropping plan.

iv) Synergetic Cropping: Here the yields of both crops, grown together are found to be
higher than yield of their pure crops on unit area basis. e. g. Sugarcane + Potato

5) Alley Cropping: Food crops are grown in alleys formed by hedgerows of trees or shrubs in
arable lands. It is also known as hedgerow intercropping. It is recommended for humid
tropics. In semiarid regions of India, alley cropping provides fodder during dry period.
 Alley cropping is an agro-forestry system in which fast growing N-fixing shrubs are
planted as hedgerows. Food crops are grown in alleys formed by hedge of trees and shrubs.
This system is most suitable for marginal and sub-marginal lands. Scientists at International
Institute for Tropical Agriculture (I I T A), Nigeria has developed this system of agro-
forestry in the 1970s.

The essential feature of this system is that hedge rows are cut back at about one meter height
at planting and kept pruned during cropping to prevent shading and to reduce competition
with field crops. In semiarid regions, alley cropping provide fodder during dry period since
mulching the crop with hedge row pruning usually do not contribute to increase crop
production.
Advantages of this system are as follows:
1. Provision of green fodder during lean period of the year.
2. Higher biomass production per unit area than arable crops.
3. Efficient use of off-season rainfall in the absence of the crop.
4. Additional employment during off-season.
5. It serves as a barrier to surface runoff leading to soil and water.
6. Conservation based on objectives following three types of alley.
7. It improves soil fertility and is more remunerative under rain fed
conditions.

Systems are recognized. a) Forage alley cropping. b) Forage cum mulch system
c) Forage cum pole system
a. Forage alley cropping: In this system both yield of crop and forage assume importance.
Leucaena (Subabbul), Sesabania are recommended for hedgerow. Pigeon pea or caster crops
are suitable for growing in the allies. Crop yields decreases with decrease in the row width.
b. Forage cum mulch system: In this system hedgerows are used for both forage and mulch.
Loppings are used for mulching during the crop season.
c. Forage cum pole systems: Leucaena alleys are established at 5-meter interval along the
contours. Hedge rows are established by direct seeding and topped every two months at 1.0 m
height during crop season and every four months during the off season. A Leucaena plant at
every 2-meter is allowed to grow in to a pole. Crop yields are usually reduced due to
competition from hedgerow.
Classification of alley cropping: According to the purpose for which the alleys are raised,
alley cropping may be grouped into: 1. Forage alley cropping 2. Green manure-cum-mulch
alley cropping 3. Forage-cum-mulch- alley cropping 4. Forage-cum-green manure alley
cropping.

Among them, forage alley cropping is recommended as an alternate land use system
for semi-arid regions with main benefit of green fodder production during dry season.

C) Sequential multiple cropping:

I. Sequence cropping: Defined as growing of two or more crops in sequence on the same
piece of land in a farming year. Crop intensification is only in time dimension and there is
no intercrop competition. Depending on the number of crops grown in a year. It is called as
double, triple and quadruple cropping involving two, three and four crops, respectively.
e. g.
1. Double cropping: 1) Rice – potato / mustard 2) Sorghum - gram
2. Triple cropping: 1) Rice – potato – G. nut 2) Cow pea – mustard - Jute
3. Quadruple cropping: Kharif groundnut-Leafy vegetables-Wheat-Summer green gram.
 In India, food crop is predominantly grown in most suitable seasons and thus particular
food crop is basic to the cropping system followed by the farmers. Accordingly the cropping
systems are usually referred to as: 1.Rice-based cropping system. 2. Sorghum-based cropping
system. 3. Pearl millet-based cropping system and 4.Wheat and gram-based cropping system

Some of the cropping systems based on commercial crops are (i) Cotton-based, (ii)
Groundnut-based (iii) Sugarcane-based, (iv) Plantation crop-based and (v) Vegetable-based
cropping systems.

The grain production potential in different regions of the country ranges from 11-18 t/ha.
In maize-potato or toria-wheat-moong system followed at IARI, New Delhi, it was possible to
produce 14-15 tons of food per hectare per annum without impairing the soil health. The
results of multiple cropping demonstrations under irrigated conditions showed that production
potential can be as high as 19.8 t/ha in cereal-based cropping system of rice-rice-rice. All rice
sequence is followed in some pockets of the river command areas of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Systems with more than three crops: Bradfield experimented at IRRI, Philippines, with
various cropping patters that could maximize productivity per unit area. The most successful
pattern was a sequence of five crops consisting of rice, sweet potato, soybean, sweet corn and
green soybeans. The tillage pattern varied for each crop and number of days to harvest was
102, 100, 85, 66 and 60, respectively. This pattern gave three times higher gross income than
normally obtained in a rice-rice pattern.

Crop sequences under irrigated upland conditions At Delhi, a four crop sequence of green
gram-maize-potato-wheat gave the highest production of 13.6 t /ha. However, three-crop
sequence of green gram-maize-wheat was found to be the most ideal for the small and
marginal farmers.

Crop Sequences and their production potential, New Delhi, India.

Crop Sequence Total Production (Q/ha)
Two crops Maize-wheat 90.1
Three Crops Green gram-maize-wheat 97.7
Green gram-pigeon pea-wheat 68.8
Cowpea-pearl millet-wheat 92.9
Four Crops Green gram-maize-potato-wheat 135.9
Green gram-maize-toria-wheat 112.8

Cropping systems in dry lands: The intensity of cropping can be increased through
sequential or intercropping depending on the rainfall and moisture storage capacity of soils.

Cropping pattern with varying rainfall and soil moisture storage capacity.
Rainfall (mm) Storage capacity of soil (mm) Cropping pattern
350-625 100 Single Crop in Kharif
650-720 100 Intercropping can be attempted
780-900 150 Sequential cropping is possible
900-above 200 Sequential cropping is assured.

II) Ratoon cropping or rationing: Refers to raising a crop with re-growth coming out of
roots or stalks after harvest of the crop or cultivation of crops re-growth after harvest,
although not necessarily for grain.
 Differences between inter cropping and mixed cropping.
Inter cropping Mixed Cropping

1. 1. Main objective is to utilize space between 1. Main object is to get at least one crop under
two rows of main (base) crop especially any climatic hazards e.g. flood, drought or frost
during early growth period of main crop. conditions.
2. 2. More emphasis is given to care main (base) 2. Here all crops are given equal importance and
crop and inter crop are not grown at the cost almost all crops compete with one another.
of base crop. So there is no competition.
3. 3. Subsidiary (inter crop) crops are of short 3. The crops are almost of the same duration.
duration and they are harvested much earlier
than base crop.
4. 4. Both the crops are sown in rows. Sowing 4. Crops may be broadcasted or sown in rows
may be at one time or main (base) crop is but the sowing time for all crops is the same.
sown earlier than intercrop.

Lec. No. 7. Study of efficient cropping systems and allied enterprises.

Land resources being limited, emphasis has to be placed for increasing production
from unit area of land in a year. Cropping systems based on climate, soil and water
availability have to be evolved for realizing the potential production levels through efficient
use of available resources. The cropping system should provide enough food for the family,
fodder for cattle and generate sufficient cash income for domestic and cultivation expenses.
These objectives could be achieved by adopting intensive cropping. Methods of intensive
cropping include multiple cropping and intercropping. Intensive cropping may pose some
practical difficulties such as shorter turn-around time lapse for land preparation before the
succeeding crop and labour shortage at peak agricultural activities. These problems can be
overcome by making modifications in the cropping techniques. Alteration in crop geometry
may help to accommodate intercrops without losing the base crop production.

Efficient cropping Systems: Efficient cropping systems for a particular farm depend
on farm resources, farm enterprises and farm technology because farm is an organized
economical unit. The farm resources include land, labour, water, capital and infrastructure.
When land is limited intensive cropping is adapted to fully utilize available water and labour.
When sufficient and cheap labour is available, vegetable crops are also included in the
cropping system, as they required more labour. Capital-intensive crop like sugarcane, banana,
turmeric etc. find a space in the cropping system when capital is not a constraint. In low
rainfall regions (< 750 mm/annum) mono-cropping is followed and when rainfall is more than
750 mm, intercropping is practiced, with sufficient irrigation water, triple and quadruple
cropping is adopted when other climatic factors are not limiting. Farm enterprises like dairy,
poultry etc. also influence the type of cropping system. When the farm enterprise includes
dairy, cropping system should contain fodder crops as components. Change in cropping
system take place with the developments of technology. The feasibility of growing four crop
sequences in Gangetic alluvial plains gave inputs to multiple cropping.

Crop production, therefore, presents such an enormous diversity owing to differences in

latitude and altitude and variability of rainfall and edaphic diversity. Thus, it may not be
possible to enumerate and describe every type of cropping pattern prevalent in the country.
Some broad contours of farming, however, emerge. Most important element of farming in
India is production of food grains. On the basis, the country may be divided broadly into five
agricultural regions.
1) The rice region, extending from the eastern part to include a very large part of the
north-eastern and south-eastern India, with another strip along the western coast.
2) The wheat region, occupying most of northern, western and central India.
 3) The millet –sorghum region, comprising Rajasthan, Mad hay Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh and the Deccan Plateau in the centre of the Indian Peninsula.
4) The temperate Himalayan region, of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
and some adjoining areas. Here potatoes are as important as cereal crops (which are
mainly maize and rice) and the tree- fruits form a large part of agricultural production.
5) The plantation crop region of Asasam and hill of southern India where good quality
tea is produced. There is an important production of high-quality coffe in the hill of the
western peninsular India. Rubber is mostly grown in Kerala and part of Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu. There are some large estate, but most of the growers would come under the
category of small holders. Sugarcane, which in many countries is a plantation crop, is
almost entirely grown by small holders in India.

Cropping system under low land / irrigated upland / rain-fed up lands:

Multiple cropped lands can be broadly grouped into low lands, irrigated uplands and
rainfed uplands -

1) Low lands: Rice based cropping systems predominate in low lands. Number of crops per
year and the crops that follow or precede rice depends on the periods of water availability and
degree of control of water. When irrigation or rainfall > 200 mm/month extends over 9 to 10
months, the system as rice – rice – rice and rice – rice – upland crop when this period limited
(6 to 8 months) crops as upland crop – rice – uplands crops may be appropriate, if water is
available for 4 - 5 months, only rice crop is grown.
2) Irrigated up lands: In irrigated up lands where winter is mild, upland crops that can
follow rice include legumes as green gram, black gram, soybean groundnut, cereals as maize,
sorghum, pearl millet and other crops are cotton, sunflower, vegetable. Where winter is cool,
then rice, wheat, barley, mustard, chickpea and potato. On irrigable high rainfall uplands
sequential cropping with wide range of crops is possible then system as cereal – cereal and
cereal-legume, oilseeds or other cash crops. In northern India, potato or mustard can be added
to maize – wheat by relay planting either of these in the standing maize and delaying wheat by
about 2 months short duration green gram or fodder crops can be grown after the harvest of
wheat in summer.
3) Rainfed up lands: Cropping systems in rainfed uplands predominantly takes form of
intercropping during rainy season. Cereal + pigeon pea, Setaria + cotton, are popular in India.
Vertisol put up fallow in rainy for moisture retention found followed by sorghum, chickpea,
sunflower or coriander, double cropping can be practiced when monsoon is relatively early
cereal /. Pulses, safflower / gram.

Main activity
1. Crop production: It is an important farming practice adopted invariably by every farmer.
It is an integral part of farm activities. The cropping system should provide food for family,
fodder to cattle and generate sufficient cash income for domestic and cultivation expenses.
These objectives could be achieved by adopting intensive cropping. Methods of intensive
cropping include multiple cropping and intercropping. Multi-tire cropping (the practice of
growing different crops of varying height, rooting pattern and duration is called multi-tire
cropping or multi-storied cropping) is mostly prevalent in plantation crops like coconut and
areca nut. The objective of this cropping is to utilize the vertical space more effectively.

Allied enterprises.
2. Dairy farming: Dairy farming is an important source of income to farmers.
Besides producing milk and/or draft power, the dairy animals are also good source of FYM,
which provide organic matter for improving soil fertility. The farm by products in turn are
gainfully utilized for feeding the animals. The total milk production in the country has crossed
90 m t /annum and the per capita availability of milk is still about 220 g/day as against
minimum requirement of 250 g/day. Around 70% of Indian cows and 60% of buffaloes have
low productivity. This sector is highly gender sensitive and over 90% of the households dairy
enterprise is managed by women.

Cattle rearing: In India it is carried out under a variety of adverse climatic and
environmental conditions. The cattle are broadly classified into 3 groups.

1) Draft breeds: The bullocks of these breeds are good draft animals, but cows are poor
milkers, e.g. khillar, Nagore, Hallikar, Kangeyam, Mali.

2) Dairy breeds: The cows are high milk yielders, but the bullocks are of poor draft quality,
e. g. Sahiwal, Sindhi, Gir.

3) Dual purpose: The cows are fairly good milkers and the bullocks are good draft work
capacity, e. g. Hariana, ongole and Kankrej. Exotic breeds: HF

1. Buffaloes: Important dairy breeds of buffaloes are murrah, mehsana, zafarabadi, surti,
godavari (cross of local buffaloes in coastal regions of A. P. with murrah), bhadawari and nili
ravi (Home tract Pakistan).

Feeding: Cattle feed generally contains fibrous coarse, low nutrient straw material. Roughage
is basic for cattle ration and includes legumes non-legume hays, straw and silage of legume
and grasses. The per day requirement @ 1 kg concentrate per 2 lit of milk, green fodder (20-
30kg), straw 5-7 kg & water – 32 lit.

There are 3 types of sheep in India based on the geographical division of country. i)
The temperate Himalayan region: Gaddi, Bhakarwal ii) Dry western region: Bikaneri, Kutchi,
Marwari, Lohi iii) Southern region: Deccani, Nellore, Bellary, Bandur.

3. Goat Rearing: In India, activity of goat rearing under different environments, including
dry, hot, wet and cold, high mountains or low lying plains. The activity is also associated with
different systems such as crop or animal based, single animal or mixed herd small or large
scale. Goat is mainly reared for meat, milk, hide and skin. Meat preferred in India, A goat on
hoof (live goat) fetches a better price than a sheep on hoof.

Feeding: The per head nutrients requirement to goat is low. Hence they are suitable for
resource poor small farmers with marginal grazing lands. They eat plants and leaves of tree,
which any other animals not touch. Goat eats 4-5 times that of body weight concentrate of
maize, gr. nut cake etc. and clean & fresh water.

4. Poultry: Poultry is one of the fastest growing food industries in the world. Poultry meat
accounts for about 27% of total meat consumed worldwide. Poultry industry in India is
relatively a new agricultural industry. In the sixties, the growth rate of egg production was
10% and it increased to 25% in 1970. By 2000, the total egg production may reach up to 5000
crores. Nearly 330 thousand tonnes of broiler meat are currently produced. The average global
consumption is 120 eggs per person per year and in India, it is only 32-33 eggs per capita per
year. To meet the 330 thousand tones he nutritional requirement, the per capita consumption
estimated at 180 eggs/year and 9 kg meat / year.

Specific poultry stocks for egg and broiler production are available. A majority of the
stocks used for egg production are crosses involving the strains or inbred lines of White
leghorn. To limited extent, other breeds like Rhode Island Red, California Grey and Australop
are used. Heavy breeds such as White Plymouth Rock, White Cornish and New
Hampshire are used for crossbred broiler chickens. Several commercial poultry breeders are
selling day old chicks in India. It is best to start with day old chicks.
Feed: The feed conversion efficiency of the bird is superior to other animals. About 60-70%
of the total expenditure on poultry farming is spent on the poultry feed. Hence, use of cheap
and efficient ration will give maximum profit. Cereals – maize, barley, oats, wheat, rice –
broken. Mineral / salt – limestone, salt manganese.

5. Duck rearing: Ducks account for about 7% of the poultry population in India. They are
popular in coastal and water logged states like West Bengal, Orissa, A.P., T. Nadu, Kerala,
Tripura and J &K. They have production potential of about 130 – 140 eggs / bird / year. These
can rear in marshy riverside wetlands. Duck farming can be a better alternative. They hardy,
more easily brooded and resistant to common avian diseases. The important Indian breeds are
Sylhet Mete and Nageswari, which are mostly found in the eastern region of the country.
Improved breeds for egg and meat production are available. Khaki Campbell (300eggs/year)
and Indian runner are the most popular breeds for egg laying. White Pekin, Muscovy and
Aylesbury are known for meat production. White Pekin is the most popular duck in the
world. It is fast growing and has low feed consumption with fine meat quality. It attains 3 kg.
of body wt. in 40 days. Desi ducks are robust, well adapted local conditions and free of
diseases.

Feeding: Eating fallen grains in harvested paddy fields, small fishes and other aquatic
materials.

6. Turkey rearing: Turkey is a robust bird and can be reared in humid tropics. It actively feed
on a variety of crop residues and insects on the farm.

7. Piggery: Pigs are maintained for production of pork. They fed with inedible feeds, forages;
certain grain by products obtained from mills, meat by products damaged feeds and garbage.
Most of these feeds are either not edible or not very palatable to human beings. The pig grows
fast and is a prolific breeder, farrowing 10 to 12 piglets at a time. Improved breeds of Large
White Yorkshire and Landrace are being used widely.

8. Rabbit rearing: In India is of recent origin though hunting of wild rabbits for meat is not
uncommon. Rabbit can be easily reared with relatively less concentrate feed with high
production rate.

9. Apiculture: Apiculture is the science and culture of honeybees and their management. It is
one of the most important agro-based industries which does not required any raw material like
other industries and it is an additional source of income for farm families. It requires low
investments and so can be taken up by small, marginal and landless farmer’s educated
unemployed youth. Nectar and pollen from flowers are the raw materials, which are available
in plenty in nature. Bee keeping can be started with a single colony. Two bee species most
commonly grown in India, Apis cerana (Indian bee) and A. mellifera,(Western bee), are
complementary to each other but have different adaptations. Apis cerana serves commercial
bee keeping in most parts of the country and is reared in ISI –A Type bee-hive with honey
yield varies from 12 to15 kg/hive/annum and foraging range between 0.8 &1.0 km. A.
mellifera -This species has achieved a great success in north-western states of India. Average
honey yield between f 30 and 40 kg/hive/annum with foraging range extending up to 2-3 km.

Honey Collection: Honey should have good quality. Qualities such as aroma, color,
consistency and floral sources are important. Honey is an excellent energy food with an
average of about 3500 calories per kg. It is directly absorbed into the human blood stream
requiring no digestion.

10. Fishery: Ponds serve as domestic requirement of water, supplementary irrigation to crop
and piscicultrue. With the traditional management, farmer obtain hardly 300-400 of wild &
culture fish / ha / year. However, polyculture fish with the stocking density of 7500
fingerlings and supplementary feeding will boost the total biomass production.

