Farming System and Sustainable Agriculture PDF

# Farming System and Sustainable Agriculture Dr. Jagadish Jeny 16.11.2020 - System = Group of interacting components, operating together for a common purpose, having a specified boundary and capable of reacting as a whole to external stimulus. - Ex: plant and human system - Collection of...

# Farming System and Sustainable Agriculture Dr. Jagadish Jeny 16.11.2020 - System = Group of interacting components, operating together for a common purpose, having a specified boundary and capable of reacting as a whole to external stimulus. - Ex: plant and human system - Collection of unrelated items doesn't make a system. - System approach - Look at the impacts of other components, one component considering the impacts of other components. One component in the system approach cannot be focused solely. - Ex: In agriculture, generally management practices are being developed for a single crop, but the system approach should be taken for holistic development. - Farming system = It is a complex, interrelated matrix of soil, plant, tools, animals, power, capital, labour and other inputs controlled in part by farm families and influenced by varying degrees of political, social, institutional and economic forces that operates at many levels. - It is a resource management strategy to achieve economic and sustained production to meet diverse requirements of farm household while preserving the resource base and maintaining a high level of environmental quality. | Suitable selection and Combination of enterprises | Farming System | Farm viewed as Holistic system | |---|---|---| | Farm as a single unit to be considered while planning. End product or waste of one enterprise should act as input for other enterprise | | Combination of one or more enterprises along with cropping practice | | undefined time dimension | | Enterprises = Crops, diary, poultry, fishery, sericulture, apiculture, trees, etc. | | | | | | | | Sustenance and sustainability | | Principles | Characteristics | Objectives | |---|---|---| | Risk minimization | Farmer oriented, effective farmer participation | Productivity | | Waste recycling | Holistic approach | Profitability | | Optimum resource utilization | Unique problem solving system | Potentiality | | Enterprise integration | Dynamic system | Balanced food | | Ecological balance | Gender sensitive | Environmental safety | | Employment generation | Responsible to society | Enhancement in input use efficiency | | Increase input use efficiency | Environmental sustainability | | | Maximizing farm productivity | Location specificity of technology | | | Income/cashflow round the year | Diversified farming enterprise can avoid risks due to environmental constraints | | | Meeting fodder crisis | Provides feedback from farmers. | | | Solving timber and fuel crisis | | | | Employment generation | | | ## Determinants of Farming System - 3 major group of factors | Factor A | Factor B | Factor C | |---|---|---| | Physical | Endogenous human elements | Exogeneous human variables | | - Soil | - Crop | - Marketing | | - Topography | - Livestock | - Transportation | | - Land quality | - Disease | - Extension education | | - Water | | - Agricultural research | | - Climate | | - Socio-economic | | - Location | | - Input economic | | - Distance | | - By product demand | **Factor A = physical and Biological elements.** (land, soil, climate, topography, location). **Factor B = Endogenous human elements.** (Types of farming system adopted in a region) **Factor C = Characteristics of the family** - **Individuay Farming system** - System output - Cost saving farm improvement - Potential farming system - **Feedback to change Factor A+B** - **Feedback to change Factor C.** ## Cropping System - Principles and practices of cropping and their interaction with farm resources, technology, aerial and edaphic environment to suit the regional, national or global needs and production strategies. | Climate | Environment | Soil | Cropping System | Cropping Pattern | Available Technology | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Farm resources | | | | **Principles** | | | |---|---| | | Economics | | | Production | | | Technology demonstration and transfer | **Cropping Pattern** - The yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of a crop or of crops on a given area ie farm, region or country. - Apportioning due consideration for natural features, crop efficiency and capability, socioeconomic structure, technological infrastructure and the national agricultural policy. - **Multiple cropping:** Intensification of cropping both in