Integrated Farming System -An Approach towards Livelihood Security, Resource Conservation and Sustainable Production for Small and Marginal Farmers

Per capita land holding has been reducing day by day due to fragmentation of land and farmers concentrate mainly on cropping systems approach rather than farming system approach. Integrated farming system (IFS) is considered as one of the best option towards farming system approach through intensification of small holder farm income to ensure livelihood security. This is an Experiment on Integrated farming system. As the IFS is an integration of all the crop components and subsidiary enterprises. The Integrated Farming System model was established and renamed as All India Co-ordinated Research Project, Main Centre for Cropping Systems Research to Integrated Farming System at Agriculture and Horticultural Research Station, Kathalagere, Karnataka during 2011-12 for 1 ha area under Indian Institute of Farming System Research (IIFSR), Modipuram, Meerut. Farming system approach includes cropping systems and subsidiary enterprises (Dairy, Sheep etc.,). Accordingly, the land was demarcated components wise on per cent basis out of 1.0 ha. Growing cropping systems like paddy-paddy /paddy-finger millet/paddy-pulse with 50 per cent area in order to meet the family food requirement and in addition to get better profit out of these produce. The results after 5th year of establishment of integrated farming system indicated that total production from cropping system was (16.04 t/ha /year of rice equivalent yield), Horticulture components (11.80 t/ha /year of rice equivalent yield), dairy (1.75 t/ha /year of rice equivalent yield), sheep unit (0.10 t/ha /year of rice equivalent yield) and vermicompost unit (1.88 t/ha /year of rice equivalent yield). Similarly, the net returns from various components viz., crops (Rs.80, 795), Horticulture (Rs.38, 526), Dairy (Rs.4, 7278) and sheep unit (Rs.17, 876). The total quantity of produce recycled was (26,316 kg/l/nos) worth of Rs.43, 846 (three years average) was obtained. Effective recycling of farm waste in terms of vermicompost/compost can save Rs.12634 by addition of 1256 kg of nutrients in-terms of N, P & K. The total annual mandays generated out of various components varied from 515 to 932 mandays. Thus, we can conclude that adoption of integrated farming system improves the profitability and achieve sustainable production by effective recycling of natural resource in addition to meeting family needs.