Species: The phytophagous fish (catla, rohu and mrigal) can be combined with omnivorous
(common carp), plankton-feed (silver carp) and mud eaters (mrigal and calbasu) in composite
fish culture system. Catla- is fast growing fish. It is surface and column feeder. Rohu is a
column feeder and feeds on growing fish. It is mainly column and surface feeder. Calbasu &
Mrigal - Bottom feeder. Common carp- bottom feeder & omnivorous Silver carp mainly
surface feeder and also feeds on micro plants. Grass carp – specialized feeder on aquatic
plant, cut-grass, and other vegetable matter (Exotic fish)

Management: Pond depth – 1.5 – 2.0 m, water should be slightly alkaline, pH-7.5 – 8.5. If
the pH less than 6.5, it can be adjusted with addition of lime, higher pH (>8.5) can be reduced
with addition of gypsum. Application of fresh dung may also reduce high pH in the water.

The fish are to be nourished with supplementary feeding with rice bran and oilseed
cakes. This will enable faster growth and better yield. Each variety of craps stocked to 500
fingerlings with the total of 5000-8000 / ha. This gives 2000 to 5000 kg./ha of fish annually.

11. Seri-culture: Definition: the keeping of silk moths and their larvae for the production of
silk. or Seri culture is defined as a practice of combining mulberry cultivation, silkworm
rearing and silk reeling. In India, sericulture is a recognized practice. India occupies second
position among silk producing countries in the world, next to China. The total area under
mulberry is 240 thousand ha in the country. It plays an important role in socio-economic
development of rural poor in some areas. In India more than 98% of mulberry-silk is
produced from traditional sericulture states, viz. Karnataka, A. P., West Bengal, T.N. and J
&K. The climatic conditions in India are favourable for mulberry and rearing of silkworms
throughout the year. Karnataka is the major silk producing state in India (temp. 21.2 to 30 OC),
In Kashmir climate suit from May to October.

Moriculture: Cultivation of mulberry plants is called as moriculture .Most common mulberry

species are Morus alba, M. Indica, M. serrata & M. latifolia. The crop can yield well for 12
years. Yield of mulberry leaves is 30-40 t/ha/year.

There are four types of silk worm viz. 1. Mulberry silkworm – Bombyx mori 2. Eri
silkworm – Philosamia ricini 3. Tassar silkworm – Antheraea nylitta 4. Muga silkworm –
Antheraea assami.

Rearing: Eggs are allowed to be laid over a cardboard. In bamboo tray rice husk is spread.
Tender chopped mulberry leaves are added to the tray. The hatched out larvae are transferred
to the leaves it is important to change the leaves every 2-3 hours during the first 2-3 days. The
cocoon constructed with silk. The cocoon required for further rearing is kept separately and
moths are allowed to emerge from them.

12. Mushroom cultivation: Mushroom is an editable fungus with great diversity in shape,
size and colour. Essentially mushroom is a vegetable that is cultivated in protected farms in a
highly sanitized atmosphere. Mushroom contains 90% moisture with high in quality protein,
fairly good source of vitamin C and B complex. It is rich source of mineral like Ca, P, K, &
Cu. They contain less of fat and CHO and are considered good for diabetic and blood pressure
patients.

Varieties: 1) Oyster mushroom – Pleurotus spp. 2) Paddy straw mushroom – Volvariella

volvacea 3) White button mushroom – Agaricus gisporus (var, A-11, Horst V3).

13. Biogas Plant: A biogas unit is an asset to a farming family. Biogas is a clean, unpolluted
and cheap source of energy, which can be obtained by a simple mechanism and little
investment. The gas is generated from the cow dung during anaerobic decomposition. Biogas
generation is a complex bio-chemical process, cellulite material are broken down in methane
and CO2 by different group of micro–organisms. It can be used for cooking purpose, burning
lamps, etc. Biogas near to kitchen & cattle shed to reduce cost of gas transfer and cow dung
transport. Sunlight is important for temperature. Two main designs of biogas plants are the
floating gas holder and fixed –dome types.

Biogas slurry: Slurry is obtained after the production of biogas. It is enriched manure;
another positive aspect of this manure is that even after weeks of exposure to the atmosphere
the slurry does not attract fleas and worms. Dry slurry contains about 1.8% N, 1.10% P and
1.50% K.

14. Agro-forestry: Agro-forestry is a collective name for land use systems and technologies,
in which woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos etc.) are deliberately combined on
the same land management unit as agricultural crops and/or animals, either in some form of
spatial arrangement or in a temporal sequence. Agro-forestry is important for meeting fodder,
fuel wood and small timber of farmers, conserving soil & water, maintenance of soil fertility,
controlling salinity and water logging, positive environment impact and alternate land use for
marginal and degraded lands. Selection of proper land use systems conserve biophysical
resources of non-arable land besides providing day-to-day needs of farmer and livestock
within the farming system. Commonly followed Agro-forestry systems in India are –

1 Agri-silviculture – crops + trees, 2. Agri-horticulture – crops + fruit trees, 3. Silvi-pasture

Trees + pasture + animals, 4. Agri-horti-silviculture crops + fruit trees + MPTS +pasture etc.
Lec. No. 8-9.Assessment tools for determiner production and efficiencies in cropping
systems and farming systems (based on land use efficiency, biological
potential and economic criteria).

Various types of cropping systems are practiced in a farm / region. They are to be
properly evaluated to find out their stability and relative advantage. Such a comparison
may be made with reference to land use efficiency, biological potential, economic viability
etc. Some of the important indices to evaluate the cropping systems are as below.

I). Land Use Efficiency or Assessment of land use: The main objective is to use available
resources effectively. Multiple cropping which includes both inter and sequential cropping
has the main objective of intensification of cropping with the available resources in a given
environment. Several indices have been proposed to compare the efficiencies of different
multiple cropping system in turns of land use, and these have been reviewed by Menegay et
al. 1978.
1. Multiple Cropping Index or Multiple Cropping Intensity (MCI): It was proposed by
Dalrymple (1971). It is the ratio of total area cropped in a year to the total land area available
for cultivation and expressed in percentage.
n
∑ ai
i=1
MCI = x 100
A

Where, i = 1, 2, 3, … n, n = total number of crops, a i = area occupied by ith crop and A = total
land area available for cultivation. Or MCI is the sum of area planted to different crops and
harvested in a single year divided by total cultivable area and expressed as percentage. Or
MCI means the sum of areas under various crops raised in a single years divided by net area
available for that cropping pattern multiplied by 100. It is similar to cropping intensity.

Total number of crops + with their respective area

MCI = ----------------------------------------------------------- X 100
Net cultivable area

2. Cultivated Land Utilization Index (CLUI): Cultivated land utilization Index (Chuang,
1973) is calculated by summing the products of land area planted to each crop, multiplied by
the actual duration of that crop divided by the total cultivated land area, times 365 days.

n
∑ ai di
i=I
CLUI = x 100
A x 365

Where, I. = 1, 2, 3, …n, n = total number of crops. a i = area occupied by the ith crop, di = days
that the ith crop occupied ai and A = total cultivated land area available for 365 days.

CLUI can be expressed as a fraction or percentage. This gives an idea about how the
land area has been put into use. If the index is 1 (100%), it shows that the land has not been
left fallow and more than 1, tells the specification of intercropping and relay cropping.
Limitation of CLUI is its inability to consider the land temporarily available to the farmer
for cultivation.

3. Crop Intensity Index (CII): Crop Intensity Index assesses farmer’s actual land use in area
and time relationship for each crop or group of crops compared to the total available land area
and time, including land that is temporarily available for cultivation. It is calculated by
summing the product of area and duration of each crop divided by the product of farmer’s
total available cultivated land area and time period plus the sum of the temporarily available
land area with the time of these land areas actually put into use (Menegay et al.1978). The
basic concept of CLUI and CII are similar. However, the latter offers more flexibility when
combined with appropriate sampling procedures for determining and evaluating vegetable
production and cropping pattern data.

NC
∑ ai. ti
i=1
CII = M
AoT + ∑ A j T J

Where, i = 1, 2, 3 … Nc, Nc = total number of crops grown by a farmer during the time
period. T, ai = area occupied by i th crop, ti = duration of ith crop (months that the crop I
occupied an area ai)

T = time period under study (usually one year), Ao = Total cultivated land area available with
the farmer for use during the entire time period, T, M = total number of fields temporarily
available to the farmer for cropping during time period. T, j = 1, 2, 3 … M, Aj = land area of
jth field and Tj = time period Aj is available. When, CII = 1 means that area or land resources
have been fully utilized and less than 1 indicates under utilization of resources.

CII indicates the number of times a field is grown with crops in a year. It is calculated by
dividing gross cropped area with net area available in the farm, region or country multiplied
by 100.

Gross cropped area

CII = ---------------------------- x 100
Net area

When long duration crop grown crop remain longer time in field this is the drawback of
CII. So time is not considered, thus, when long duration crops like sugarcane and cotton are
in grown, the cropping intensity will be low, though crop remain longer period of time in the
field

4. Specific Crop Intensity Index: (SCII) Also proposed by Menegay et.al.1978 SCII is a
derivative of CII and determines the amount of area – time denoted to each crop or group of
crops compared to total time available to the farmers.

NK
∑ ak .tk
K =1
SCII = n
AoT + ∑ A j T J
j=1

Where, NK = total number of crops within a specific designation such as vegetable crops or
field crops grown by the farmer during the time period T. ak = area occupied by the kth crop

tk = duration of kth crop.

 Using this formula vegetable intensity index, rice intensity index, field crops intensity index
etc. can be calculated.

5. Diversity Index (DI): It was suggested by Strout (1975) and Wang and Yu. (1975). It
measures the multiplicity of crops or farm products which are planted in a single year by
computing reciprocal sum of squares of the share of gross revenue received from each
individual farm enterprises in a single year.

1
DI = n 2
yi
∑
i=1
( ) n
∑ yi
i=1

Where,

n = total number of enterprises (crops or farm products) and yi = gross revenue of i

enterprise produced within a year.

6. Harvest diversity Index (HDI):It is computed using the same equation as the DI except that
the value of each farm enterprise is replaced by the value of each harvest.

1
HDI = n 2
yi
∑
i=1
( )
∑ yi
i=1
n

Where,

yi = gross value of ith crop planted and harvested within a year.

7. Simultaneous Cropping Index (SCI): It is computed by multiplying the HDI with 10,000
and dividing the product by MCI. (Strout, 1975).

HDIx 10 , 000
SCI =
MCI

8. Relative Cropping Intensity Index (RCII): It is the modification of CII and determines the
amount of area and time allotted to 1 crop or groups of crop related to area-time actually used
in the production of all crops. RCII numerator equals SCII denominator and RCII
denominator equals CII numerator.
NK
∑ ak . tk
k =1
RCII= NC
∑ ai. ti
i=1

These indices can be used for classifying farmers (i.e. a farmer with relative vegetable
intensity index 50% would be considered a vegetable grower.) measuring shifts of various
crops among farms of different sizes and determining whether the consistent types of
cropping pattern occur within various farm size strata. These indices also held to know how
intensively cultivated land, area has been utilized. But none of these indices takes productivity
into account and cannot be used for comparing different cropping systems and evaluating
their efficiency in utilization of the resources other than the land.
II) Biological Potential or Production Efficiency (PE) or Yield advantage: Indices for
evaluating productivity and efficiency: Criteria for assessing yield advantages in
intercropping systems:

Three distinct requirements have been identified by Willey (1979, 1981) mainly to
assess the yield advantage more precisely and to plan research on intercropping on sound
objects -
The three different situations are

i) Where intercropping must give full yield of main crop and some yield of a second crop.
There is a main or base crop that gives full yield, in addition there is an intercrop which gives
some extra yield without reducing the main crop yield.

ii) Where the combined intercrop yield must exceed the higher sole crop yield. The combined
yield of the component crops will exceed the yield of the sole crops particularly that gives
higher yield in pure stand. Here it is assumed that the farmer can grow the higher yielding
sole crop in case of Inter-cropped stand gives lower yield than the sole crop.
iii) When the combined intercrop yield must exceed a combined sole crop yield. The farmer is
in a situation to grow two crops one crop in a portion of land and the other in the remaining
portion to satisfy dietary or fodder needs to spread labor requirement or to reduce the market
risks. In such a situation, intercropping of two crops can be adopted provided the combined
inter crop yield is more than the combined sole crop yield.
1. Simple Value Indices: Simple Value indices involve allocation of a value of each crop and
subsequent calculation of a total value from the sum of the values for the separate crops. If the
values of two crops are assessed as K1 and K2. Then total value (V) of an intercrop treatment
producing mean yield of Y1 and Y2 is: V=K1 x Y1 + K2 x Y2

2. Financial return: Most frequently used value index is that of financial return. Other value
indices include protein and dry matter. The main criticism made of financial indices is that
prices fluctuate and hence the ratio of K1 and K2 may vary considerably.

3. Crop equivalent: In calculating a crop equivalent, yield of one crop is converted into yield
equivalent of the other crop by using the ratio of prices of the two crops.

Yield of inter crop X Market Value (Prevailing

Yield equivalent (Soybean) = (q/ha) Rs./q)

Market Value of Soybean (Prevailing Rs/q)

1869 X 1500
= = 3505
800
1. Crop Equivalent Yield (CEY): Many types of crops / cultivars are included in a multiple
cropping sequence. It is very difficult to compare the economic produce of one crop to
another. To cite an example, yield of rice cannot be compared with potato yield. Similarly the
yield of grain cereals or pulse crops and purposes cannot be compared with potato yield.
Similarly the yield of crops grown for fodder purposes cannot be compared with the yield of
grain cereals or pulse crops and so on. In such situations, comparisons can be made based on
economic returns (gross or net returns). The yields of protein and carbohydrate equivalents
can also be calculated for valid comparison. Efforts have also been made to convert the yields
of different crops into equivalent yield of any one crop such as wheat equivalent yield (Lal
and Ray, 1976 and Verma and Modgel, 1983). Verma and Modgal (1983) evolved the
equation for calculating wheat equivalent yield (WEY).

Crop Equivalent Yields (CEY): The yields of different intercrops are converted into
equivalent yield of any one crop based on price of the produce.

CEY =  (yi.ei) where yi is the yields of i th

i=I component and ei is equivalent factor

of i th component or price of i th crop.

Example: Let the yield of groundnut and red gram in one hectare of intercropping be 1000
and 600 kg respectively. The total yield of intercropping system can be expressed as
groundnut equivalent yields by knowing the price of each produce. If the price of groundnut
and red gram are Rs. 6 & Rs. 4 per kg, respectively -

1000 x 6
Ey of groundnut = --------------- = 1000 kg
6

600 x 4
Ey of Red gram = --------------- = 400 kg
6

Ey of the System = 1000 + 400 = 1,400 kg of groundnut

The most important index of biological advantage is the relative yield total (RYT)
introduced by De wit or Land Van den Bergh (1965) or Land equivalent ratio (LER)
reviewed by Willey (1979). 1. The mixture yield of a component crop expressed as a portion
of its yield as a sole crop from the same replacement series is the relative yield of the crop and
sum of the relative yields of component crops is called Relative yield total (RYT). 2. The
total land area required under sole cropping to give the same yields obtained in the
intercropping is called Land equivalent ratio (LER). Both the expressions (RYT and
LER) are similar.

2. Land Equivalent Ratio (LER): This is the most frequently used efficiency indicator. LER
can be defined as the relative are of sole crop that would be required to produce the equivalent
yield achieved by intercropping.

n
Yab Yba
LER = ∑ = +
i=1 Yaa Ybb

Where, Yab = yield of crop a in intercropping, Y ba = yield of crop b in intercropping, Y aa =

yield of crop a in pure stand and Ybb = yield of crop b in pure stand.

LER of more than 1 indicates yield advantage, equal to 1 indicates no gain or no loss and less
than 1 indicates yield loss. It can be used both for replacement and additive series of
intercropping.

LER is the summation of ratios of yields of intercrop to the yield of sole crop.
 Example: Let the yields of groundnut and red gram grown, as pure crops are 1,200 and
1,000 kg/ha, respectively. Let to yields of these crops when grown, as intercrop be 1,000 and
600 kg/ha, respectively. The land equivalent ratio of groundnut + red gram intercropping
system is -

Yield of intercrop 1000

LER of groundnut = --------------------------- = ------- = 0.83
Yield of Sole crop 1200

600
LER of red gram = ------ = 0.60
1000

1000 600
LER of system = ------- + ------- = 1.43
1,200 1000

LER of 1.43 indicates that 43 percent yield advantage is obtained when grown as
intercrops compared to growing as sole crops. In other words the sole crop have to be grown
in 1.43 ha to get the same yield level that is obtained from 1.00 ha of intercropping.

2. Relative Yield Total (RYT): The mixture yield of a component crop expressed as a portion
of its yield as a sole crop from the same replacement series is the relative yield of the crop and
sum of the relative yields of component crops is called Relative yield total (RYT). Or When
LER is compared at uniform overall plant density of sole and intercrops then it is known as
RYT. In RYT yield advantage is to measure not only unit area, but also on unit population.
This is mainly used for Replacement series.

n
Yab Yba
LER = ∑ = +
i=1 Yaa Ybb

Where Yaa = Yield of component a as sole crop Ybb = Yield of component b as sole crop

Yab = Yield of component a as intercrop in b Yba = Yield of component b as intercrop in a.

Example: In pasture mixture, Stylo and Anjan grown in 1:1 ratio with 50% sole crop
population of both crops. In I/C, mixture yield (50%) for stylo and anjan is 6 and 4 tons/ha of
green fodder, respectively. The yields of these crops in sole stand with 100% PP is10 and 8
tons/ha of green fodder, respectively.

Yield of stylo and anjan in mixture at 50% PP is 6 and 4 t/ha while corresponding
yield at 100% PP is 12 and 8 t/ha, respectively. Therefore, RYT = 12 + 8 /10 + 8 = 20/18 =
1.11

So RYT 1.11 indicates 11% extra fodder yield obtained by mixture.

If the two crops yields in the intercrop mixture are MA and MB and the yield of crops grown
of sole crop are SA and SB then the combined index is …

MA MB
L = + = LA + LB
MB SB
 The interception embodied in LER is that L represents the land required for sole crops
to produce the yields achieved in the intercropping mixture. A value of L greater than (1)
indicates an overall biological advantage of intercropping. The two components of the total
index LA and LB represent the efficiency of yield production of each crop when grown in
mixture, relative to sole crop performance.

Relative Crowding Coefficient: The other index used in relative crowding coefficient which
can be defined in terms of LER components as

LA LB
x
1 − LA 1 − LB

The two main indices of dominance are the aggressivity and competition index.
Aggressivity gives a simple measure of how much the relative yield increase in species. A is
greater than that of species B. It is an index of dominance.

For Replacement series it can be written as

Mixture yield of A Mixture yield of B

Aggressivity = −
Expected yield of A Expected yield of B

= Sown portion of species A and B are represented of ZA and ZB,

respectively. An aggresitivity value Zero indicates that the component species are equally
competitive. A positive sign indicate the dominant species and a negative sign the
dominated one. The basic process in the competition index is the calculation of two
equivalence factors, one for each component species. It is the product of the two equivalence
factors, one for each component species.

