OBJECTIVE: SURVEY OF FARMING SYSTEMS AND AGRICULTURAL BASED

LIVELIHOOD ENTERPRISES

Integrated farming systems models for India’s agroecological zones

High altitude cold desert: Pastures with forestry, sheep, goats, rabbits, and yak and limited crops like
millets, wheat, barley, vegetables, and fodders.

Arid and desert regions: Animal husbandry with camels, sheep, and goats with moderate crop
components involving pearl millet, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, and fodders.

Western and Central Himalayas: Emphasis on horticultural crops with crops like maize, wheat, rice,
pulses, and fodders on terraces, pastures with forestry, poultry, sheep, goats, rabbits, and yak.

Eastern Himalayas: Horticultural crops with crops like maize, wheat, rice, pulses, and pasture on
terraces, pastures with forestry, sheep, goats, rabbits, yak, and cold-water fisheries at altitudes of more
than 2,000 meters above mean sea level (MAMSL). Maize, rice, french bean, rice bean, pigs, poultry,
fishery, and cole crops like cabbage at more than 1,000 mamsl. Rice, pulses, dairy, fish culture, and
vegetables in zones lower than 1,000 m amsl.

Indo-Gangetic Plains: Intensive crop husbandry involving rice, maize, wheat, mustard, pulses, and
dairy.

Central and southern highlands: Crops such as millets, pulses, and cotton along with dairy cattle,
sheep, goat, and poultry.

Central and southern highlands: Crops such as millets, pulses, and cotton along with dairy cattle,
sheep, goat, and poultry.

Western Ghats: Plantation crops, rice and pulses, and livestock components including cattle, sheep, and
goats.

Delta and coastal plains: Rice and pulse crops along with fish and poultry.

Farming systems research in the sub-humid and humid tropics of north east India

Shifting cultivation, locally known ‘Jhumming is widely practised in the hills of northeast India and in
tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. The traditional system followed a 20-30 year
rotation cycle, but population pressures and the increasing demand for food have shortened the rotation
cycle to between three and six years (ICAR, 1983). In this region, upland rice is the main crop and is
grown in mixture with maize, finger millet (.Eleusine coracana), setaria, beans, tapioca, yam, banana,
sweet potato, ginger, cotton, tobacco, chillies, sesame and vegetables. After two or three years of
cultivation the land is left fallow to allow the regeneration of forest vegetation and improvement of soil
fertility, but the productivity of the land is declining and food shortages are increasing.

Farming systems research in the humid tropics

Plantation crops such as coconut, arecanut, cashewnut, tuber crops, banana and pepper are the main crops
of the humid tropics in India, especially in Kerala, parts of Tamilnadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
intercropping with tuber crops, pineapple and banana is the most promising system in coconut-based
farming, while in the mixed cropping system, a combination of coconut with cocoa, pepper and pineapple
 is the most efficient mixture. Growing grasses and forage legumes between the coconut palms and raising
milk cows is another promising farming system. Besides the normal crop of coconut, five cows can be
raised successfully on one hectare of land, giving Rs 14 500 ha-1 a-1 net profit. T

Integrated farming systems: acreage, geographies, and cultivation details

How much area in India is under IFS? It is not easy to quantify the area under different IFS practices,
and no information on the area is available. Stakeholder consultation with the ICAR estimated the area to
be less than 0.5 million ha. India's achievement under the Rainfed Area Development website of the
NMSA? in 2019-20 was 52,079 hectares under various IFS activities. These include horticulture-based
farming, livestock-based farming, agroforestry-based farming systems, water harvesting and
management, and green manuring.

How many farmers in India are practicing IFS? There are no government data available on the
number of farmers involved. However, stakeholders consulted indicated the number could be in the tens
of thousands and thus estimated as less than 0.1 million.

Where in India is IFS prevalent? A survey of existing farmers’ systems indicates 19 predominant
farming systems in India, with a majority (85 percent) consisting of crop and livestock farming systems.
This does not mean that all of them follow the IFS principles.

Which are the major crops cultivated under IFS in India? Not relevant for this practice as all crops
are covered.

Three agricultural livelihood system types were identified: (i) Poor-income, landless and subsistence-
based farms; (ii) Medium-income, high-dependency, cotton-and livestock-oriented farms, and (iii) better-
off income, land-and labour-rich, cotton-and livestock-oriented farms.

There are many types of agricultural livelihood systems in India, including:

1. Subsistence farming
The focus is on producing enough food for the farmer's family. In India, dairy farming is a common
type of subsistence farming.
2. Intensive farming
This method uses modern techniques to maximize production on limited land. Intensive subsistence
farming is a variation of subsistence farming that uses chemical fertilizers and irrigation to increase
crop yields.
3. Mixed farming
This method involves growing crops and rearing livestock to increase income and complement land and
labor demands throughout the year. It is common in the northern plains of India.
4. Dry agriculture
This method involves growing crops without irrigation in areas that receive less than 750 mm of annual
rainfall.
5. Extensive farming
 This modern system is done on large farms and is also known as mechanical farming because of the
extensive use of machines.

6. Aquaculture
This method can improve sustainability and income generation for small farmers when integrated with
other enterprises and household activities.