time and space. It includes sequential cropping, intercropping and mixed cropping. **Intensification** | | | |---|---| | Sequential Cropping | Growing two or more crops in sequence. (Crop intensification is only in time dimension) | | Intercropping | Growing 2 or more dissimilar crops simultaneously on some piece of land. (Farmer manage only one crop at a time). | | | Necessarily in distinct row arrangement. | | | Intensification in both space and time dimension | **Types** - Mixed, row, strip, relay intercropping - **Mixed intercropping:** Component crops grown without any distinct row arrangement. (Commonly used in labor intensive, subsistence farming). - **Row intercropping:** Compost crops grown in different row arrangement. (used in mechanized agriculture). - **Strip intercropping:** Growing component crops in different strips wide enough to permit independent cultivation but narrow enough to interact agronomically. - **Relay intercropping:** Components crops are grown in relay, so that growth cycle overlaps. (Planting of succeeding crops before harvesting of preceding crops). - **Mixed cropping:** Growing 2 or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land. (may or may not be having different row arrangements). - Objective is to minimize the risk and insurance against crop failure due to aberrant weather condition. - **Mono culture:** Repeatative growing of the sole crop on the same piece of land. (either due to climatological limitation or due to specialization by farmer to grow a particular crop) - **Staggered planting:** Sowing of a crop is spread over and around optimum period of planting either to minimize competition or to minimize risk or to prolong the period of supply to the market or the factories. - **Ratoon cropping:** The regrowth of the cultivated crops out of roots or stalks of the preceding crop after harvest, although not necessarily for grains. - **Mixed farming:** With the objectives of subsistence, it includes the suitable combination of agricultural enterprises ie. crops, livestock, poultry, fisheries, bee keeping, etc, with the principle of give and take. - **Shifting cultivation:** Land rotation / Jhumming / slash and burn cultivation. (Crop is fixed, land is rotated. Causes soil erosion and deforestation. Mostly practiced in NE-States of India) - **Crop rotation:** Land is fired, crop is rotated. (Maintains and improves soil fertility. Checks the soil erosion and conservation of moisture.) - **Modern scientific cropping system has three pillars.** - Genotype - Geometry of planting - Crop management practices. - **Cropping pattern = Arrangement of crops in time & space management practices.** - **Cropping system = Cropping pattern & management.** - **Cropping scheme= plan to which crops are raised on individual plots of a farm with an objective of getting the max. return from each without impairing the soil fertility.** - **Crop Intensity = Gross cropped area x 100 / Net cropped area** - **Rotational Intensity = Months of crops grown x 100 / Years of rotation** - For mono-cropping, cropping intensity is 100%. - The principal factor limiting the adoption of multiple cropping are: - Low intensity of irrigation - Preponderance of long duration varieties. - **The scientific study of mixed cropping was first done by La-Flitze (1928).** - **Dr. S.S. Bains suggested relay cropping system for NW-India = Moong-maize-potato-wheat.** - **Multistorsed cropping = Based on the principle of Annidation in space.** - **Ex: Coconut, black pepper + Cocoa + Pineapple.** - **Terra farming = To develop planet Mars according to the Earth's environment.** ## Allied Enterprises - Integrating livestock in farming system is important for: - Subsistence by diversifying food generation. - Nutrient transformation. - Farm productivity - Risk - Income - Dairy cattles broadly classified into 5 groups. - **Draft breeds:** Good for draft, poor milker. Ex: Nagore, Hallikar, Kangujam, Mali. - **Dairy breeds:** High milk yielders, bullocks good for draft. Ex: Sahiwal, Sindhi, Gir - **Dual purpose:** Hariana, Ongole, Kankerj - **Exotic breeds:** Jersey, Holstein-Friesian, Aryshine, Brown swiss, Local buffaloes in coastal areas. - **Buffaloes:** Murrah, Nili Ravi, Mehsana, suti, Zafarabadi, Godavari, Bhadwars. - Andha Pradesh x Murrah. ### Housing requirement | | | |---|---| | Calves | 1 m² | | Growing calves | 2m² | | Cows | 3.5 m² | | Buffaloes | 4 m² | | Pregnant animals | 12 m² | | Bull | 12 m² | - India was the 1st country in the world to have developed a biogas plant on an experimental basis as early as 1939, followed by the installation of a commercial model in 1954. - Khadi and Village industry commission (KVIC) adopted biogas program in 1962. - **Types of Biogas** - Float dome type - Ex: KVIC vertical and horizontal, Pragathi model, Ganesh model. - Fixed dome type - Ex: Janata and Deen-Bandhu model. - **Biogas = Methane (55-60%) + CO₂ (35-45%).