Effective Land Equivalent Ratio (ELER): Mead and Willey (1980) showed that any
required ratio could be achieved by growing the intercrop on part of the land area and one of
the sole crops on the remainder.

ELER is a measure of the net advantage from the combined intercrop determined by
adding the intercrop and sole crop relative yields.
Staple Land Equivalent Ratio: In situations where the primary objective is to produce a
fixed yield of one component (staple crop) usually a cereal and some yield of the legume.
Reddy and Chetty (1984) proposed the concept of SLER as an extension of the LER. It is
based on the assumption of a basic requirement for minimum supply of a major staple crop
such as the cereal.

Land Equivalent Coefficient (LEC): It was proposed by Adetilaye and Ezedinma (1983). It
is the product of LER of intercrop components.

It can therefore, be regarded as a measure of association or interaction when

concerned with the strength of relationship for a two crop mixture the minimum expected
product before a yield advantage is obtained and LEC greater than 0.25 (25%). This was
obtained from theoretical 50: 50 yield where interspecific competition equaled intraspecific
competition.

LEC = La x LB = 0.5 x 0.5 = 0.25

The theoretical maximum value for LEC is unity when mixtures become ideally
complementary.

LEC = La x LB = 1 x 1 = 1

The LEC is developed to assess the interaction and productive potential of crop
mixtures. It is derived from the understanding that the reduction in intercrop yield, as
compared with optimum sole crop yield is due to interspecific competition assuming that the
interplant competition is absent.

Area Harvest Equivalency Ratio (AHER): This was proposed by Balasubramanian and
Sekayange (1990). It indicates resource use efficiency. The concept of AHER combines the
area and time factors in a practical sense for quantifying intercrop yield advantage particularly
in multisession.

Crop Performance Ratio (CPR): It is defined as the productivity of an intercrop per unit
area of ground compared with the expected from sole crops sown in the same proportions
(Azam Ali et al 1990). For each species, the productivity in the intercrop can be expressed as
a partial CPR.
III) Economic viability: The indices like CEY, LER, RYT etc. give the biological suitability
of cropping system to an area. At the same time, cropping system should be economically
viable and profitable following economic indices can be used to evaluate the profitability of
cropping system.
1. Gross returns: The total monetary returns of the economic produce such as grain, tuber,
bulb, fruit etc. and by products viz. straw, fodder, fuel etc. obtained from the crops included in
the system are calculated based on the local market prices. The total return is expressed in
terms of unit area, usually one hectare. The main draw back in this calculation is that the
market price of the produce is higher than that actually obtained by the farmer. Generally
gross returns calculated is somewhat inflated compared to the actual receipt obtained by the
farmer.

2. Net returns or net profit: This is worked out by subtracting the total cost of cultivation
from the gross returns. This value gives the actual profit obtained by the farmer. In this type of
calculation only the variable costs are considered. Fixed costs such as rent for the land, land
revenue, interests on capital etc. are not included. For a realistic estimate, however, fixed
costs should also be included.

1. Returns per rupee invested: This is also called benefit-cost ratio or input-output ratio.
Gross Returns
Return per rupee invested =
Cost of Cultivation

This index provides an estimate of the benefit derived and expenditure incurred by the farmer
in adopting a particular cropping system. Anything above the value of 2.0 (meaning that the
farmer can get Rs.2 as returns for every rupee invested) can be considered worthwhile.

4. Per day return: This is also called as income per day and can be obtained by dividing the
net returns by number of cropping period (days).
Net Returns
Per day return =
Cropping period (days)

This gives the efficiency of the cropping system in terms of monetary value. If the system is
stretched over one year, the denominator can be replaced by 365 days and per day return for
the whole year can be calculated.
No single index is capable of giving good comparison of different cropping systems
and so a number of indices are used together to assess the economic viability of the system.

Lec. No. 10-11. Sustainable Agriculture: Definition, Principles, Goals, Problems and its
importance in Agriculture, Sustainability Index and Conservation Agriculture
 Developments in agriculture, livestock husbandry and fisheries since past five decades
have attempted to keep space with burgeoning population base in India. Especially the
agricultural progress witnessed in the world over in the past four decades has been impressive.
The food and fiber productivity improved due to adoption of innovative high yielding
technologies viz. adoption of high yielding varieties of crops, irrigation, increased fertilizers
and use of plant protection chemicals, mechanization of farm operations and other
technologies intensive practices coupled with public policies favouring maximizing
production.

Even the committed critics of Green Revolution should agree to the fact that the Green
Revolution witnessed in India enabled the country to overcome serious shortage of food and a
precarious ship to mouth existence technologies were input intensive which were mostly off
farm and synthetic in nature, which led to the deterioration of soil health, ground and surface
water quality and narrowing of natural resource base. The Green Revolution was uneven in
extending its perceived benefits and excluded a large chunk of farm community struggling to
survive on poor resource base. Continuous mining of natural resources over decades, no
doubt resulted in increase in production but at same time lead to degradation of natural
resources. As a result the productivity levels achieved have not been wholly sustainable
ecologically, environmentally and economically and non remunerative as well. Reduction of
resource base on one hand and increase in cost of production/ cultivation on the other
necessitated the importance of protecting and harnessing natural resources..

However, modern crop production technology has considerably raised output but has
created problems of land degradation, pesticide residues in farm produce, gene erosion,
atmospheric and water pollution. This is because modern agriculture largely depends on the
use of fossil fuel-based inputs, such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and labour
saving but energy intensive farm machinery.

Therefore, the deleterious effect of new agricultural technology is not only detrimental
to presentable generation but would have formidable adverse impact on future generation
also. This threat has led to the need for promoting sustainable agriculture. This concept of
sustainability of agriculture is increasingly gaining importance throughout the world. But it is
of special significance to India, as the country will have to produce additional 5 million
tonnes of food grains per year to meet the needs of growing population while availability of
farmland and irrigation facilities will continue to shrink.

Sustainable agriculture does not mean reverting back to traditional agriculture, as it is

commonly misunderstood. Indeed it only recommends combining some old cultivation
practices like crop rotation and green manuring with new ones which have natural
ingredients too viz. Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Integrated Plant Nutrient
Management (IPNM) and crop rotations involving leguminous crops. This approach by duly
taking care of environmental and social aspects will produce long run profits as against short
run profits and thus sustaining productions.

The word sustainability is now widely used in development circles. But what does really
it mean? According to a dictionary meaning sustainability refers to keeping an effort going
continuously, the ability to last out and keep from falling.
In the context of agriculture, sustainability basically refers to the capacity to remain
productive while maintaining the resource base.

The word sustain from the Latin sustinere (sus, from below and tenere to hold), to
keep in existence or maintain, implies long-term support or permanence. As it pertains to
agriculture, sustainable describes farming systems that are capable of maintain their
productivity and usefulness to society indefinitely. Such system must be resource-
conserving, socially supportive, commercially competitive and environmentally sound.
 Sustainable agriculture can be defined as that form of agriculture aimed at meeting
the food and fuel of present generation without endangering the resource base for future
generation. For example, the Technical Advisory Committee of the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (TAC/CGIAR) States: Sustainable agriculture is the
successful management of resources for agriculture to satisfy human changing needs while
maintaining or enhancing the quality of the environment and conserving natural resources.
Earlier, the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 defined
Sustainable development as development that meets needs of present generation without
compromising ability of future generation to meet their own needs.
Sustainable agriculture is an efficient management system of renewable
resources including soil, crop, forest, fish, livestock, biodiversity and ecosystem without
degradation, to provide food and other needs of present generation.
Sustainable agriculture is the successful management of resources for agriculture to
satisfy the changing human needs while maintaining or enhancing the quality of environment
and conserving natural resources.
Sustainable development as defined by the FAO is the management and conservation
of natural resources base and the orientation of technological and intuitional change in such a
manner so as to ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present
and future generations. Such Sustainable development in agriculture, forestry and
fisheries sectors conserves land, water, plant and animal genetic resources, is
environmentally non-degrading, technically appropriate, economically viable and
socially acceptable.
Thus, Sustainable agriculture encompasses (means consists of):
1. Meeting changing needs (food, feed, fuel etc.) of today and tomorrow,
2. Economic viability at enhanced productivity level,
3. Successful management of resources, internal or external, renewable or non-renewable,
4. Maintenance, preferably enhancement of quality of environment,
5. Conservation and improvement of natural resources,
6. Discourage regional imbalances, and
7. Encourage gender equity.
No system of farming will be sustainable unless the soil resource is managed
scientifically to meet the present and future needs and its productivity and there is no
evidence of any negative trend in a measured output with the same inputs in a given time. So
the best means of improving the sustainability of agricultural farming systems is to check the
negative factors improving soil productivity, input use efficiency and sustainability of the
system.

Sustainable agriculture is a complex issue associated with food while maintaining our
biophysical resources including soil, water, and biota with no adverse impacts on the wider
environment .It should: 1. Maintain or improve the production of clean food. 2. Maintain or
improve the quality of landscapes, which, includes soil, water, biota and aesthetics. 3. Have a
minimum impact on the wide environment. 4 Be economically viable. 5. Be acceptable to
society.

Goals and components of Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is

Productive & Conserves Resources and Enhances Health

Profitable Protect the environment and safety

LOW INPUT METHODS AND SKILLED MANAGEMENT

Reduced use of synthetic chemical inputs Crop rotations
Biological pest control Use of organic wastes
Soil & water conservation practices Crop- livestock diversification
Use of animal and green manures Mechanical cultivation
Biotechnology Naturally occurring process

Sustainable agriculture is a farm system that mimics as closely as possible the

complexity of a healthy and natural ecosystem. It integrates three main goals:
1. Environmental health.
2. Economic efficiency.
3. Social-economic equity (community).
1. Environmental health
Ecological sustainability is associated with genetic resource base and biodiversity.
Increase in diversity at genetics, species and ecosystem level forms the backbone of a
sustainable ecology. Several possible solutions to the environmental problems sure
adequate s created by capital and technology-intensive farming system have been
proposed and research is currently in progress to evaluate alternate system. Main focus
lies on the reduction or elimination of agro-chemical inputs through changes in
management to assure adequate plant nutrition, plant protection through nutrient sources
and integrated pest management and efficient use of energy and water.

2. Economic efficiency
In an economic contest, the farm must generate revenue, not always in terms of cash, but
in terms of kind also. Farmers make decisions in risky, continuously changing environment
and the consequences of their decisions are, generally, not known when the decisions are
made. Variability of yields and prices are major sources of risk in agriculture. Changes in
technology, legal and social concerns and the human factors itself also contribute to risky
environment for farmers. Excessive dependency on external inputs maximizes the risk of
profit reduction. In order to stabilize the farm economics, the farm should be made self
sufficient, there should be parity in income distribution and finally the resilience of
agricultural system should be increased.

3. Community
An ideal farming system will surely meet nutritional and livelihood security of the
farmers and sustainability decreases the market dependency. It should have equitable access to
common property resources. A farm can be said to be socially just only when it satisfies all
the following options:
Whether the farm is getting fare share of price.
Whether it is sufficient to maintain a family well-being.
Whether he get enough remuneration to purchase his food.
Whether the minimum wage requirement is attained.

Problems and importance (impact) in Agriculture

Agriculture has changed dramatically, especially since the end of World War II. Food
and fiber productivity soared due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical
use, specialization and government policies that favoured maximizing production. Although,
these changes have had many positive effects and reduced many risks in farming, there have
also been significant costs. Prominent among these are topsoil depletion, groundwater
contamination, decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working
conditions for farm labourers, increasing costs of production and the disintegration of
economic and social conditions in rural communities. Problems of agriculture can be listed as
below:
1. Decline in agricultural growth rate.
2. Decline in factor productivity.
3. Static or decline in food production.
 4. Increase malnutrition.
5. Shrinkage in net cultivated area.
6. Increasing environmental pollution.
7. Depleting groundwater table.
8. Increasing cost of production.
9. Low farm income.
10. Increasing unemployment.

As a result, agricultural productivity has been witnessing stagnation in recent years.

Besides, issues such as competing demand for water in the context of changing demographics
and its various end uses further aggravates the degree of risks in the agriculture sector. These
have considerable implications for food and livelihood security and as agriculture production
being risk prone, may lead to migration from rural to urban and sub-urban areas.
Indian agriculture now faces the challenge of ensuring food security amidst constraints
such as stagnating net sown area, deterioration of land quality, reduction in per capita and
availability etc. The challenges are:
Need for more food: Around 310 M t of food grains in 2050.
Stagnating net sown area: 140 2 M ha since 1970.
Land share under fallow: 38 per cent increase since 1951.
Per capita land availability: From 0.91ha in 1951 to 0.32 ha in 2001 and to 0.19 ha is
projected by 2050.
Per capita net sown area: 0.33ha in 1951 to 0.14 ha in 2001.

Fostering rapid, sustainable and broad-based growth in agriculture is therefore, a key

priority keeping in mind the overall socio-economic development trajectory of the country,
especially in the light of existing vulnerabilities that relate to shrinking land resource base,
additional stresses arising from the non-agricultural sector and issues emerging due to
changing climate. This necessitates a strategic approach with a renewed vision and redefined
focus.
A growing movement has emerged during the past three decades to question the role
of the agricultural establishment in promoting practices that contribute to these social
problems. Today, this movement for sustainable agriculture is garnering increasing support
and acceptance within mainstream agriculture. Not only does sustainable agriculture address
many environmental and social concerns, but it offers innovative and economically viable
opportunities for growers, labourers, consumers, policymakers and many others in the entire
food system.

Principles of sustainable agriculture: -

1) No fight with nature, but co-operation with them. Not overburden natural resource base &
its carrying capacity.
2) Living soil – maintain the soil healthy.
3) Lessen the use of outside and distant resources.
4) Non-renewable resources must preserve and use resources efficiently i.e. sunlight air etc.
which are unlimited in nature.
5) Diversity and adjustment:- The diversity of all plants and animals should be preserved and
increased.
6) Durable livelihood:- durable limitation about how much resource can be utilized by man in
an area.
7) Self-dependence:- The new knowledge and technology should be increases self-confidence,
which help for effacing planning of resources.

Major components of sustainable systems (Role of IFS in sustainable agriculture): They

are as follows:
i. Soil and water conservation to prevent degradation of soil productivity and lengthening
crop-growing season for optimum crop production.
 ii. Efficient use of limited irrigation water without leading to the problems of soil,
salinity, alkalinity, and high ground water table.
iii. Crop rotations to mitigate weeds, disease and insect problem, to increase soil
productivity and minimize soil erosion.
iv. Integrated nutrient management that reduces the need for chemical fertilizers
improves the soil health and minimizes environmental pollution by conjunctive use of
organics, inorganic and bio fertilizers.
v. Integrated pest management that reduces the need for agro-chemicals by crop rotation,
weather monitoring, use of resistant cultivars, planting time and biological pest control.
vi. Management systems to control weeds by preventive measures, tillage, timely
intercultivation and crop rotation to improve plant health.
All such ecologically sound practices require more information, trained labour and
management skills per unit production than current input intensive agriculture.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: CURRENT STATUS: There is an urgent need to

develop farming techniques, which are sustainable in the form of environmental production,
and socioeconomic points of view. The means to sustain farm productivity continually for all
times to come is critical because modern agricultural production practices practiced globally
does not appear to be sustainable in long term. Maintaining the agriculture ecological balance
concomitantly with increased farm production targets with an eye on input-output ratios being
positive holds the key to the practice of sustainable agriculture.
EVALUATION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE:
It was about four decades ago environmental activism become vocal worldwide. The fact that
the agriculture and allied activities can also be the cause of environmental degradation
becomes evident with publication of a book The silent spring by Rachael Carson. Soil
degradation due to erosion, salinazation, pesticide pollution, degradation of water bodies,
global warming due to methane emission in to atmosphere are now on focus due to improper
agriculture activities.
In 1980s, Wes Jackson of The Land Institute in Salina, K. S., began using the term the
sustainable agriculture to describe an alternative system of agriculture based upon resource
conservation and quality of rural life. Even before in the year 1980 a committee constituted by
the United Nations published policy document on sustainable development.
Varro, a Roman land owner was the earliest to refer sustainable crop production.
Sustainable agriculture emphasizes the conservation of its own (on farm) resources.
For a farm to be sustainable, it must produce adequate amounts of high quality foods, be
environmentally safe, and where appropriate, be profitable. Farmers committed to sustainable
agriculture concepts try to minimize purchased inputs and instead use on-farm resources
which are renewable. This system of farming is appropriate for adoption in developing
countries where production cost are escalating due to non-availability or high cost of inputs
such as fertilizers, plant protection chemicals, seeds and other inputs.
Sustainable agriculture is a balanced management system of renewable resources
including soil, wildlife, forests, crops, fish, livestock, plant genetic resources and ecosystems
without degradation and to provide food, livelihood for current and future generations
maintaining or improving productivity and ecosystem services of these resources.
Sustainable agriculture system has to be economically viable both in the short and
long term perspectives. Natural resources not only provide food, fiber, fuel and fodder but
also perform ecosystem services such as detoxification of noxious chemicals within soils,
purification of waters, favorable weather and regulation of hydrological process erosion. It
has to replenish nutrients and control weeds, pests and diseases through biological and
cultural methods.

Sustainable agriculture is also a known as eco-farming or organic farming or

natural farming or permaculture. It is known as eco-farming as ecological balance is given
important. It is also called organic farming, as organic matter is the main source for nutrient
management. But some scientists consider that it is a misconception to think that sustainable
agriculture is farming without chemical inputs. It is considered by some as integrated, low
input and highly productive farming system.

CONCEPTS OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE:

Sustainable agriculture is a concept of farming directed towards maintaining or
improving the natural resource base while harnessing the same for the production of food,
fiber and feed as well as other agro based commodities including livestock, fisheries and
aquaculture products. The practices associated with sustainable agriculture involves
production of clean foods and other products while sustaining soil health and productivity,
water quality, biodiversity and above all economically viable and socially acceptable.
There are different concepts of sustainable agriculture, but none is generally accepted.
It embraces several forms of non-conventional agriculture that are often called organic,
alternative, ecological or low input. However, from economic ecological perspectives, two
basic criteria must be met if agriculture has to be sustainable in long term.
These are: Sustainable farming uses some form of integrated pest management for pest
control, and this can include the use of chemical pesticides that are not used by organic
farmers. Thus, sustainable agriculture does not mean a return to the farming methods of the
late 1800’s. Rather it combines traditional techniques that stress conservation with modern
technologies, such as improved seed, modern equipment for low-tillage practices, integrated
pest management that relies heavily on principles of natural or biological weed control that
depends on crop rotations and manual weeding.

