• 9964432222
  • Mail Us
  • Appointment
  • Locate Us
  • Chat Now
  • Courses
  • Login
  • Register
Manifest IAS
JournalsOfIndia
Manifest Learning Academy
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
JournalsOfIndia
No Result
View All Result
Home Society

Integrated Farming Systems

February 16, 2021
in Society
Reading Time: 6 mins read
0
Integrated Farming Systems
1.7k
VIEWS
Share on WhatsAppShare on TelegramShare on Facebook
image_pdfMake PDF

Integrated farming which evolved in China, has spread across the globe, thereby helping the agro-based economies a lot. This farming method has included the essence of more productivity and sustainability with lesser competition. 

In news: Sustainable Agriculture in India
Placing it in syllabus: Society

Dimensions

  • What are integrated farming systems?
  • Its advantages
  • components
  • Agro climatic zones and integrated farming

Content:

What are Integrated Farming Systems (IFS)?

  • IFS refers to agricultural systems that integrate livestock and crop production and may sometimes be known as Integrated Biosystems or Integrated Agriculture.
  • IFS, is an integration or a collaboration of two sectors of production- crop production and animal rearing.
  • It adopts a holistic approach of taking up agriculture, horticulture and other allied activities simultaneously.
  • Integration two sectors of production into one guarantee diversified production with minimum cost and labour. 
  • The uniqueness of IFS is its method of recycling farm waste. Here, the by-product of one becomes the raw material for the other.
  • Integrated farming is a system that tries to mimic nature’s principle where not only crops but various plants, animals, and poultry form a diverse ecological system. 
  • The flora and fauna are combined in such a way that each element helps another element i.e. waste from one is a resource for others.
  • For example, cattle dung mixed with crop residues and farm waste can be converted into nutrient-rich vermi-compost and used in another part of the same farm.
  • This approach makes the whole farm largely self-sustainable and environment friendly.
  • Suitable methods of agronomy and crop production are harmonised in compliance with site specifics. 
  • Thus its basic principle is to enhance the ecological diversity – by choosing the appropriate cropping methodology with mixed cropping, crop rotation, crop combination, and intercropping so that there is less competition for water, nutrition, and space. 
  • A multi-story arrangement is followed for proper utilization of space e.g. a poultry farm on the upper level with a fish farm on a lower level where the waste from poultry will feed the fish on a lower level.
  • IFS is a labor-intensive system that keeps the farmer indulged in the farm productively throughout the year. 
  • IFS induces collective purchasing of inputs and collective marketing of produce among farmers which in turn leads to good productivity and profit margins as well.
  • The IFS approach has multiple objectives of sustainability, food security, farmer security and poverty reduction. 
  • The salient features of IFS include –
    • innovation in farming for maximising production through optimal use of local resources, 
    • effective recycling of farm waste for productive purposes,
    • community-led local systems for water conservation, 
    • organic farming, and 
    • developing a judicious mix of income-generating activities such as dairy, poultry, fishery, goat-rearing, vermicomposting and others

The IFS system is similar to mixed farming where farmers grow one main crop and raise livestock. In IFS crops are grown along with other farm ventures e.g., animal husbandry or poultry farming or piggery or fishery with vegetable farming. 

However, the difference is related to the amount of waste generated. The waste is almost completely recycled into the new crop in IFS.

Advantages of IFS:

Self-reliance and Self-Sufficiency: 

  • From the production of fodder for animals to production of manure or vermicompost, every raw material is produced in the farm itself. 
  • This constant self-reliant nature helps this mode of farming to enhance agro-ecological balance.

Renewable resources: 

  • From biogas to solar energy and from hydel power to vermicompost, this farming process includes no non-renewable resources. 
  • The crop rotation mechanism prevalent in these farms helps in renewing the soil productivity. 

Diversification of Farm income and gainful employment: 

  • In addition to the main crop, Integrated farming provides a number of  additional related income domains such as honey production, lumbering (thus helping in paper and pulp factories) and silk production. 
  • Thus it prevents seasonal unemployment of farmers and gives more avenues for income throughout the year.

Reduced Expenditure:

  • The waste product management helps in lowering the dependence on the raw materials bought from the markets.
  • The symbiotic association between the two sectors of production helps in fully utilizing the resources and also helps in optimizing the yield and productivity. 
  • Thus, IFS mechanism creates an eco-friendly usage of the by-products, thereby decreasing the input expenditure.

Environment friendly and Sustainable: 

  • This type of farming does not use chemical pesticides and insecticides, thereby providing healthy food. 
  • The zero waste policy used in IFS helps in negating the drastic negative effect on the ecology. The soil is nourished naturally with the manure and crop rotation. 