** - **Fresh dung from medium sized animals/day:** - Buffalo = 15 kg, Cow = 10 kg, Calves = 5 kg. ### Goat breeds: - Tellicherry, Jamunapari, Barberi, Osmanabadi, Malaberi, Kashmir, Beetal, Surti, Gujarati. - **Exotic goats:** Saemen, Toggenburg, Angora, Anglo-Nubion, British Alpine. ### Sheep breeds: - **Himalayan regions:** Gurer, Karanah, Bhakarwal. - **Western regions:** Bikenewi, Marwari, Kathiawari, Kutchi. - **Southern regions:** Deccani, Nellore, Bellary, Mandya, Bandur. - As per nutritional recommendation, the per capita consumption is 180 eggs / year. - **Light breeds ie white leghorn = 0.2 m³ / adult bind, 9 kg meat / year.** - **Heavy breeds ie Broiler = 0.3-0.4 m³ / adult.** ### Poly fish culture: - **Revom. stocking density = 7500 fingerlings / ha.** - Silven comp (surface feeder): Mrigal (bottom feeder): Rohn (Column feeders): grass carp (Specialized feeds on aquatic plants) = 4:3:2:4). ## Holi (India) - **SA = Word Sustain from Latin word sustinere (sus = from below, teneve = to hold)** - Meeting the need of the present generation without endangering the resource base of the future generation. - **Eutrophication → ↑ BOD.** - **Canal irrigated land → Salinity, high ground water table.** - **Index of soil health = microbes = f(soil org-matter)** | | | |---|---| | Farming | | | - Traditioncy | Ecological | | - Conventional/modern | Economic | | - Sustainable | Social | - **Alternate farming / regenerative agr./natural fang/org. Ajr./ Ecofarming / permaculture. etc. → Environmentally sound, economically profitable, ethically acceptable and socially responsible.** - **HELA = High external input sustainable agriculture.** - **LEISA = Low external input sustainable agriculture.** - **PTD = Participatory Technology Development** - Efficiency of Indian irrigation projects ~15-45% - **Indices of sustainability = Quantification of sustainability.** - **Productiving Index (P) = TP/R. TP = Total production, R = Resource used.** - **Total factor Productivity (TFP) = Productivity per unit cost of all factors involved. TFP = (RixCi) / TP. TP = Total production. R= Resavicce yel. C = Cost of resources.** - **(Herdt, 1993)** - **Coefficient of sustainability (Cs) = Change in soil property in relation to production under specific management system (Lal, 1991).** - **Index of sustainability (Is) = mecuures sustainability relating productivity to change in soil and env. characteristics.** - **Agricultural sustainability (As) = Broad index based on several parameters associated with agricultural production.** | March | | |---|---| | 7 14 21 28 | | | 1 8 15 22 29 | | | 2 9 16 23 30 | | | 3 10 17 24 31 | | | 4 11 18 25 | | | 5 12 19 26 | | | 6 13 20 27 | | - **Potenticy productivity of soil estimated by > MEPIEC.** (Tropiccy soil producing calculator) - **When land is limiting factor, suitable indices for productivity care** - Land use factor (L) - Land equivalent ratio (LER) - Area time equivalent ratio (ATER) - **Land use factor (L) = C + Flc / cropping period.** - (Higher for low intensity system (shifting within) - **Land equivalent ratio (LER) = Σ YI / Σ YM** - YI = yield of component crop in intercrop - YM = Yield of sole crop - **Area Time Equivalent Ratio (ATER)** - (Hiebsch and Mc Collum, 1987) - **ATER = Σ di x Yi / Σ Ym x L** - di = growth period of ith crop (days) - L = time for which the field is occupied - (Greatest period of longest crop) ## Key points - 1 molecule of CI from CFC can degrade 10⁵ molecules of Ozone (O₃) from ozone layer. - Degraded land areas ~ 175 mha. - Salinity ~ 1 mha. - Water logging ~ 6 mha. - Without CO₂ Earth's mean temp would have been -23°C. - National mission for sustainable agriculture (NSMSA) = 2014-15 to 2030. - Sustainable development Goal (SDGs) was set in 2015 by UN to achieve them by 2030. - Regenerative agriculture was started by **Robert Rodale.** **Three type of efficiencies:** - Technical - Allocative - Economic **Cultivated land utilization index (CLUI) = Σ ai di / Σ ai x 365.** - ai = Area occupied by ith crop. - di = Days the ith crop occupied. **WUE 20 = Field WUE / X365. Total cultivated land area / available** - **CROP WUE = 4/EFc.** - Rice = 3.7 kythemus - Sorghum = 2.0 - Maize = 8.0 - Gur = 9.12 - Wheat = 12.6 - Finger mille = 13.7. - It has done me good to be somewhat parched by the heat and drenched by the rain of life.