Differences between Modern and Sustainable agriculture: Sustainable agriculture

substantially differs from modern day chemical based agriculture. The main differences
between the two are that in modern agriculture, synthetic fertilizers containing N P K are used
to enrich the soil and chemical pesticides are used to control pests whereas, in sustainable
agriculture farm made farmyard manure, compost, vermi-compost, green manure and bio-
fertilizers are used. Sustainable agriculture also involves agro-forestry and multilevel
cultivation and integrated animal husbandry. Crop production and animal husbandry have to
be employed as an integral system for sustainable agriculture to succeed.

Difference between sustainable and modern agriculture

Particulars Sustainable agriculture Modern agriculture
Item Sustainable agriculture Modern agriculture
Plant Nutrients Farmyard manure, compost, vermi Chemical fertilizers are used.
compost, green manures, bio
fertilizer and crop rotations are
used.
Pest control Cultural methods, crop rotation Toxic chemicals are used.
and biological methods are used.
Inputs High diversity, renewable and High productivity and low divers
biodegradable inputs are used chemicals are used.

Ecology Stable ecology Fragile ecology

Use of The rate of extraction from forests, The rate of extraction exceeds the of
resources fisheries, underground water Regeneration. Falling of trees,
source other renewable resource deforestation, overgrazing and pollution
do not exceed the rate of of water-bodies takes.
regeneration
Quality of food Food materials are safe Food materials contain toxic residue.
materials
Advantages and disadvantages of sustainable agriculture:
The main advantage of sustainable agriculture is ecological balance, low cost of
cultivation, clean environment and nutritious food without residues that harm human
health.
 Some of the dis-advantages are low yields, lack of timely and effective control of
weeds, insect and diseases. The conservation process from modern agriculture to
sustainable agriculture usually takes three to six years.
There is insufficient and reliable research data to recommend sustainable agriculture. Much is
now subjective, programmatic and even hypothetical. There is no well-founded body of
knowledge. Doubts are expressed to some scientists whether it is possible to produce food and
other requirements for the burgeoning population without use of the chemical fertilizers and
chemical pesticides.
Following are the scientifically proven components that go into sustainable farming
systems (Lal and Miller, 1990).

Objective Components/Systems
Controlling Conservation tillage, strip cropping, cover crops, intercropping, agro-
erosion forestry, mulch farming, terracing, tied ridging, shelterbelts and windbreaks.
Conserving Mulch farming, eco-fallow, weed control, tied ridges and supplemental
water irrigation.
Alleviating Growing deep-rooted legumes, deep ploughing, application of organic
compaction manures, guided traffic.
Enhancing Legumes in cropping systems cover crops organic amendments and chemical
soil fertility fertilizers.
Improving Crop diversification, mulch farming, maintaining soil tilth, reduced tillage,
soil fauna organic amendments, planted fallows.
Plant Crop rotations, crop diversification, residue management, need based
protection pesticides use.

Sustainable farming systems for different ecological regions:

Soils Sustainable systems
Structurally A) 1. Grain – cover crop rotation using improved cultivars.2. No tillage or
active soils minimum tillage 3. Residue mulch 4. Chemical amendments 5. Planted
fallow.
B) A with agro forestry using woody perennial or shrubs.
C) B in association with cattle at low stocking rate.
D) Strip cropping with alternate strips of shrubs/cover crop with grain
crops.
Structurally A) 1. Intercropping. 2. Tied ridges, fallowing, ploughing at the end of rains.
inert soils 3. Compost or F.Y.M. 4. Planted fallow. 5. Supplemental irrigation.
B) A with contour hedge rows of woody perennial at one to two meters
vertical interval.
C) B integrated with livestock based on light grazing.

A sound land use policy is necessary to tackle the problem of deteriorating resources,
especially soil and water, land use according to land capability and minimizing human and
livestock pressure on land in accordance with carrying capacity should form central theme of
land use policy. Agriculture on steep slopes be stopped. Alternate land use systems in place
of arable cropping, should be popularized among small and marginal farmers. A strong
political will and commitment is needed to combat forces leading to land degradation.
By and large, many medium and marginal farmers are used to farming systems since
they started cultivating crops. Majority of farmers in rural areas are maintaining draft and
milch animals, chicks, sheep, goats etc. in addition to crop production. More than 75 % of
farming community is used the farming system approach. The usual farming systems are
agriculture with milch animals or chicks or both.

The Sustainable Yield Index (SYI) is defined as – Y-O

SYI = ------------
Y max
 Where, Y- is the estimated average yield of a practice over years, O - its estimated
standard deviation and Y max - is the observed maximum yield in the experiment.
In calculating SYI, the negative values of (Y- O) should be taken as zero since yield is
always a positive quantity. With this premise, the index takes values between zero and unity.

Sustainable Value Index: In case of the cropping systems, since more than one crop
is involved, the economic assessment of these systems becomes important. In these situations,
obtaining maximum sustained level of income is more desirable. To assess these situations on
the basis of sustainable income, the index called sustainable value index (SVI) is used. The
sustainable value index can be computed in the same way as sustainable yield index.

CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE:

Tillage: facilitates sowing a crop by loosening aeration the soil and mixing residue
from the previous harvest, soil organic matter and other nutrients such as manure and
chemical fertilizers evenly throughout the upper layers of the soil within the root zone of the
coming crop. Tillage destroys weeds, dries the soil before seeding and creates a smooth,
uniform soil surface that facilitates planting.

Conservation agriculture (CA) is a concept for resource-saving agricultural crop production

that strives to achieve acceptable profits together with high and sustained production levels
while concurrently conserving the environment. The CA is based on enhancing natural
biological processes above and below the ground. Interventions such as mechanical soil
tillage are reduced to an absolute minimum. The CA is characterized by three principles
which are liked to each other, namely:

1. Continuous minimum mechanical soil disturbance.

2. Permanent organic soil cover.
3. Diversified crop rotations in the case of annual crops or plant associations in case of
perennial crops.

Conventional “arable” agriculture is, normally, based on soil tillage as the main
operation. Most widely known tool for this operation is the plough, which has become a
symbol of agriculture. Soil tillage has in the past been associated with increased fertility,
which originated from the mineralization of soil nutrients as a consequence of soil tillage.
This process leads in the long-term to a reduction of soil organic matter. Therefore, most soil
degrades under prolonged intensive arable agriculture. This structural degradation of the
soil results in the formation of crusts and compaction and leads in the end to soil erosion. The
process is dramatic under tropical climatic satiations but can be noticed all over the world.
Mechanization of soil tillage, allowing higher working depths and speeds and the use of
certain implements like ploughs, disk harrows and rotary cultivators have particularly
detrimental effects on soil structure.

Soil erosion resulting from soil tillage has forced us to look for alternatives and to
reverse the process of soil degradation. The logical approach to this has been to reduce
tillage. This led finally to movements promoting conservation tillage and especially zero-
tillage.

Experience has shown that these techniques, summarized as conservation agriculture

(CA) methods, are much more than just reducing the mechanical tillage. In a soil that is not
tilled for many years, the crop residues remain on the soil surface and produce a layer of
mulch. This layer protects the soil from the physical impact of rain and wind but it also
stabilizes the soil moisture and temperature in the surface layers. Thus, this zone becomes a
habitat for a number of organisms, from larger insects down to soil borne fungi and bacteria.
These organisms macerate the mulch, incorporate and mix it with the soil and decompose it so
that is becomes humus and contributes to the physical stabilization of the soil structure. At the
same time, this soil organic matter provides a buffer function for water and nutrients. Larger
components of the soil fauna, such as earthworms, provide a soil structuring effect producing
very stable soil aggregates as well as uninterrupted macrospores leading from the soil surface
straight to the subsoil and allowing fast water infiltration in case of heavy rainfall events.
Keeping the soil covered and planting through the mulch will protect the soil and improve the
growing environment for the crop. This process carried out by the edaphon, the living
component of a soil, can be called biological tillage.

Certain operations such as moldboard or disc ploughing have a stronger impact on soil
life than others as for example chisel ploughs. Most tillage is, however, targeted at lessening
the soil which inevitably increases its oxygen content leading in turn to the mineralization of
the soil organic matter. This inevitably leads to a reduction of soil organic matter which is the
substrate for soil life.

Thus, agriculture with reduced or zero mechanical tillage is only possible when soil
organisms are taking over the task of tilling the soil. This, however, leads to other
implications regarding the use of agro-chemicals. Synthetic pesticides and mineral fertilizer
have to be used in a way that does not harm soil life. As the main objective of agriculture is
the production of crops, changes in the pest and weed management become necessary
with CA. Burning plant residues and ploughing the soil is mainly considered necessary for
phytosanitary reasons: to control pests, diseases and weeds. In a system with reduced
mechanical tillage based on mulch cover and biological tillage, alternatives have to be
developed to control pests and weeds. Integrated pest management (IPM) becomes
mandatory. One important element to achieve this is crop rotation, interrupting the infection
chain between subsequent crops and making full use of the physical and chemical interactions
between different plant species. Synthetic chemical pesticides, particularly herbicides are, in
the first years, inevitable but have to be used with great care to reduce the negative impacts on
soil life. To the extent that a new balance between the organisms of the farm-ecosystem, pests
and beneficial organisms, crops and weeds, becomes established and the farmer learns to
manage the cropping system the use of synthetic pesticides and mineral fertilizer tends to
decline to level below that of the original “Conventional” farming system.

Burning crop and weed residues destroy an important source of plant nutrients and soil
improvement potential. The phytosanitary motives for burning and ploughing can better be
achieved by integrated pest management practices and crop rotations.

PRINCIPLES OF CONSERVATION AGRICULUTRE:

The main principles of conservation agriculture are: Conservation agriculture system

utilizes soils for the production of crops with the aim of reducing excessive mixing of the soil
and maintaining crop residues on the soil surface in order to minimize damage to the
environment. By doing this CA will:

1. Provide and maintain an optimum environment of the root zone to maximum possible
depth. Roots are able to function effectively and without restrictions to capture high
amounts of plant nutrients and water.
2. Ensure that water enters the soil so that:
 Plants never or for the shortest time possible, suffer water stress that will limit
the expression of their potential growth.
 Residual water passes down to groundwater and stream flow, not over the
surface as runoff.

Conventional agriculture Conservation agriculture

Cultivating land, using science and Least interference with natural processes
technology to dominate nature
Excessive mechanical tillage and soil erosion No-till or drastically reduced tillage
(biological tillage)
High wind and soil erosion Low wind and soil erosion
Residue burning or removal (bare surface) Surface retention of residues (permanently
covered)
Water infiltration is low Infiltration rate of water is high
Use of ex-situ FYM/composts Use of in-situ organics/composts
Green manuring (incorporated) Brown manuring /cover crops (surface
retention)
Kills established weeds, but stimulates more Weeds are a problem in the early stages of
weed seeds to germinate adoption but decrease with time
Free-wheeling of farm machinery, increased Controlled traffic, compaction in tramline, no
soil compaction compaction in crop area
Mono-cropping/culture, less efficient Diversified and more efficient rotations
rotations
Heavy reliance on manual labor, uncertainty Mechanized operations, ensure timeliness of
of operations operations.
Poor adaptation to stresses, yield losses More resilience to stresses, yield losses is
greater under stress conditions less under stress conditions.
Productivity gains in long-run are in Productivity gains in long-run are in
declining order incremental order

3. Favour beneficial biological activity in the soil in order to:

 Maintain and rebuild soil architecture.
 Compete with potential in soil pathogens.
 Contribute to soil organic matter and various grades of humus.
 Contribute to capture, retention, chelating and slow release of plant nutrients.
4. Avoid physical or chemical damage to roots that disrupts their effective functioning.
The three principles of conservation agriculture include:
1. Direct planting of crop seeds.
2. Permanent soil cover, especially by crop residues and cover crops.
3. Crop rotation.

1. Direct seeding or planting: Direct seeding involves growing crops without mechanical
seedbed preparation and with minimal soil disturbance since the harvest of the previous crop.
The term direct seeding is understood in CA system as synonymous with no-till farming, zero-
tillage, no-tillage direct drilling etc.

2. Permanent Soil Cover: A Permanent soil cover is important to:

 Protect the soil against the deleterious effects of exposure to rain and sun.
 Provide the micro-organisms in the soil with a constant supply of “food’
 Alter the microclimate in the soil for optimal growth and development of soil
organisms, including plant roots.

Cover crops: need to be managed before planting the main crop. This can be done
manually or with animal or tractor power. The impotent point is that the soil is always kept
covered (FAO 2006)

The Effects of soil cover include:

1. Improved infiltration and retention of soil moisture resulting in less severes, less
prolonged crop-water stress and increased availability of plant nutrients.
2. Source of food and habitat for diverse soil life: creation of channels for air and water,
biological tillage and substrate for biological activity through the recycling of organic
matter and plant nutrients.
3. Increased humus formation.
4. Reduction of impact of raindrops on soil surface resulting in reduced crusting and
surface sealing.
5. Consequential reduction of runoff and erosion.

Means and Practices include:

1. Use of appropriate/improved seeds for high yields as well as high residue production
and good root development.
 2. Integrated management and reduced completion with livestock or other uses (through
increased forage and fodder crops in the rotation).
3. Use of various cover crops, especially multipurpose crops, like nitrogen fixing, soil-
porosity-restoring, pest repellent etc.
4. Optimization of crop rotations in spatial, timing and economic terms.
5. Targeted use of herbicides for controlling cover crop and weed development.

Crop Rotations: Rotation of crops is not only necessary to offer a diverse ‘diet’ to the soil
micro-organisms, but as they root at different soil depths, they are capable of exploring
different soil layers for nutrients. Nutrients that have been leached to deeper layers and that
are no longer available for the commercial crop can be “recycled” by the crops in rotation.
This way the rotation crops function as biological pumps.

Effects of crop rotation include:

1. Higher diversity in plant production and thus in human and livestock nutrition.
2. Reduction and recued risk of pest and weed infestations.
3. Greater distribution of channels or bio-pores created by diverse roots (various
forms, sizes and depths).
4. Better distribution of water and nutrients through the soil profile.
5. Exploration for nutrients and water of diverse strata of the soil profile by roots of
many different plant species resulting in a greater use of the available nutrients and
water.
6. Increased nitrogen fixation through certain plant-soil biota symbiont and improved
balance of N/P/K from both organic and mineral sources.

Means and practices include:

1. Design and implementation of crop rotations according to the various objectives:

food and fodder production (grain, leaf, stalks), residue production, pest and weed
control, nutrient uptake and biological subsurface mixing/cultivation etc.
2. Use of appropriate/improved seeds for high yields as well as high residue
production of above-ground and below-ground parts, given the soil and climate
conditions.

ADVANTAGES OF CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE:

To be widely adopted, all new technology needs to have benefits and advantages that
attract a broad group of farmers who understand the differences between wheat they are doing
and what they need. In the case of conservation agriculture, advantages can be grouped as:

 Economic benefits that improve production efficiency.

 Agronomic benefits that improve soil productivity.
 Environmental and social benefits that protect the soil and make agriculture more
sustainable.

Economic Benefits:
Three major economic benefits can result from CA adoption:
 Time saving and thus reduction in labour requirement.
 Reduction of costs (fuel, machinery operating costs and maintenance, as well as a
reduced labour cost.)
 Higher efficiency in the sense of more output for a lower input.

Agronomic Benefits:

Adopting consecration agriculture leads to improvement of soil productivity:

 Organic matter increase.
 In-soil water conservation
 Improvement of soil structure and thus rooting zone.
Environmental Benefits:
  Reduction in soil erosion and thus of road, dam and hydroelectric power plant
maintenance costs.
 Improvement of water quality
 Improvement of air quality
 Bio-diversity increase
Carbon sequestration

LIMITATIONS OF CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE:

Most important limitation in all areas where conservation agriculture is practiced is the
initial lack of knowledge. There is no blueprint available for conservation agriculture, as all
agro-ecosystem are different.

CONSTRAINTS FOR ADOPTING CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE:

A mental change of farmers, technicians, extensionists and researchers away from soil
degrading tillage operations towards sustainable production system like no tillage is necessary
to obtain changes in attitudes of farmers however, noted that probably the most important
factor in the adoption of CA is overcoming the bias or mindset about tillage.

1. Lack of appropriate seeders especially for small and medium scale farmers
2. Wide spread use of crop residues for livestock feed and fuel
3. Burning of crop residues
4. Lack of knowledge about the potential of CA to agriculture leaders, extension agents
and farmers
5. Skilled and scientific manpower

CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE VS CONSERVATION TILLAGE

Conservation agriculture is largely the product of the collective efforts of a number of

previous agricultural movements, including no-till agriculture, agro-forestry, green
manures/cover crops, direct planting/seeding and conservation tillage among many others. Yet
CA is distinct from each of these so-called agricultural packages, even as it draws upon many
of their core principles. This is because CA uses many of the available technologies in unison,
resulting in something many believe to be much greater than the sum of its parts. The
following terms are often confused with conservation agriculture:

No-till (NT)/ Zero-till (ZT):

The NT and ZT are technical components used in conservation agriculture that simply
involve the absence of tillage/ploughing operations on the soil. Crops are planted directly into
a seedbed not tilled after harvesting the previous crop. Not everyone utilizing no-till
technologies adopts other important components of CA. One major difference is that NT or
ZT do not necessarily leave residue mulch. Some recent research data suggests this is vital,
since without the residue mulch many of the benefits of CA are lost or decreased in value.

Conservation Tillage/Minimum Tillage/ Reduced Tillage:

These are tillage operations that leave at least 30 per cent of the soil surface covered
by plant residues in order to increase water infiltration and cut down on soil erosion and
runoff. Conservation tillage is an intermediate form of CA sine it keeps some soil cover as
residue from the previous crop. But some tillage is usually done. It developed as a
management system after the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s in the Mid-West areas of the USA. It
was found to reduce erosion by protecting the soil surface from wind and rain.

Direct Planting, Direct Drilling: These are terms used for ZT in other countries like
Australia and South America. They use special equipment (NT drill) to plant seeds directly
into crop residues left on the soil surface without preparing a seedbed beforehand.
Direct Seeding: This term is usually associated with growing a rice crop like any other
cereal crop without producing seedlings that are then transplanted into the main field.
However, it can also be called NT or ZT if the seed are drilled without tillage.

Organic Farming:

Organic agriculture does not permit the use of synthetic chemicals to produce plant
and animal products, relying instead on the management of soil organic matter and biological
processes. In some parts of the world, farms must be inspected and certified before their food
products can be sold as organic, indicating that no synthetic chemicals were used in producing
them. But organic farming uses the principles of CA to some extent and one objective similar
to CA is to maintain and improve soil health. Unlike organic farming, CA does allow farmers
to apply synthetic chemical fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides and herbicides. Many farmers
rely on using these to control weed and pest problems, particularly during the early transition
years. As soil physical, chemical and biological health improves over time; the use of
agrichemicals can be significantly reduced or, in some cases, phased out entirely.

Lecture No.12: Impact of LEIA (Low External Input Agriculture) and HEIA
(High External Input Agriculture) on crop productivity.

