The integrated farming system is a commonly used term to elucidate a more integrated approach to farming compared to monoculture approaches. It certainly refers to agricultural systems that integrate livestock and crop production or integrate fish and livestock. And should sometimes also be referred to as integrated biosystems. During this system, an inter-related set of enterprises is employed as the “waste” from one component becomes an input for other part of the system. As a result, this reduces costs and improves production and/or income. Since it utilizes waste as a resource, farmers firstly eliminate waste. Secondly, ensure an overall increase in productivity for the entire farming system.
Principles of IFS
Incorporated cultivating attempts to copy nature’s guideline. Here crops, as well as shifted sorts of plants, creatures, winged animals, fish, and other amphibian vegetation, are used for creation. The essential principle is to reinforce ecological diversity:
- By choosing the acceptable cropping methodology with mixed cropping, crop rotation, crop combination and inter-cropping in order that there’s less competition for water, nutrition and space and by adopting eco-friendly practices
- Via utilizing a multi-story arrangement in order that the entire available area has employed effectively. So, there’s a high level of interaction between biotic and abiotic components
- By coordinating subsystems by which the different parts communicate decidedly, with the goal that the general ranch profitability is expanded
The coordinated cultivating framework is additionally a supportable framework. This centers around expanding ranch efficiency by expanding enhancement, asset joining and making market linkages. Many farmers in asset helpless areas in Asia and Africa have changed their cultivating over to this reasonable cultivating framework. So as to expand farm production, increment money pay, improve the quality and amount of food delivered and the misuse of unutilized assets. It always takes three to four years to determine a well-integrated farm with market linkages to make sure nutrition and therefore the livelihood of a family.
Advantages of utilizing an integrated farming system are:
The integrated farming system approach presents an adjustment in cultivating methods for max production of crops and guarantees the ideal usage of assets. Farm waste also undergoes recycling for productive purposes within the integrated system.
A sensible blend of agrarian ventures like dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, sericulture and so forth. This fit the given agro-climatic conditions and financial status of the ranchers can carry success to the cultivating activities. Many farmers and even entire countries throughout the planet are adopting the integrated farming system. This use practices that consider today and future climate, soil characteristics, the food habits of the population. It can also estimate the longer-term food requirements of the ever-increasing human and animal population.
The new integrated practices include improved farming technologies for instance integrated nutrient management, site-specific nutrient management, conservation technology, use of bio-fertilizers, crop rotation, zero tillage. Therefore, the use of farm management systems like Agrivi helps farmers track their activities on fields. Thus, leading to the increased whole farm productivity and profitability.
IFS in India
Manipur is entirely rainfed and rice occupies quite 80% of the agricultural area within the Kharif season. The landholdings are small and therefore the farmers practice farming for his or her livelihood. The North-Eastern people are meat lovers and an enormous demand exists for poultry, pork and other meat products. Perpetually, there exist deficiency in yields, animals and fishery items. Henceforth, to augment ranch efficiency, the innovative intercessions through Integrated Farming System were received in participatory mode by the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Manipur Center, Imphal.
Role model:
Mr Henkpao successfully harvested higher paddy under IFS 4.80 t/ha after intervention as compared to three .25 t/ha rice yield before the intervention. The farmer had grown first-time groundnut (ICGS-76) which gave 2.40 t/ha dry pod yield. Maize cultivar Pusa composite-3 produced 3.25 t/ha as compared to local maize cultivar (Chakhaocujak (hill)) yield 1.70 t/ha. The vegetable yield considerably increased after intervention which gave 1.50 lakh net returns from cabbage and cauliflower.
In poultry farms, he adopted composite fish production. During which grass carp was surviving on middle and upper layers of water and customary carp in lower layers of water. By 2011-12, the rancher had no water reaping unit. In 2013-14, he could store 30,000.00 liters of water within the Jalkund.
Now, he has become a role model for not only his village but also for the whole tribal community of this district. Now, farmers from other villages has felt motivated by this success. As a result, most of the village headmen are requesting to implement such model in their villages. These interventions made a positive impact on the use of scarce resources under fragile hilly ecosystem benefitting tribal farmers at large.
To sum up
Through the conversion to an integrated farming system and therefore the adoption of recent farming practices, the issues of food security and heating mitigation should definitely be solved.
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