The ultimate goal of sustainable agriculture is to develop farming systems that are
production and profitable, conserve the natural resource base, protect the environment and
enhance health and safety, and to do so over the long term. Two farming systems have been
proposed for ensuring sustainability. They are: Low external input supply agriculture
(LISA) and organic farming.
Low External Input Supply Agriculture (LEISA): The term LEISA is a component of
sustainable agriculture. It can be defined as a production activity that uses synthetic fertilizers
or pesticides below rates commonly recommended. It does not mean elimination of these
resources.
LEISA a form of agriculture which makes optimal use of locally available resources
and minimizes the use of external off farm inputs. The package would be ecologically sound,
culturally acceptable, economically viable and socially just.
In LEISA concept, optimum use of locally available resources by complementary and
synergetic effects of different components of farming system. It is more labour intensive and
often based on local knowledge and production systems. Yield is maintained by emphasis on
cultural practices, INM, IPM and utilizable farm resources and management.
LISA refers to that form of Agriculture:
1. Optimum use of locally available resources by combining with different
components of plant, animal, soil, water, climate and people.
2. External inputs mainly maximum recycling and minimum effects on environment.
and
3. Does not aim of maximum production of short term, but stable adequate production
level over long time. Thus, in this system, minimal use of external production inputs is made.
The production costs are obviously lower. The overall risk of the farmer is considerably
reduced. Besides, the above advantage, pollution of surface and groundwater is avoided and
healthy food with very little or no pesticide residues are ensured. These systems held promise
for both short and long term profitability. So LEISA is an option for large number of farmers.
However, the system suffers from one serious drawback continuation of low external input
agriculture will perpetuate to the vicious circle of low inputs low yields, which the third
World Countries with ever increasing population pressure can ill offered.
Criteria for LEISA:
Ecological criteria:- 1.Balance use of nutrients, 2.Efficient use of water, energy and
genetic resources, 3. Minimal/ need based external inputs, 4. Minimal negative environmental
impact.
Economic criteria:-1.Sustained farmer livelihood system, 2.Competitveness, 3.
Efficient use of production factors, 4. Low relative value of external inputs.
Social criteria:- 1.Widely accepted and equitable adoption potential especially among
small farmers, 2. Reduced dependency on external institutions, 3. Respecting & building ITK,
beliefs and value system, 4. Contributions to employment generation.
High input systems, on the other hand, will fail sooner or later, as they are not
economically and environmentally sustainable. What is the solution then? The third
alternative i.e. optimal input farming system. (Wagner, 1990) will meet the requirement of
sustainability. The Optimal input farming system has the premise of low input per unit of
output and lays emphasis on low of diminishing returns.
High External Input Agriculture (HEIA):
The basic aspect of conventional agriculture was to maintain subsistence level
production by using locally available resources. All resources had been naturally recycled and
reused without wasting. But due to pressure of increasing population in developing countries
steps were taken to expedite food production deviating from the traditional pattern.

Green revolution introduced during the early part of the 6 th decade of the 20th century
accelerated food production. Cropping intensity is defined on the basis of number of
cultivations per year. If a land is cultivated 2 times a year the cropping intensity is 200 per
cent. If it is cultivated only in one season the cropping intensity is 100 per cent. In response to
the green revolution practices, introduced in late 1960s our agricultural production increased
significantly.

High yielding hybrid seeds which were introduced by green revolution were new to
our environment. Farmers had to practice new techniques to get higher production. Due to the
fact that hybrid seeds were more sensitive to nutrients, the growers were encouraged to use
chemical fertilizer in large quantities as external inputs. As the new crops were foreign to the
environment they were susceptible to pests and diseases. Consequently, the necessity arose to
apply chemicals, which became an additional burden to growers. Application of chemical
fertilizer and pesticides increased the cost of production.

Therefore, it was necessary to improve irrigation facilities. External resources were

used extensively in this agricultural system. Many of the resources used in high external input
agriculture were not recycled. This system failed to add anything to enrich the soil. Many
resources were wasted and were beyond the control of the farmers.

As long as external resources are pumped into the system the hybrid varieties were
maximum yields. Once the provision of resource is stopped the system collapsed and became
unproductive. Therefore, to maintain long term sustainability of the system regular application
of external inputs was essential.

Advantages of high external input agriculture (HEIA):

1. Agricultural production could be rapidly increased to meet the demand for food for the
increasing population.
2. As a result of availability of adequate food stuffs many problems related to diseases
caused by mal-nutrition and deficiency were prevented or reduced.
3. New improved varieties gave yields within a short period of time.
4. Mechanization solves the problem of labour shortage.
5. Income and profit margins of the products were increased.
6. Productivity of land increased.
7. Increased market facilities for production.

Disadvantages of HEIA:

1. Collapse of environmental balance due to lack of bio-diversity by planting a few cash

crops.
2. Increase in soil erosion due to constant furrowing by machinery
3. Dependence on imported machinery, chemical fertilizer, pesticides, hybrid seeds and
other inputs.
4. Extensive use of pesticides disturbed the natural mechanism of controlling pest and
diseases as the artificial pesticides kill both pests and their natural enemies.
5. Use of artificial agro-chemicals adversely affected the soil pH, cation exchange
capacity, soil structure, and soil texture and soil organisms. Consequently the
microbial activates of the soil tend to reduce forming dead soil.
6. Although the need for high capital investment, large scale farmers benefited while
small scale farmers who were short of capital ran into debt.
7. Neglecting environmental friendly traditional varieties of seeds and their genetic
resources faced extinction due to introduction of hybrid varieties. Conventional
agricultural knowledge and techniques were neglected and extinguished.
8. Farmers in developing countries had to encounter a series of environmental, soci-
economic and political problems as a result of the use of high external input
agricultural practices.

At present, many advantages gained from high external input agriculture are
progressively diminishing and the yield per unit is decreasing. Therefore, the farmers,
researchers and extensionists are compelled to contemplate towards a sustainable
agricultural system free of high external inputs.

Low external input agriculture (LEIA): is based on reduction-but not necessarily

elimination of chemical fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides. Farmers are adapting these
practices primarily to reduce costs, but also because they want to minimize impact on the
environment or because they perceive future pesticide regulations.

The term LEIA has been defined as a production activity that uses synthetic
fertilizers or other agro-chemicals below rates commonly recommended. It does not mean
elimination of these materials. Yields are maintained through greater emphasis on cultural
practices, IPM and utilization of on-farm resources.

LEIA vis-à-vis HEIA

Sr. Characteristics of HEIA Characteristics of LEIA

No
.
1 Farming pattern depends heavily on LEIA relies on the optimal use of natural processes,
external and chemical inputs. Although yields have increased substantially,
contributing to rising total production, farmers and the
environment have had to pay the price for keeping up
with this development.
2 Focus of agricultural development Focus is on the sustainability of farming system.
and research has mainly been on
maximizing yields coupled with
increasing specialization of
production
3 There is great damage to the Environmentally sound and that have the potential to
environment. contribute to the long-term sustainability of agriculture.
4 Continuing drop in prices of farm Greater emphasis is on the long-term sustenance and
produce and the rising costs of balance between the profit and livelihood.
agricultural inputs have made
farming increasingly unprofitable.
5 HEIA depends on the higher Sustainable ecological practices depend largely on
production and profit, without local agro-ecological conditions and on local socio-
consideration of the local needs and economical circumstances, as well as on farmers’
local market. individual needs and aspirations.
6 Primarily one or two commodity One way of LEIA is to diversification of farms; with a
driven development, lack of range of crops and / or animals, farmers will suffer less
diversity in the farming practices; from price fluctuations or drops in yield of single
as a result, there is greater risk of crops. Maintaining diversity will also provide a farm
failure and price fluctuation. The family with a range of products to eat or sell
number of products and throughout a large part of the year.
commodities are very minimum.
7 Under HEIA system, soil quality LEIA maintains a healthy soil, recycling nutrients on
deteriorates and there is resurgence the farm, and utilizing approaches such as integrated
of pests, lack of resilience in the pest management (IMP).
soil-plant system.
8 In HEIA there is lack of use of Best bet technologies, for examples soil and water
indigenous technologies. conservation (terraces, ditches and vegetation strips on
sloping land), better timing of operations, improved
crop spacing and densities, manure or compost and
water application based on local conditions.
Lec. No. 13. Integrated Farming System, historical background, characteristics,
objectives, components and its advantages.

India with 2.2 per cent of global geographical area support more than 15 per cent of
the total world population, 70 per cent of who depend on agriculture. It also supports nearly
15 per cent of the total livestock population of the world.

As of now, out of 328.73 ha of geographical areas approximately 18 per cent is under

forest’ only 13.5 per cent is not available for cultivation. Total problem areas constitute 173.65
million ha which include areas subject to wind and water erosion (145 million ha), water-
logged areas (8.53 million ha), alkali soils (3.58 million ha), saline and coastal sandy areas
(5.50 million ha.), ravines and gullies (3.97 million ha), shifting cultivation (4.91 million ha.)
and reverie torrents 2.73 (million ha). Besides 40 million ha are prone to flood and 260
million ha. is drought prone. Thus the net sown area is 136.18 million ha. is drought prone.
Thus the net sworn area is 136.18 million ha (41.42 per cent of the total geographical area)
(Subbian et al. 2000)

Unlike industries, agriculture is practiced by 105 million farm families who live in 0.6
million villages. More than 40 percent of them are below the poverty line. Nearly 85 million
farm families belong to small and marginal categories. Only 25 to 30% of the modern
agricultural technology has reached the farmers. This is often because the technology has not
been consistent with the conditions of the farm situations. Since there is no further scope for
horizontal expansion of land for cultivation, the only alternative left is for vertical expansion
on space and time particularly for small and marginal farmers (constituting 76% farming
community) who do not have much of recourses, especially in rain fed areas. The new
farming system research strategy should, therefore, to develop technology with participatory
approach of farmers.

Goals: The growing concern on sustainable development has led the FSR to
emphasize on sound management of farm resources to enhance farm productivity and reduce
the degradation of environment quality. Or To develop sustainable land use, which will
optimize farm resource, minimum degradation with consideration to regenerative capacity,
increase income and employment for farm families and promote quality of life.

In the past decade, farming system research has emerged as a popular and major theme
in international agricultural research. FSR evolved in post-Green Revolution era with the
growing perception of the failure of main stream agricultural research and extension
institutions to generate and disseminate technologies widely adopted by small-scale, recourse
poor farmers. Clearly technology, even when sound by scientific standards, is of limited value
if it is not adopted. The diagnosis of the problem was that agricultural researchers and
development planners, the generators and disseminators of new technology, had employed a
fundamentally top-down approach to technology development, which is not valid one. In
response to this situation, FSR argued that: 1. Development of relevant and viable
technology for small farmers must be grounded in a full knowledge of existing of the
farming system. and 2. Technology should be evaluated not solely in terms of its technical
performance, but in terms of its conformity to the goals, needs and socio-economic conditions
of small farm system as well.

All over the world, during the last four decades, grain yields went up at spectacular
rates during the green revolution and individual levels of production in animals followed
similar trend. Ensuring food security for the fast growing global population is a mammoth
challenge for present agricultural production system. Shrinking average farm size in India and
financial constraints for higher investment in agriculture due to 80 per cent farm families
belonging to small and marginal farmer categories further heighten the challenge. For
securing food and nutrition security for sizable population, productivity enhancement may
provide a vital solution. This involves adoption of scientific agronomic practices and
technologies which promise an augmentation of the productive capacity of traditional system.
Agronomic practices such as liberal use of inorganic and fertilizers during 20th century
enhanced productivity significantly but undesirable environmental degradation accompanied
by increased operational cost s in agriculture raised concerns about economic feasibility and
sustainability. Therefore, unsustainable farming leads to environmental pollution and
threatens the livelihood of millions of smallholders. Strengthening agricultural production
systems for greater sustainability and higher economic returns is a vital process for increasing
income and food and nutrition security in developing countries.
Therefore, integrated farming system (IFS) is a multidisciplinary whole farm approach
and appears effective in solving the problems of small and marginal farmers. The approach
aims at increasing income and employment from small-holding by integrating various farm
enterprises and recycling crop residues and by products within the farm itself. Farmers need to
be assured of regular income for living at least above poverty line. In this context farming
system approach is one of the important solutions to face this peculiar situation as in this
approach different enterprises can be carefully undertaken and the location specific system
are developed based on available resources which will result in sustainable development.
Integrated farming system (or integrated agriculture) is a commonly and broadly
used word to explain a more integrated approach to farming as compared to monoculture
approaches. It refers to agricultural production system that integrates livestock and crop
production integrates fish and livestock and may sometimes be known as integrated bio-
system. In this system an inter-related set of enterprises used so that the waste from one
component becomes an input for another part of the system, which reduces cost and improves
production and income. Hence, IFS works as a system of systems.
Historical background
Prof George Chan, working with a network of polyculture farming pioneers, began
refining integrated farming system practices that had already been developed in south-east
Asia in the 1960 through the 1980s, building on traditional night soil farming practice (A
Primer on integrated farming system – One Village Foundation, USA). In China, programmes
embracing this form of integrated farming have been successful in demonstrating how
intensive growing system can use organic and sustainable farming practices, while providing
high agriculture yields.
Integrated Food and Waste Management System (IF&WMS) which was
developed by Prof Chan is one version of IFS. He introduced this concept at the Montfort
Boy Farm in Fiji, a vocational school that now serves as a model for the students to replicate
in their villages (A Primer on integrated farming system). Today, there are numerous
IF&WMS or IFS models. These systems combine livestock, aquaculture, agriculture and
agro-industry in an expanded symbiotic or synergistic system, so that the waste of one process
become the input for other processes, with or without treatment to provide the means of
production, such as energy, fertilizer and feed for optimum productivity at minimum costs. It
is a component farming system which takes into account the concept of minimizing risk,
increasing total production and profits by lowering external inputs through recycling and
improving the utilization of organic wastes and crop residues.
The IF- integrated farming is system oriented multi-component agriculture. It views
the farming in a holistic manner emphasizing the interactions between components. Given the
multi-biological components as its central part, integrated farming is a complex biological-
social-economic system. Final goal of management is to seek for the integrated effects of the
whole system, not the effects of its individual compartment.

Integrated farming system: It may be defined as a set of agricultural activities

organized into a functional unit to profitably harness the solar energy while preserving land
productivity, environmental quality and maintaining the desirable level of biological diversity
and ecological stability. Integration of different agricultural allied enterprises with crop
activity as base would provide ways to reuse and recycle produce/waste material of one
component as input in the other linked component and to reduce the cost of production of the
economic produce of the component two and finally to enhance the net income of the farm as
a whole.

Integrated farming system can also be defined as a new type of system, in which
multiple agricultural productions and development are guided, organized and managed in the
light of ecological economic principles and by using the system engineering approach.

OBJECTIVES AND CHARACTERSTICS:

Sustainability rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Therefore,
stewardship of both natural and human resources is of prime importance.

Objectives:
Sustainability is the objective utilization of inputs without impairing the quality of
environment with which it interacts. Therefore, it is clear that farming system is a process in
which sustainability of production is the objective.
 The overall objective is to evolve technically feasible and economically viable farming
system models by integrating cropping with allied enterprises for irrigated, rainfed, hilly and
coastal areas with a view to generate income and employment from the farm. Specific
objectives are:
1. To identify existing farming system in specific area and assess their relative viability.
2. To formulate farming system models involving main and allied enterprises for
different farming situations.
3. To ensure optional utilizations and conservation of available resources and effective
recycling of farm residues within system.
4. To maintain sustainable production system without damaging resources base of
environment.
5. To raise overall profitability of farm household by complementing main allied
enterprises with each other.
6. Analysis of existing farming system in terms of resource use efficiency, production
and productivity, income, employment and sustainability across different agro-climatic
zones.
7. Evaluation and identification of farming system through participatory approach that
ensures threshold level of income for the livelihood security.
8. Development and evaluation of synergic effects and their actions associated with
different farming systems.
9. Developing appropriate institutional and market linkage including value addition for
enhancing sustainability.
10. Imparting training and capacity building of various stakeholders on IFS.

Characteristics:
Goal orientation of a farm is taken to be an organized decision-making unit in which
crop and /or livestock production is carried out with the purpose of satisfying the farmer’s
goals. On large scale, market production and profits are the main objectives whereas for the
small-holder farmer who farm most of the tropics, the farm is a multi-objective system in
providing food for the household, raw materials for building huts, accumulation of capital in
the form of animals or plantations and accumulation of wealth.
The farm as a system has a boundary that separates the system from the environment.
The system embraces all workers and resources (elements of the system) which are under the
management of the farmer.
Each individual farm has its own specific characteristics, which arise from variations
in resource endowments and family circumstances. The household, its resources and the
resource flows and interactions at this individual farm level are together referred to as a farm
system.
A farming system is defined as a population of individual farm system that has
broadly similar resource bases, enterprise patterns, household livelihoods and constraints and
for which similar development strategies and interventions would be appropriate.
In attempting to combat hunger and poverty, developing countries face the challenges
of identifying specific agricultural and rural development needs and opportunities and
focusing investment in those areas where the greatest impact on food insecurity and poverty
could be achieved, Delineation of farming system provides a useful framework within which
appropriate agricultural development strategies and interventions can be determined, as by
definition they group farm households with similar characteristics and constraints. Only a
limited number of systems are delineated within each region, leading inevitably to a
considerable degree of heterogeneity within any single system. However, the alternative of
identifying numerous, discrete, micro-level farming system in each developing region would
detract from the overall impact of the analysis.
Classification of the farming system has been based on a number of key factors,
including:
1. The available natural resource base.
 2. The dominant pattern of farm activities and household livelihoods, including
relationship to markets.
3. The intensity of production activities.

These criteria have been applied to each of the six main regions of the developing
world. The exercise resulted in the identification of 72 farming systems with an average
agricultural population of about 40 M inhabitants (FAO). Based on these criteria, eight
broad categories of farming systems have been distinguished:

1. Irrigated farming system embracing a broad range of food and cash crop production.
2. Wetland rice-based farming system, dependent upon seasonal rains supplemented by
irrigation.
3. Rainfed farming system in humid areas characterized by specific dominant crops or
mixed crop-livestock system.
4. Rainfed farming system in steep and highland areas, which are often, mixed crop-
livestock system.
5. Rainfed farming system in day or cold low potential areas, with mixed crop-livestock
and pastoral system merging into system with very low current productivity or
potential because of extreme aridity or cold.
6. Dualistic (mixed large commercial and small holders) farming system, across a
variety of ecologies and with diverse production patterns.
7. Coastal artisanal fishing system, which often incorporate mixed farming elements.
8. Urban-based farming system typically focused on horticultural and livestock
production.

Except for the dualistic system, the systems within each category are dominated by
smallholder agriculture. The names chosen for individual farming system reflect the eight
categories outlined above. They also reflect key distinguishing attributes, notably:

1. Water resource availability – irrigated, rainfed, moist, dry.

2. Climate – tropical, temperate, cold.
3. Landscape relief/altitude – highland, lowland.
4. Farm size – large scale.
5. Production intensity – intensive, extensive, sparse.
6. Dominant livelihood source – root crop, maize, tree crop, artisanal fishing, pastoral.
7. Dual crop livelihoods – cereal – root, rice-wheat (note that crop-livestock integration
is denoted by the term mixed).
8. Location- forest-based, coastal, urban based.

COMPONENTS OF INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM

Following are the major components of farming system across agro-ecological

situations in the country:

Agriculture Kitchen garden

Fish farming Poultry
Horticulture Fodder production
Duck rearing Goat rearing
Forestry Nursery
Pigeon rearing Sheep rearing
Mushroom cultivation Seed production
Sericulture Piggery
Azolla rearing Vermiculture
Dairy Bio- gas
Different IFS models are:
 Crop-livestock-forestry farming system.
 Crop- fish-poultry farming system.
 Crop-livestock-poultry-fishery farming system.
 Rice + fish only
 Fish only
 Nilembium + fish etc.
In general, all the above components are grouped into three important components of a
farming system (whole farm business).
1. Crop component (cereals, pulses, oilseeds, sugar, fiber, vegetables, fruits, agro-
forestry etc.) usually taken up in the main crop fields.
2. Animal component (cattle, goat, sheep etc.) usually taken up within the homestead.
3. Homestead farming (bio-gas, post-harvest value added products, grinding, splitting
of pulses) which include other allied activities take up within the homestead.
Occasionally, soil, water and labour are also included under the components of a farming
system.
Each of the above components may have one or more of several activities or
processes.
Thus selection, production/cultivation and or rearing of the activities within a farm will
determine the nature of farming system being practiced in any situation. Nevertheless, the
kind of activities (crop or animals) included under each component depend on their suitability,
adaptability, marketability and ability to satisfy the needs of a farm family. Experience of the
farmer and his predecessors (father and forefather) over years enable them to select the
activities under each system. In fact, the farmer has been experimenting with the crops and the
crop varieties or species and animal types or breeds knowingly or unknowingly over years
before finally incorporating these in the farm plan. Therefore, basically it is a case of
simulation and experimenting with crops and animals before incorporating them in any
system. Once a system is identified, its adoption will primarily depend on availability of
different types of limited resources at the disposal of the farmer.
Points to be considered while choosing the enterprises for integrated farming system
(IFS)

 Soil and climatic features of an area / locality.

 Resource availability with the farmers.
 Present level of utilization of resources.
 Return / income from the existing farming system.
 Economics of proposed integrated farming system.
 Farmer’s managerial skill.
 Social customs prevailing in the locality.
Integration of enterprises: In agriculture, crop husbandry is the main activity. The income
obtained from cropping is hardly sufficient to sustain the farm family throughout year.
Activities such as dairying, poultry, fish-culture, sericulture, biogas production, edible
mushroom cultivation, agro-forestry, agri-horticulture etc. assume critical importance in
supplementing their farm income. Assured regular cash flow is possible when cropping is
combined with other enterprises; judicious combination of enterprises keeping in view of the
environmental conditions of a locality will pay greater dividends. At the same time it will also
promote effective recycling of residues / wastes.

Integrated farming system seems to be the answer to the problem of increasing food
production, for increasing income and for improving nutrition of the small scale farmers with
limited resources without any adverse effect on environment and agro-eco-system. In a
cropping system, the amount of byproducts can be as high as or higher than marketable
produce. This may go to waste if not utilized in an animal enterprise. Hence, integration of
different agricultural allied enterprises with crop activity as base, will provide ways to recycle
products/waste component and to reduce the cost of products / waste component and to
reduce the cost of production of the economic produce of component two and finally to
entrance the net income of the farm as whole.

Livestock is the best complementary enterprise with cropping, especially during the
adverse years (drought). Installation of a biogas plant in crop – livestock system will make
use of the wastes, at the same time provides valuable manure and gas for cooking and lighting

In a wetland farm, there are greater avenues for fishery, duck farming and buffalo
rearing; utilizing the rice straw and mushroom production can be started.

Under irrigated conditions (garden lands) inclusion of sericulture, poultry and piggery
along with arable crop production is an accepted practice. The poultry component in this
system can make use of the grains produced in the farm as feed. Pigs are the unique
components that can be reared with the wastes which are unfit for human consumption.

In rainfed farming, sheep and goat rearing form an integral part of the landscape,
sericulture can be introduced in rainfed farming provided the climatic conditions permit it.

Agro-forestry (silvi-culture and silvi-horticulture) is the other activities, which can be

included under dry land conditions. In the integrated system, selection of enterprise should be
on the cardinal principle that there should be minimum competition and maximum
complementary effect among the enterprises.

1. Farming system under lowland: Common cropping system in rice based system,
especially under agro climatic conditions of south India is rice – rice – pulse, modified
cropping system includes crops like maize, groundnut, sesame, Rice – poultry – fish culture
system appears to more remunerative, poultry droppings from the poultry shed placed well
above the farm pond meets the needs of fish in the ponded water, Water in the pond can be
used for irrigating the crops. About 500 layer chicks are sufficient and excreta can meet the
feed requirement of 7,500 polyculture fingerlings in one ha of ponded water rice-fish system
is also remunerative.

2. Upland irrigated farming systems: Additional income can be generated by enterprises

like dairy biogas and silvi-culture to the usual cropping systems. Two to three milch cows can
be maintained from one ha straw. Recycling of farm and animal wastes through biogas unit
can produce cooking gas for family use. Several such integration can greatly increase farm
income, besides providing work to family members all through the year.

3. Rainfed farming systems: Environmentally sustainable dry land farming systems

emphasis conservation and utilization of natural resources. Agronomic practices of
conservation, tillage and mulch farming, rotational cropping use of legumes and cover crops
for improving soil fertility and suppressing weeds and efficient use of cattle manure are some
of the components of sustainable farming systems.

For above regulations sound land use policy is necessary to tackle the problem of
deteriorating natural resources, like soil and water. Majority farmers maintaining work
animals, milch animals, chicks, sheep, goats etc. with crop production. Farmers approaching
farming systems, but benefits from this system are low, because of non-educating and also
due to non-adoption of improved technology.

Components of farming systems: In the integrated farming system, it is always emphasized

to combine cropping with other enterprises / activities, many enterprises are available and
these includes cattle maintenance sheep or goat rearing, poultry, piggery, rabbit rearing, bee
keeping etc. Any one or more can be combined with the cropping.

Cattle maintenance: 1) Draft breeds, 2) Dairy breeds, 3) Dual purpose, 4) Exotic breeds.

1. Buffaloes: Important dairy breeds of buffalos are murrah, mehsana, zafarabadi, godavari.

Feeding: Cattle feed generally contains fibrous coarse low nutrient straw material. Roughage
is basic for cattle ration and includes legumes non-legume hays, straw and silage of legume
and grasses. Per day requirement @ 1 kg concentrate per 2 lit of milk, Green fodder (20-
30kg), straw 5-7 kg & water – 32 lit.

2. Sheep rearing: Sheep are well adapted to many areas. They are excellent gleaners and
make use of much of waste feed. Consume roughage, converting a relatively cheap food into a
good cash product. Housing not expensive. Feeding: 1-2 kg of leguminous hay per day.
Protein supplied through concentrate as groundnut cake.

3. Goat Rearing: In India, activity of goat rearing under different environments. The activity
is also associated with different systems such as crop or animal based, single animal or mixed
herd small or large scale. Goat is mainly reared for meat, milk, hide and skin Meat preferred
in India, A goat on hoof fetches a better price than a sheep on hoof.

Feeding: per head nutrients requirement to goat is low. Hence they are suitable for resource
poor small farmers with marginal grazing lands they eat plants and leaves of tree, which any
other animals not touch. Goat eats 4-5 times that of body weight concentrate of maize, g. nut
cake etc. and clean & fresh water.

4. Poultry: Poultry is one of the fastest growing food industries in the world. Poultry meat
accounts for about 27% of total meat consumed worldwide poultry industry in India is
relatively a new agricultural industry. Egg production may reach up to 5000 crores and broiler
meat production 330 thousand tones (by 2000) the average global consumption is 120 eggs
per person / year and in India it is only 32-33 eggs per capita / year. To meet the nutritional
requirement, the per capita consumption estimated at 180 eggs 9 kg meat / year.

Feed: The feed conversion efficiency of the bird is superior to other animals. About 60-70%
of the total expenditure on poultry farming is spent on the poultry feed. Hence, use of cheap
and efficient ration will give maximum profit cereals – maize, barley, oats, wheat, rice –
broken, mineral / salt – limestone, salt manganese.

5. Duck rearing: Ducks account for about 7% of the poultry population in India. They are
popular in coastal and water logged states like west Bengal, Orissa, A.P., T. Nadu, They have
production potential of about 130 – 140 eggs / bird / year. These can rear in marshy riverside
wetlands. Duck farming can be a better alternative. Feeding: Eating fallen grains in harvested
paddy fields, small fishes and other aquatic materials.

6. Turkey rearing: Turkey is a robust bird and can be reared in humid tropics. It actively feed
on a variety of crop residues and insects in the farm.

7. Piggery: pigs are maintained for production of pork.

8. Rabbit rearing: In India is of recent origin though hunting of wild rabbits for meat is not
uncommon. Rabbit can be easily reared with relatively less concentrate feed with high
production rate.

9. Bee keeping: Bee keeping is one of the most important agro-based industries which does
not required any raw material like other industries. Nectar and pollen from flowers are the raw
materials, which are available in plenty in nature. Bee keeping can be started with a single
colony.

Honey Collection: Honey should have good quality. Qualities such as aroma, color,
consistency and floral sources are important. Honey is an excellent energy food with an
average of about 3500 calories per kg. It is directly absorbed into the human blood stream
requiring no digestion.

10. Aquaculture: Ponds serve as domestic requirement of water, supplementary irrigation to

crop and piscicultrue with the traditional management, farmer obtain hardly 300-400 of wild
& culture fish / ha / year. However, polyculture fish with the stocking density of 7500
fingerlings and supplementary feeding will boost the total biomass production.

Species: Catla, Rohu, common carp, silver carp, grass carp (feed on aquatic plants).
Management: Pond depth – 1.5 – 2.0 m, water should be slightly alkaline, PH-7.5 – 8.5. If
the PH less than 6.5, it can be adjusted with addition of lime, higher pH(>8.5) can be reduced
with addition of gypsum. Application of fresh dung may also reduce high pH in the water. The
fish are to be nourished with supplementary feeding with rice bran and oilseed cakes. This
will enable faster growth and better yield. Each variety of crops stocked to 500 fingerlings
with the total of 5000-8000 / ha. This gives 2000 to 5000 kg./ha of fish annually.

11. Seri-culture: Definition: the keeping of silk moths and their larvae for the production of
silk. or Seri Culture is defined as a practice of combining mulberry cultivation; silkworm
rearing and silk reeling. Sericulture is a recognized practice in India. The total area under
mulberry is 240 thousand ha in the country. It plays an important role in socio-economic
development of rural poor in some areas. Climatic condition favorable for mulberry and
rearing of silk worms throughout the year. Karnataka is the major silk producing state in India
(temp. 21.2 to 30OC), In Kashmir climate suit from May to October.

Moriculture: Cultivation of mulberry plants is called as moriculture. The crop can yield well
for 12 years. Yield of mulberry leaves is 30-40 t/ha/year.

Rearing: Eggs are allowed to be laid over a cardboard. In bamboo tray rice husk is spread.
Tender chopped mulberry leaves are added to the tray. The hatched out larvae are transferred
to the leaves it is important to change the leaves every 2-3 hours during the first 2-3 days. The
cacoon constructed with silk. The cacoon required for further rearing are kept separately and
moths are allowed to emerge from them.

12. Mushroom cultivation: Mushroom is an editable fungi with great diversity in shape,
size and colour. Essentially mushroom is a vegetable that is cultivated in protected farms in a
highly sanitized atmosphere; mushroom contains 90% moisture with high in quality protein,
fairly good source of vitamin C and B complex. It is rich source of mineral like Ca, P, K, &
Cu. They contain less of fat and CHO and are considered good for diabetic and blood pressure
patients.Varieties: 1) Oyster mushroom 2) Paddy straw mushroom – Volvariella volvacea 3)
White button mushroom – Agaricus gisporus (var, A-11, Horst V3).

13. Biogas Plant: Biogas is a clean, unpolluted and cheap source of energy, which can be
obtained by a simple mechanism and little investment. The gas is generated from the cow
dung during anaerobic decomposition Biogas generation is a complex bio-chemical process,
celluloitic material are broken down in methane and CO2 by different group of micro–
organisms. It can be used for cooking purpose, burning lamps, etc. Biogas near to kitchen &
cattle shed to reduce cost of gas transfer and cow dung transport, sunlight is important for
temperature.

Biogas slurry: Slurry is obtained after the production of biogas. It is enriched manure;
another positive aspect of this manure is that even after weeks of exposure to the atmosphere
the slurry does not attract fleas and worms. Dry slurry contains about 1.8% N, 1.10% P and
1.50% K.

IFS ADVANTAGES:
1. Recycling and utilization of other available resources in the farm: There is
effective recycling of waste material in farming system. Farming is a stochastic
dynamic biological and open system with human and social involvement. It
specifically refers to crop-combination or enterprise-mix in which the products and/ or
the by- products of one enterprise serve as the input for the production of other
enterprise. Farming system includes agricultural crops, fruit trees, forest trees, forest
trees, forages, grasses and animals, which have potential to contribute to improve
resource use and management.
2. Maximum possible return and profitability: Use of waste material of one
component in the other at the least cost reduces cost of production and net profit is
 increased. Due to interaction of enterprises like crops, eggs, milk, mushroom, honey,
cocoons silkworm farming there is flow of money to the farmer round the year.
3. Create adequate employment opportunities: Combining crop with livestock
enterprises would increase the labour requirement and help in reducing the problems
of under employment. IFS provide enough scope to employ family labour round the
year.
4. Productivity: IFS provides an opportunity to increase economic yield per unit area
per unit time by virtue of intensification of crop and allied enterprises.
5. Potentiality or sustainability: Organic supplementation through effective utilization
of by-products of linked component provides an opportunity to sustain the potentiality
of production base for much longer periods.
6. Balanced food: The linked components of varied nature enable to produce different
sources of nutrition.
7. Environmental safety: In IFS, waste materials are effectively recycled by linking
appropriate components, thus minimize environment pollution.
8. Adoption of new technology: Resourceful farmers (big farmer) fully utilize the
technology for profits. Money flow round the ear gives an inducement to the
small/marginal farmers to go for the adoption of latest technologies.
9. Saving energy: Organic wastes available in the system can be utilized to generate bio-
gas. This alternative source, thus, reduces dependence on fossil energy sources within
short time.
10. Meeting fodder crisis: Plantation of perennial legume fodder trees on field borders
fixes the atmospheric nitrogen. These practices will realty relieve the problem of non-
availability of quality fodder to the animal component linked.
11. Solving fuel and timber crisis: By linking agro-forestry appropriately, production
level of fuel and industrial wood can be enhanced without any effect on crop. This will
also greatly reduce deforestation, thus preserving our natural ecosystem.
12. Agro-industries: When one of produces in farming system is increased to commercial
level, the surplus lead to the development of allied agro-industries.

Benefits / Advantages of IFS:

1) Productivity: IFS provides an opportunity to increase economic yield per unit area per unit
time by virtue of intensification of crop and allied enterprises.
2) Profitability: Use waste material of one component on another component at the least cost.
Thus reduction of cost of production and form the linkage of utilization of waste material,
elimination of middleman interference in most input used. Working out net profit B/C ratio is
increased.
3) Potentiality / Sustainability: Organic supplementation through effective utilization of by-
products of linked components is done thus providing an opportunity to sustain the
potentiality of production base for much longer periods.
4) Balanced food: We link components of varied nature enabling to produce different sources
of nutrition.
5) Environmental safety: In IFS waste materials are effectively recycled by linking
appropriate components, thus minimize environmental pollution.
6) Recycling: Effective recycling of waste material in IFS
7) Income rounds the year: Due to interaction of enterprise with crops, eggs, milk
mushroom, honey, cocoons of silkworm. Provides flow of money to the farmer round the
year.
8)Adoption of new technology: Resource farmer (big farmer) fully utilizes technology but
more than 80% after forever are small and marginal, want of money lack of new technology.
IFS formers, linkage of dairy / mushroom / sericulture / vegetable. Money flow round the year
gives an inducement to the small / original farmers to go for the adoption technologies.
9) Saving energy: To identify an alternative source to reduce our dependence on fossil energy
source within short time. Effective recycling technique the organic wastes available in the
systems can be utilized to generate biogas. Energy crisis can be postponed to the later period.
10) Meeting fodder crisis: Every piece of land area is effectively utilized. Plantation of
perennial legume fodder trees on field borders and also fixing the atmospheric nitrogen. These
practices will greatly relieve the problem of non-availability of quality fodder to the animal
component linked.
11) Solving fuel and timber crisis: Linking agro-forestry appropriately the production level
of fuel and industrial wood can be enhanced without determining effect on crop. This will also
greatly reduce deforestation, preserving our natural ecosystem.
12) Employment generation: Combining crop with livestock enterprises would increase the
labour requirement significantly and would help in reducing the problem of under
employment to a great extent IFS provide enough scope to employ family labour round the
year.
13) Agro-industries: When one of produce linked in IFS are increased to commercial level
there is surplus value addition leading to development of allied agro-industries.
14) Increasing input efficiency – IFS provide good scope to use inputs in different
component greater efficiency and benefit cost ratio.
15) Increasing living standard of the farmer

Lec. No. 14. Development of site specific IFS models for different Agro climatic zones, its
resource use efficiency and optimization technique.

Farming enterprises include crops/cropping system, poultry, fish, piggery, sericulture,

mushroom, agro-forestry, bio-gas, vermicompost etc. A combination of one or more
enterprises with cropping when carefully chosen planned and executed, give greater dividends
than single enterprise (s) specially for small and marginal farmers. Farm as a unit to be
considered and planned for effective integration of the enterprises to be combined with crop
production activities. In the IFS, it is always emphasized to combine cropping with other
enterprises/ activities.

DETERMINANTS OF FARMING SYSTEM: The key categories of determinants

influencing farming system are briefly presented.
Natural Resources and Climate: Interaction of natural resources, climate and population
determines the physical basis for farming system. Increased variability of climate and thus
agricultural productivity substantially increases the risk faced by farmers with the
concomitant reduction in investment and input use. Certain soil and water regimes are suitable
only for given type of crops. Similarly, some of the physical and geographical features e.g.
drainage characteristics, elevations and slopes as well as climatic factors e.g. total rainfall and
its distribution, minimum and maximum temperature, humidity and intensity of sunlight etc
are other factors which have to be taken into considerations while making decision with
respect to selection of enterprise for a farming system.

Science and Technology: Investment in agricultural science and technology has expanded
rapidly during the last four decades. During this period, major technical and institutional
reforms occurred, which shaped the pattern of technology development and dissemination.
Research driven growth in developing countries has been green revolution, where it achieved
considerable achievement in the field of food grain production and for this the policy and
other aspects supported the farming system for such achievement. Research has been focused
principally upon intensifying crop and livestock production. There has been for less research
on integrated technologies for diversifying the livelihoods of small farmers in developing
countries and increasing the sustainability of land use. Despite these weaknesses, the natural
and global research agenda is gradually moving from a focus on individual crop performance
to a growing acceptance of the importance of increased system productivity. There has been
emphasis in recent agriculture of targeting technologies towards women farmers and poorer
households.

Trade Liberalization and Market Development: Markets have a critical role to play in
agricultural development as they form the linkages between farm, rural and urban economics
upon which the development processes depend. As a result of reduction of impediments to
international trade and investment, the process of trade liberalization is already generating
changes in the structure of production at all levels including small holder-farming system in
many developing countries. Not only the market development is accelerating, but patterns of
production and natural resources usage are also changing profoundly in response to market
forces.

Availability of new production, post-harvest and transport technologies will also

change demand patterns due to delivery of new products or established products in new forms
to markets, where they have been previously unattainable.

Policies, Institutions and Public Goods: Development of dynamic farming system requires
conducive policy environment. Moreover, establishment of farm-rural-urban linkages requires
effective demand. Policy makers have increasingly shifted their attention to the potential to
increase the efficiency of service delivery through the restructuring of institutions. Production
incentives have dramatic effect on farming system. Policies on land ownership, water
management and taxation reform etc. have a great bearing on types of farming system in a
region or area.

Information and Human Capital: Evolution of farming system based upon increasing
specialization (large scale broiler units) or integrated intensification (rice-fish-ducks) requires
extra knowledge on the part of farm operators. Need for better information and enhanced
human capital has also increased, as production systems have become more integrated with
regional, national and international market system.

Lack of education, information and training is frequently a key limiting factor to

smallholder development. Many observers anticipated an information revolution i.e. bridge
gap of knowledge between scientists and farmers will be very key factor for agricultural
growth of these small farmers.

Similarly, better access to credit, land and extension services would enable women to
make an even greater contribution to eliminating rural hunger and poverty. As gender bias is
progressively eliminated during coming years-often in the face of severe cultural and religious
barriers, productivity within many farming system will be transformed.

Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK): Indigenous technical knowledge is the knowledge

that people in a given community has developed over times and continues to develop. It is
based on experience, often tested over long period of use, adapted to local culture and
environment, dynamic and changing and lays emphasis on minimizing risks rather than
maximizing profits. The ITK covers a wide spectrum-soil water and nutrient management;
pasture and fodder management; crop cultivation; plant protection; farm equipment, farm
power, post-harvest preservation and management; agro-forestry; bio-diversity conservation
and also exploitation; animal rearing and health care; animal products preservation and
management; fisheries and fish preservation and ethnic foods and homestead management.
Thus, the ITK of a farmer has a great influence in managing the farm and farming system.

CRITERIA FOR ENTERPRISE SELECTION:

The basic points that are to be considered while choosing appropriate enterprise in IFS are:

1. Soil and climatic features of an area/locality.

2. Social status of the family and social customs prevailing in the locality.
3. Economical condition of the farmer (return/income from the existing farming
system).
4. Resource availability at farm and present level of utilization of resources.
5. Economics of proposed IFS and credit facilities.
6. Farmer’s managerial skills.
7. Household demand.
8. Institutional infrastructure and technological know-how.
9. Market facilities.

Priority should be given to improve the present status of different components of the
existing farming system, should have better compatibility with prevalent farming system, nil
to very less dependence of input from outside, high risk bearing and capable to generate more
per day income and employment.

INTEACTIONS AND LINKAGES: The IFS deals with utilization of wastes and residues. It
may be possible to reach the same level of yield with proportionately less input in the
integrated farming and yield would be interestingly more sustainable because the waste of one
enterprise becomes the input of another leaving almost nothing to pollute the environment or
to degrade the resource base. To put this concept to practice efficiently, it is necessary to study
linkages and complementarities will help to develop farming system (integrated farming) in
which the waste of one enterprise is more efficiently used as inputs in another with the
system.

INTEGRATION OF ENTERPRISES: In agriculture, crop husbandry is the main activity.

Income obtained from cropping is hardly sufficient to sustain the farm family throughout the
year. Assured regular cash flow is possible when crop is combined with other enterprises.
Judicious combination of enterprise keeping in view of the environmental condition of
locality will pay greater dividends. At the same time, it will also promote effective recycling
of residues/wastes.

A farm manager is often confronted with the problems as to what enterprises to select
and the level at which each enterprises should be taken up. How far he can go far or should go
in combine enterprises with another depends partly on the inter-relationships, between
different enterprises and the prizes of products and inputs.

Types of enterprises include:

1. Independent enterprises.
2. Competitive enterprises.
3. Supplementary enterprises.
4. Complementary enterprises.
 Further details on the above types are beyond the scope of this publication.

INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM FOR DIFFERENT AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS:

Delineation of the major farming system provides a useful framework within which
appropriate agricultural development strategies and interventions can be determined.
Classification of the farming system of developing regions may be based on the following
criteria

 Available natural resource base, including water, land, grazing areas and forest,
climate of which altitude is one important determinant, landscape including slope,
farm size, tenure and organization.
 Dominant pattern of farm activities and household livelihoods, including field crops,
livestock, trees, aquaculture, hunting and gathering, processing and off-farm activities
and taking into account the main technologies used, which determine the intensity of
production and integration of crops, livestock and other activities.

IFS for different agro-climatic zones (India)

1. High altitude cold deserts: Pastures with forestry, goats, angora rabbits and limited
settled agricultural crops like millets, wheat, barley and fodder.
2. Arid and desert region: Centering mainly in animal husbandry with the camels,
sheep and goat and with moderate cropping components involving pearl millet, wheat,
pulses, gram and fodder crops.
3. Western and central Himalayas: Horticultural crops as major component have less
intensive agriculture mainly on the hill terraces and slopes with maize, rice, wheat,
pulses and fodder crops.
4. Eastern Himalayas: Primitive crop husbandry with rice, millets, pulses etc. Agro-
forestry system is also common. Piggery and poultry are the chief livestock activity.
5. Indo-Gangetic plains: Intensive crop husbandry involving rice, wheat, maize,
mustard, pulses and livestock inclusive of dairy cattle and buffaloes.
6. Central and southern highlands: Cotton, sorghum, millet, pulses with dairy cattle,
sheep and goats and poultry are the secondary livestock and animal husbandry
enterprises.
7. Western Ghats: Major activity on plantation crops, cultivation of rice and pulses are
the secondary agricultural activity. Cattle, sheep and goats are the livestock
components which in most parts are maintained as large herds and allowed to range.
8. Delta and coastal plains: Rice cultivation along with fish culture, poultry and piggery
enterprises, capture fisheries of the marine ecosystem is a specialized enterprise and
does not mix with cropping activity.

RESOURCE USE EFFICIENCY AND OPTIMISATION TECHNOQUIES:

The objective of any farming research and development effort is to improve the
efficiency and productivity of the use of basic resources in the production process. In order to
determine the expected benefits, losses and other implications of a proposed change, it is
necessary to evaluate the management and performance of both the existing production
systems and the recommended improvements. Consideration of economic factors together
with bio-physical factors provides a logical framework for comparing traditional and
alternative systems. Economics provides a rational basis for making decisions in allocation
scare resources among various options to achieve competing goals.

Evaluation of FSR/IFS:

 Productivity per unit area: To estimate the productivity of a component and compare
with the crop component expressed in terms of equivalent crop yield. Further, the
production estimation itself varies among the inter-linked animal component in IFS
(rice based farming system). Productivity, in term of grain yield, can be recorded and
expressed as kg of grain equivalent yield (GEY):
 Productivity of component/intercrop (kg) x Cost of Component/ intercrop( kg-1)
GEY =
Cost of main crop ( kg-1)

 Economic analysis: Parameters like cost of cultivation/ production, gross and net
returns and per day return can be worked out and expressed as Rs. ha-1
 Employment Generation: Labour required for various activities in crop production
given as man-days ha-1 (A man working for 8 hours in a day is considered as one
man-day; A woman working for the same period is treated as 2/3 man day and
computed to man days.)
 Productivity of livestock components: Milk (per day or lactation), dung, urine etc.
Fisheries: fish weight recorded at harvest and expressed as kg unit area-1
Poultry: Egg production per day from birds and expressed as total number per month
per year from the unit.
Pigeon: Growth rate at monthly interval and weight at the time of disposal recorded
and expressed as kg unit-1.

 Mushroom: Yield per day and total yield per year from the unit.
 Water requirement: Water requirement for varying component linkages in the IFS
expressed in ha-mm.
 Residue addition: The quantity of residue available from each component (kg).
Potential residue addition I terms of N, P and K.
 Energy efficiency: Energy input and outputs were worked out for individual
components based on the input the output energies and energy efficiency.
 Nutritive value: Nutritive value in terms of carbohydrates, proteins and fat (kg).

Resources Use Efficiency:

Efficiency in any system is an expression of obtainable output with the addition of unit
amount of input. The ratio of energy intake and energy of the produced biomass i.e. of input
and output is called ecological efficiency. This can be studied at any tropic level.

Resource use efficiency in agriculture is defined to include the concepts of technical

efficiency, allocative efficiency and economic efficiency. Public investment, subsidies and
credit for agriculture are used in an efficient manner. There are large scale inter-regional as
well as inter-farm variations in factor productivity due to varying influence of different factors
in different regions. A number of management factors such as timeliness of method of sowing,
transplanting, irrigation and application of right doses of inputs and input mix play an
important role in influencing inter-farm variation in crop productivity. Growing
marginalization and fragmentation of land holdings coupled with rising incidence of informal
tenancies and poor rural infrastructure such as road, electricity, markets and education effect
factor productivity. Availability of good quality irrigation water coupled with flexibility of
irrigation and drainage system and appropriate methods of application as well as pricing of
irrigation water is crucial for sustainable use water resources.

Three types of efficiencies have been identified in the literature: technical efficiency,
allocative efficiency and overall or economic efficiency as indicated above. Technical
efficiency is the ability of a firm to produce a given level of output with minimum quantity of
inputs under a given technology. Allocative efficiency is a measure of the degree of success
in achieving the best combination of different inputs in producing specific level of output
considering the relative price of these inputs. Economic efficiency is a product of technical
and allocative efficiency. In one sense, the efficiency of a firm is its success in producing as
large an amount of output as possible from given sets of inputs. Maximum efficiency of a firm
is attained when it becomes impossible to reshuffle a given resource combination without
decreasing the total output.
 Detailed procedure for calculating resource use efficiency is beyond the scope of this
publication. However, resource use efficiencies for commonly used farm inputs in crop
production are briefly presented.

Cultivated Land Utilization Index (CLUI): Cultivated land utilization index is calculated
by summing the products of land area to each crop, multiplied by the actual duration of that
crop divided by the total cultivated land times 365 days.

Where, n= Total number of crops.

ai= Area occupied by the ith crop.
di = Days that the ith crop occupied.
A = Total cultivated land area available for 365 days.

The CLUI can be expressed as a fraction or percentage. This gives an idea about how the land
area has been put into use. If the index is 1 (100%), it shows that the land has been left fallow
and more than 1, tells the specification of intercropping and relay cropping. Limitation of
CLUI is its inability to consider the land temporarily available to the farmer for cultivation.

Fertilizer Use Efficiency (FUE) :

The FUE is the output of any crop per unit of the nutrient applied under a specified set
of soil and climatic conditions. The NUE/FUE can be expressed in several ways:

 Partial factor productivity (PFP, kg crop yield increase per kg input applied).
 Agronomic efficiency (AE, kg crop yield increase per kg nutrient applied).
 Apparent recovery efficiency (ARE, kg nutrient taken up per kg nutrient applied).
 Physiological efficiency (PE, kg yield increase per kg nutrient taken up).
 Crop removal efficiency (removal of nutrient in harvested crop as per cent of nutrient
applied) is also commonly used to explain nutrient efficiency.

Energy Efficiency:

Energy efficiency = Energy output (MJ ha-1) / Energy input (MJ ha-1).

Net energy (MJ ha-1) = Energy output (MJ ha-1) – Energy input (MJ ha-1).

Kg Grain + byproduct, kg ha-1

Energy productivity = - Output
MJ Energy output (MJ ha-1)

Energy intensity (in physical terms MJ ha-1)

Energy output (MJ ha-1)

=
Grain + byproduct, kg ha-1

-1
Energy intensity (in economic terms MJ )

Energy output (MJ ha-1)

=
Cost of cultivation ( ha-1)

Water Use Efficiency:

 Crop water use efficiency: Crop water use efficiency is a ratio between marketable
crop yield and water used by the crop in evapotranspiation.

Y
WUE (kg ha-mm-1) =
ETC

where, WUE = Water use efficiency (kg ha-mm-1).

Y = Marketable crop yield (kg ha-1).

ETc = Crop evapotranspiration (mm).

Field water use efficiency: Field water use efficiency is a ratio between marketable crop yield
and field water supply which includes water sued by the plant in metabolic activities, ET and
deep percolation losses.

Y
FWUE (kg ha-mm-1) =
ETC

where, FWUE = Field water use efficiency (kg ha-mm-1).

Y = Crop yield in kg ha-1
WR = Water requirement.

Water use efficiency of selected crops

Crop Water requirement Grain yield WUE

(mm) (kg ha-1) (kg ha-mm-1)
Rice 1200 4500 3.7
Sorghum 500 4500 9.0
Peralmillet 500 4000 8.0
Maize 625 5000 8.0
Groundnut 506 4616 9.2
Wheat 280 3534 12.6
Finger millet 310 4137 13.7

Growing marginalization and fragmentation of land holdings coupled with rising

incidence of informal tenancies and poor rural infrastructure such as road, electricity, markets
and education affect factor productivity. Availability of good quality irrigation water coupled
with flexibility of irrigation and drainage system and appropriate methods of application as
well as pricing of irrigation water is crucial for sustainable use of land and water resources.

In one sense, efficiency of a firm is its success in producing as large an amount of

output as possible from given sets of inputs. Maximum efficiency of a firm is attained when it
becomes impossible to reshuffle a given a given resource combination without decreasing the
total output.

Lec. No. 15 Farming systems in relation to environment, its resource cycling

and flow of energy.

Farming systems in relation to environment: Food security, livelihood security, water

security, natural resource conservation and environmental protection have emerged as major
issues worldwide. The IFS was first propagated with overall aim of establishing sustainable
farming system with reduction in exposure of the environment to pesticides and other agro-
chemicals. Adoption of organic farming was naturally expected to prevent short and long term
ill effects on the biosphere. Programmers such as linking environment and farming assisted
farmers to move towards IFS. The IFS is targeted to bring a commitment to good husbandry
and animal welfare along with efficient soil management and appropriate cultivation
techniques using crop rotations and improved cultivars, reducing use of crop protection
chemicals and fertilizers with the aim to maintain the landscape, rural communities and
wildlife habitats. It is a dynamic concept with flexibility to adopt new technology and change
market pressure and consumer demands and to meet the future expectations through
sustainable farming system which cares for the environment.

Table 3.4 Contribution of sustainable farming system practices to important ecosystem

services.

System component
Legumes
Minised
Objective Mulch to supply Crop
or no
cover plant rotation
tillage
nutrients
Simulate optimum forest-floor conditions * *
Reduce evaporative loss of moisture from *
soil surface
Reduce evaporative loss from upper soil * *
layers
Minimize oxidation of soil organic matter *
and loss of CO2
Minimize temperature fluctuations as soil * *
surface
Provide regular supply of organic matter as *
substrate for soil organism activity
Increase, maintain nitrogen levels in root * * #
zone
Increase Cation exchange capacity of root * * * #
zone
Minimize rain infiltration, minimize runoff * *
Minimize soil loss in runoff and wind * *
Permit, maintain natural layering of soil * *
horizons through action of soil biota
Minimize weeds * * #
Increase rate of biomass production * * * #
Speed recuperation of soil porosity by soil * * * #
biota
Reduce labour input *
Reduce fuel/energy inputs * * #
Recycle nutrients * * * #
Reduce pest-pressure of pathogens * #
Rebuild damaged soil conditions and * * * #
dynamics
Pollinations services * * * #

One of the main requirements for ecologically sustainable production is healthy soil,
creating an environment in the root zone that optimizes soil biota activity and permits root
functioning to the maximum possible extent. Roots are able to capture plant nutrients and
water and interact with a range of soil micro-organisms beneficial to soil health and crop
performance. Maintenance or improvement of soil organic matter content, soil structure and
associated porosity are critical indicators of sustainable production and other ecosystem
services. Contributions of selected sustainable farming practices to improve ecosystem service
are presented in Table 3.4.

However, now there exists two schools of thoughts, one considering IFS as boon for
environment while the other takes it as curse. It appears from the literature that it is the way
one takes IFS to perceive its benefits and dangers. Environmental implications of IFS are
briefly presented under different heads.

Ecosystem: This category comprises floral and faunal bio-diversity, habitat diversity and
landscape conservation. The IFS performs better than conventional farming in respect to floral
(Plant kingdom) and faunal (Animal kingdom) diversity. Due to the ban of synthetic
pesticides and N-fertilizers, organic farming system provides potentials that result in positive
effects on wildlife conservation and landscape. Potentially, organic farming leads to a higher
diversity of wildlife habitats due to more highly diversified living conditions, which offer a
wide range of housing, breeding and nutritional supply.

Integrated fish farming seems to favour antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in the pond

environment which is attributed to the selective pressure of antimicrobials there and to the
introduction of antimicrobial resistant bacteria from animal manure. This change may pose a
potential risk of destabilization of natural micro-flora in the ecosystem which is ultimately
deleterious to the environment.

Soil: The IFS tends to conserve soil fertility and system stability better than conventional
farming system. This is due to mostly higher organic meter contents and higher biological
activity in organically farmed soils than in conventionally managed. Furthermore, IFS has
high erosion control potential.

Ground and Surface Water: The results show that IFS results in lower or similar nitrate
leaching rates than integrated or conventional agriculture. Actual leaching rates per hectare
are up to 57 per cent lower on IFS than on conventional fields. Organic farming does not pose
any risk or ground and surface water pollution from synthetic pesticides.

Climate and Air: On per-hectare scale, the CO2 emissions are 40-60 per cent lower in IFS
than in conventional ones, whereas on per-unit output scale, the CO 2 emissions tend to be
higher in organic farming system. The N2O emissions per hectare on organic farms tend to be
lower than on conventional farms. The IFS has a lower CH 4 emission potential on a per
hectare scale, while CH4 emissions per kg of milk are estimated to be higher in organic dairy
farms than in conventional ones. Calculations of NH3 emission potential than conventional
farming system. Due to the fact that synthetic pesticides are not permitted in organic farming,
significantly lower air contamination is ensured than in conventional farming.

Farm Input and Output: Nutrient balances of IFS farms in general are close to zero. The N,
P and K surpluses of IFS were significantly lower than on conventional farms. Negative
balances were found for P and K. Most research studies reviewed indicate that energy
consumption on organic farms is lower than on conventional farms.

Animal Health and Welfare: Housing conditions and health status depend highly on farm
specific conditions, thus housing conditions seem not to differ significantly between IFS and
conventional farms. IFS dairy cows tend to have a longer average productive life than
conventional dairy cows.

Quality of Food Produced: The risk of contamination food with pesticides and nitrate can be
assumed to be lower in IFS rather than in conventionally produced food. A strong argument
exists for the superiority of animal products from organic in comparison to conventional
farming.

IFS Associated Health Risk: Increasing health consciousness among the people has led to
the increased demand for vegetable products grown in the absence of pesticides and synthetic
fertilizers, popularly known as organic foods. Moreover, land available for food production is
decreasing day by day. As such, intensive cropping system and intensive livestock system
have come to merge into IFS to sustain the ever growing demand for food and feed. For
realizing higher yield, farmers augment soil fertility through application of compost and
irrigation with sewage in most of the vegetable growing regions in India. Sewage and
compost, being common source of zoonotic pathogens, may contaminate soil with the
pathogens and the transmission of infection through vegetable produce grown on
contaminated soil is not rare. Studies on salmonella, a zoonotic pathogen, in plants like
cowpea, green gram, vegetables and maize reveal that the pathogen rapidly spread to all parts
of the plants within few hours of crop irrigation with contaminated water. The possibility of
circulation of other sewage bacteria ad potential for opportunistic bacteria becomes more apt
in IFS model because of closely knit livestock, fishery and human components (Singh 2011).
 The IFS may result in origin of new pathogens or re-assortment of older ones into new
forms. Influenza pandemic possibility possibly originated from pig-duck system, facilitating,
re-assortment of avian and mammalian influenza virus. Cysticercosis and cryptosporidium
infection may also be transmitted through contaminated and salad vegetables irrigated with
contaminated water. It is well-known that pigs and other animals under such IFS may become
carriers of methicillion-resistant staphylococcus aurous and other dangerous pathogens due to
many reasons, posing a serious health threat to the community.

In the recent past, anthropogenic changes, largely in land use and agriculture,
particularly IFS are implicated in the apparent increased frequency of emergence and
reemergence of zoonoses and multiple drug resistant infections. Excreta from poultry or
livestock suffering from some soonotic infectious disease may be transmitted to the fish and
vegetables which constitute important components of human diet.

RESOURCE RECYCLING: Organic water from crop and livestock production and
household wastes are the valuable sources for cycling organic residues.

Cycling Organic Wastes: Recycling of organic wastes such as crop residues, dung and urine
from domesticated animals and wastage from slaughter house, human excreta and sewage,
bio-mass of weeds, organic wastes from fruit and vegetables production and household
wastes, sugarcane trash, oilcakes, press mud and fly ash from thermal power plants leads to
“gold from garbage”. Material not suitable for direct application can better apply by
composting and vermicompost.

The ultimate goal of sustainable agriculture is to develop farming system that are
productive and profitable, conserve the natural resources base, protect the environment and
enhance health and safety and to do so over the long term. Two farming systems have been
proposed for ensuring sustainability: low input sustainable agriculture (LISA) and organic
farming.

Low Input Sustainable Agriculture (LISA): In this system use of external production inputs
is minimum. Production costs are obviously lower. Overall risk of the farmer is considerably
reduced. Besides, these advantages, pollution of surface and groundwater is avoided and
healthy food with very little or no pesticide residues are ensured. These systems held promise
for both short and long-term profitability. However, the system suffers from one serious
drawback- continuation of low external input agriculture will perpetuate to the vicious circle
of low inputs low yields, which the third world countries with ever increasing population
pressure can ill-offered.

High input system, on the other hand, will fail sooner or later, as they are not
economically and environmentally sustainable. What is the solution then? The optimal input
farming system has the premise of low input per unit of output and lays emphasis on law of
diminishing returns.

Organic Farming and Waste Recycling:

Organic farming is the backbone of sustainable agriculture. Organic farming mainly depends
on organic recycling. Industrial agricultural chemicals like fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide etc
are not used or used to minimum extent necessary in this kind of farming. Organic farming
may result in compatible performance as conventional agriculture and crops growth with high
organic manure application could tolerate the pest and disease attack better. It is sound and
sustainable way of growing more food.

Organic recyclable waste include-crop residues, waste, farm industrial waste, multiple
and sewage wastes. They are valuable sources of plant nutrient and humus in tropical and sub-
tropical soils of India, where there is general deficiency of organic carbon and plant nutrients
due to rapid loss of this component by bio-degradation. To make up for these losses, extensive
utilization of organic residues in agriculture is essential. In addition they also protect the soil
from erosion.
 In India, there is great potential for utilization of crop residues/straw of major crops.
About 141.2 M t of available straws in the country contributes to about 0.7 0.84 and 2.1 M t
N, P and K respectively. Even if 50 per cent of crop residue is used as animal feed, the rest
can be recycled. Wide C:N ratio of the crop residue leads to immobilization of plant
nutrients. Composing the residues with efficient microbial inoculants is a must to bring down
the C:N ratio.

FLOW OF ENERGY IN DIFFERENT FARMING SYSTEMS: Natural and agricultural

ecosystems of which humans are a part are fundamentally a network of energy and mineral
flows. Green plants capture solar energy and convert in into chemical energy for use by the
biological system using the elements of C, H, O, N, P, K, Ca, Mg and other. Basic to the
survival of humans and other animals are adequate suppliers of food that are supplied by the
ecosystem.

In agriculture, energy is important in terms of crop production and agro-processing for

value adding. Since efficient use of the energy resources is vital in terms of increasing
production, productivity, competitiveness of agriculture as well as sustainability of rural
living, energy auditing is one of the most common approaches to examining energy efficiency
and environmental impact of the production system. It enables researchers to calculate output-
input ratio, relevant indicators and outputs. Estimating these functional forms is very useful
for determining elasticity of inputs on yield and production.

Energy requirements in agriculture are divided into two groups-direct and indirect.
Direct energy is required to perform various tasks related to crop production processes such as
land preparation, irrigation, intercultural, threshing harvesting and transportation of
agricultural inputs and farm produce. Indirect energy, on the other hand, consists of the energy
used in the manufacture, packaging and transport of fertilizers, pesticides and farm machinery.
As the term addresses, indirect energy is not directly used on the farm. Major items for
indirect energy are fertilizers, seeds, machinery production and pesticides. Calculating energy
input in agricultural production is more difficult in comparison to the industry sector due to
the high number of factors affecting agricultural production.

Success of agriculture production is measured by the amount of biomass energy

captured in the crop as a result of manipulation plants, land and water, while using human and
animal power and fossil energy power.

Solar energy reaching a hectare during the year in temperate North America averages
about 14 x 109 kcal. During a 4 month summer growing season in the temperate region, nearly
7 x 109 kcal reach an agricultural hectare. Under favorable conditions of moisture and soil
nutrients, corn is considered one of the most productive food and feed crops per unit area of
land. For example, high yielding maize crop grown on good soils of Iowa can produce about
7,000 kg ha-1 of biomass as stover. Converted to heat energy, this totals 63 x 10 6 kcal (heat
energy = 4500 kcal kg-1) and represents about 5 per cent of the solar energy reaching the
hectare during the year (1% during the growing season).

For other crops, the efficiency conversion is much less than for corn. For example,
potatoes with a yield of 40,000 kg ha -1 have a dry weight of about 8,000 kg ha -1 Based on total
biomass produced of 12,000 kg ha-1 and an energy value of 54 x10 6 kcal, potatoes have a 0.4
per cent efficiency of conversion or a wheat crop, yielding 2,700 kg ha -1 of grain, produces a
total of 6,750 kg biomass ha-1, which has a heat energy value of 30 x 106 kcal. The conversion
efficiency of sunlight into biomass in this system is only 0.2 per cent. All of these systems are
relatively efficient, however, agricultural ecosystem as a whole including pasture and
rangeland are less efficient and the average rate of conversion is about 0.1 per cent.

When a natural system capable of producing certain amount of energy containing

biomass is converted into an agro-ecological system, the natural capability limit is often
exceeded by adding energy inputs. The greater the input of external energy, the more the
natural capability of this relationship, an analysis of ago-ecosystem’s input/output energy
balance can be a comprehensive indicator of its sustainability. In this regard, efficient use of
energy by the agriculture sector seems as one of the conditions for sustainable agriculture
because it allows financial savings, fossil resources preservation and air pollution decrease.

Energy coefficients: Energy coefficients used in energy calculation are given in table

Energy source Energy coefficient Reference

(MJ unit-1)
Human labour (h) 1.96 MJ h-1 Gundogmus (2006)
Fertilizer (kg)
N 60.60 MJ kg-1 Gundogmus (2006)
P 11.10 kg-1
K 6.70 kg-1
O 0.30 kg-1
Pesticides (Kg) Gundogmus (2006)
Insecticide 199 MJ kg-1
Fungicide 92 MJ kg-1
Herbicide 238 MJ kg-1

Diesel (1) 56.31 MJ kg-1 Gundogmus (2006)

Paddy (kg) Iqubal (2007)
-1
Seed 14.57 MJ kg
Straw 12.50 MJ kg-1

Machinery (h) 62.70 Gundogmus (2006)

Water (m3) 0.63 Gundogmus (2006)
Electricity (kWh) 11.93 Gundogmus (2006)

Energy Indices: Energy use efficiency (energy ratio), energy productivity, water productivity,
specific energy and net energy can be calculated using the following equations, as suggested
in the literature.

Total energy output (MJ ha-1)

Energy efficiency = Total energy input (MJ ha-1)

Gain yield (kg ha-1)

Energy productivity = Total energy input (MJ ha-1)

Total energy input (MJ ha-1)

Specific energy = Gain yield (kg ha-1)

Gain yield (kg ha-1)

Water productivity = Amount of water applied (M-3 ha-1 )

Energy output (MJ ha-1)

Net energy =
Energy input (MJ ha-1)
Amounts of inputs used and output in rice production for each item are illustrated in
table. As it can be seen, 137.40 kg nitrogen, 77.1 kg phosphors, 40.78 kg potassium, 10.63 kg
manure, 32.73 1 diesel fuel, 4.41 kg pesticide, 29, 345.1 m3 water, 419.65 h human labour,
24.88 h machinery, 1,112.1 kwh electrical energy per hectare are employed for the production
of rice. Average annual yields including seed and straw were found to be 3,033.7 and 3,574.32
kg ha-1 in the enterprises that are analyzed.

Total energy used in various farm operations was 47,603.82 MJ ha -1 that consists of
1.87 per cent pesticide (the share of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides of total energy
were 0.847, 0.91 and 0.11 per cent, respectively), 1.72 per cent human labour, 3.28 per cent
machinery, 19.88 per cent fertilizer, 3.9 per cent fuel (diesel energy was mainly consumed for
land preparation, cultural practices and transportation), 27.87 per cent electricity, 38.84 per
cent water and 2.68 per cent seed inputs.

The highest energy inputs are provided by water and electricity. Irrigation operation
consumed the maximum energy on rice farm due to the higher water requirement of rice corp.
based on the energy equivalents of the input and output given in table the average total energy
consumed per farm per year was determined as 47,603.82 MJ ha-1

Flow of Energy in Different Farming Systems:

Flow of energy in different integrated farming systems has been briefly presented for
selected farming systems.

Energy source Quantity used per Total energy Percentage

unit area (ha) equivalent (MJ ha-1)
Inputs (units)
Human labour (h) 419.65 822.53 1.72
Machinery (h) 24.88 1,559.89 3.28
Fertilizer (kg) -- 9,459.13 19.88
N (kg) 137.40 8,327.01 17.50
P (kg) 77.10 855.66 1.80
K (kg) 40.78 273.27 0.573
Manure (kg) 10.63 3.19 0.007
Chemicals (kg) -- 888.90 1.87
Insecticides (kg) 2.02 403.26 0.847
Fungicides (kg) 0.57 52.37 0.11
Herbicides (kg) 1.82 433.27 0.91
Diesel (1) 32.73 1,842.95 3.90
Electricity (kWh) 1,112.10 13,267.17 27.87
Irrigation water (m3) 29,345.10 18.487.40 38.84
Seeds (kg) 87.57 1,275.85 2.68
Total energy input (MJ ha-1) -- 47,603.82 100
Outputs (units) -- -- --
Seed (kg) 3,033.70 44,201.02 48.75
Straw (kg) 3,574.32 46,479.01 51.25
Total energy output (MJ ha-1) -- 90,076.22 100
Net energy (MJ ha-1) -- 43,076.22 --
Specific energy (MJ kg-1) -- 15.70 --
Energy efficiency -- 2.19 --
Energy productivity (MJ kg -1) -- 0.064 --
Water productivity (kg m-3) -- 0.11 --

Crop-Livestock Farming System: Diversified systems consist of components such as crops

and livestock that coexist independently from each other. In this case, integrating crops and
livestock serves primarily to minimize risk and not to recycle resources. In an integrated
system, crops and livestock interact to create a synergy, with recycling allowing the maximum
use of available resources. Crop residues can be used for animal feed, while livestock and
livestock byproduct production and processing can enhance agricultural productivity by
intensifying nutrients that improve soil fertility, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers. A
high integration of crops and livestock is often considered as a stop forward, but small
farmers need to have sufficient access to knowledge, assets and inputs to mange this system in
a way that is economically and environmentally sustainable over the long term.

Livestock provide dairy products and meet to household besides supplying dung for
bio-gas and manure to the crops. Crops provide grains, vegetables and fruits to household.
Resource flow model for crop-livestock farming system has been given in fig.3.3
 Major farming systems in this category include:

 Crops-poultry
 Crops-sheep
 Crops-goat
 Crops-dairy animals
 Rice-fish
 Rice-mushroom etc.

Crop-Livestock-Forestry System: This system combines cropping, livestock and forestry

activities to promote the recovery of degraded pastures. Each farm will have a varied
production system, such as grains, fibers, meat and milk and agro-energy. It also aims to
improve soil fertility with the sue of adequate cropping systems and techniques to optimize
and intensify its use. Therefore, allows the diversification of economic activities on farm and
minimizes income risks due to limited and or market changes. The system consists in growing
forest species simultaneously with commercial crops like soybeans, maize or beans added for
the first 2 or 3 years. After crop harvest, they are is planted with forages for livestock,
associated with maize or sorghum. After rains harvesting, the pasture is already established
between the tree rows, enabling grazing until wood is harvested.

Forestry component supplies feed to the livestock and nutrients to the crops. Livestock
supply manure to forestry as well as crops. The crops supply feed to the livestock. Resource
flow model for crop-livestock-forestry farming system has been given in Fig. 3.4
Crop-Fish –Poultry System:

Following are some of the additional advantages when crop and fish culture is
integrated with chicken rising on/or near the pond dykes:

 As usual, food crops (rice, maize, pulse crops, groundnut etc) meets the needs of
the family.
 Grain and other by products of the crops meets the needs of poultry feed.
 Direct discharge of fresh and chicken manure to the fish pounds produces enough
natural fish feed organisms without the use of any additional manure/fertilizer.
 Nutritive value of applied fresh manure is much higher than day and mixed with
bedding materials (saw dust or rice husk).
 Some parts of the manure are consented directly by the fish.
 No supplementary feed is needed for the fish.
 No extra space is required for chicken farming. Chicken sheds can be constructed
over the pond water or on the dyke.
 More production of animal protein will be ensured from the same area of
minimum land.
 The overall farm production and income will increases.

Examples of IFS with three components include:1. Crop-dairy-poultry

2. Crop-dairy-agro-forestry 3. Rice-fish-poultry 4. Rice-fish-vegetables etc.

Crop-Livestock-Poultry-Fish system:

Livestock and crop production systems are an integral part of one another. Crop
residues provide fodder for livestock while, occasionally, grain provides supplementary feed
for productive animals. Animals improve soil fertility through manure and urine deposition
and animal power for farm operations and transport. Sale of animals sometimes provides cash
for farm labour and agricultural inputs. There are several examples of completely integrated
crop-livestock production systems where sustainable increases in both crop and livestock
production have been achieved after considerable periods (30-40 years) of continuous
cropping without resulting in land degradation.

Introduction of poultry and fish components in crop-livestock system leads to

additional benefits as indicated below:

 Ruminants to utilize nonmarketable crop residues in situ, the manure production, from
which can be used by fish.
 Availability of water plants which can also be simultaneously utilized by ruminants.
 Reduced cost of feeding and production due to more intensive use of available
indigenous feeds.
 Use of purchased concentrate supplements to fish and poultry components is
restricted to dairy cattle.
 Demonstrable benefits in terms of significant income generation from the sale of
crops, animals, fish and some by-products like rice-bran in rice-based systems.
 With small farms, te meager resources are put to more effective.

Resource flow model for crop-livestock-poultry-fish system (fig 3.6) indicates efficient
use of resources for improving farm productivity, employment generation and minimizing the
effects of climate change.
 The key success to these farming systems is effective components integration
involving the recycling of nutrients within the system. A particular challenge facing farmers is
to minimize nutrient losses through good management.

Intensive farming system components include:

 Rice-fish-poultry- livestock
 Rice – fish-mushroom-poultry
 Cropping-fish-pigeon-agro-forestry
 Cropping-fish-poultry-mushroom
 Cropping dairy-poultry-agro-forestry etc.

Lec. No. 16 Visit to various IFS Models.

The IFS model under irrigated conditions was carried out under Agronomy discipline
at MPKV, Rahuri for small farmers.

The IFS model on 1.00ha area under irrigated conditions. The IFS model consists of
components like -

Field crop 0.72 ha Field crops Soybean, maize, pearl millet, wheat,
gram, onion, cowpea, Green gram,
Lucerne & Hybrid Napier
Mango 0.20 ha Horticulture
crops
Animal component 0.08 ha 2 cross breed 100 poultry birds in 5 lots (500 poultry
cows birds) +vermicompost unit. +

Area 1 ha. % Area Season

Kharif Rabi Summer
Crop Component (72%)
0.30 30 Soybean Wheat Leaf vegetable
0.20 20 Maize Onion Green gram
0.10 10 Pearl millet Gram Cowpea
0.10 10 Lucerne Lucerne Lucerne
0.02 02 Hybrid Napier Hybrid Napier Hybrid Napier
Horticulture Component (20%)
0.20 20 Mango orchard
Animal Component (8%)
0.08 08 2 cross breed cows +100 poultry birds in 5 lots
(500 poultry birds) +vermicompost unit.
 This IFS model for 1.00 ha area under irrigated is recommended for getting higher
production, profitability, food security, recycling of resources & employment generation for
small farmers.