‘Jaivagriham’ project

  • Kerala government announced the ‘Jaivagriham’ project under the Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI). 
  • It envisages an integrated system of agriculture, animal husbandry, poultry, apiculture and aquaculture for maximum utilisation of land, time and energy. 
  • As per this, farms under the Agriculture Department in various districts will be developed as model farms by adopting hi-tech and integrated farming methods. 
  • The technical support for the ₹25-lakh project will be supplied by the Integrated Farming Systems Research Station (IFSRS), a Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) station here at Karamana.
  • Agro-ecological unit (AEU)-specific IFS models that promise higher productivity, sustainability and profits will be validated and showcased under the project. (Kerala has 23 AEUs in five agro ecological zones.)

Components of IFS:

The components of IFS vary depending on the local conditions and type of farm.

Following elements may be included in IFS depending upon the individual farmers resources, interest and opportunities.

  • Watershed
  • Farm ponds
  • Bio-pesticides
  • Bio-fertilizers
  • Plant products as pesticides
  • Bio-gas
  • Solar energy
  • Compost making (Vermi, Japanese, Improved etc.)
  • Green manuring
  • Rain water harvesting

Case Study 

  • In a study conducted at ICAR Research Complex, Goa, it was revealed that rice-brinjal crop rotation is the best in terms of productivity and profitability owing to higher yield of the brinjal. The system yielded a total productivity of 11.22 t/ha rice grain equivalent yield with a net return of Rs.46, 440/ha. 
  • Further, with the integration of mushroom and poultry production (based on the resources availability within the system) the system productivity was increased to 21, 487 kg/ha especially with rice-brinjal rotation leading to an additional returns of Rs 30,865/ha with integration. 
  • In addition, the system approach was found to sustainable as reflected from the changes in soil organic carbon and indicated by sustainability yield index

Agro-climatic zones and integrated farming

  • A sensible blend of agrarian ventures like dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, sericulture and so forth. 
  • This fits the given agro-climatic conditions and financial status of the farmers can carry success to the cultivating activities. 

Some example IFS for specific agroclimatic zones: 

  • Agroforestry-based Land Management Systems of Indian Himalayas and other hilly regions 
  • Crop- Livestock- Fish Farming  in wetland areas and coastal zones.
  • Cropping + poultry/pigeon/goat + fishery in Cauvery delta Zone 

Mould your thought: What is an Integrated Farming System? How does it help betterment of agriculture?

Approach to the answer:

  • Introduction
  • Define IFS
  • Discuss the basic principle of IFS
  • Mention the Advantages of IFS
  • Conclusion

 

 

image_pdfMake PDF
Source: The Hindu
Tags: GS-1MainsNews Paper

Related Posts

World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law repot 2023

World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law repot 2023

March 7, 2023
The Parhaiyas of Jharkhand

The Parhaiyas of Jharkhand

February 17, 2023
Project ELLORA

Project ELLORA

February 2, 2023
Kuvi, Kui and Manda languages

Kuvi, Kui and Manda languages

January 31, 2023
Toto(Dengka) language

Toto(Dengka) language

January 28, 2023
Tribal Baiga art

Tribal Baiga art

January 27, 2023
Social Hostilities Index (SHI)

Social Hostilities Index (SHI)

December 6, 2022
The Tribal Development Report 2022

The Tribal Development Report 2022

December 1, 2022
Hindi imposition and its discontents

Hindi imposition and its discontents

November 5, 2022
Bonalu festival

Bonalu festival

November 5, 2022
Please login to join discussion

Our Offline Classroom Student

CONGRATULATIONS TO 2021 TOPPERS !!!

Rank 171 Kumar Shivashish
Rank 250 Sahithya
Rank 263 Sumit Kumar Thakur
Rank 311 Deepak Ramachandra Shet
Rank 455 Ravinandan B M

March 2023
MTWTFSS
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031 
« Feb    

Browse by Category

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

AIR All India Radio BBC Business Line Business Standard dow Down to Earth DownToEarth DTE Economic Times ET FAO Financial Express GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express Indiatoday India today Kurukshetra Livelihoods portal LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The India Express The Indian Express The Print the wire Times of India TOI TOPPERS Yojana
JournalsOfIndia

Our vision is to orient the readers to grasp the facts objectively and analyse critically. In the rush of reaching first to the readers, the websites miss the balanced opinion, which is the need of the hour. We aim to reach the readers with more crispness, preciseness and relevance. We bring the articles in UPSC way for the civil services aspirants and the Wisest Way for general readers.

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tag

AIR All India Radio BBC Business Line Business Standard dow Down to Earth DownToEarth DTE Economic Times ET FAO Financial Express GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express Indiatoday India today Kurukshetra Livelihoods portal LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The India Express The Indian Express The Print the wire Times of India TOI TOPPERS Yojana

Newsletter

The most important UPSC news and events of the day.

Get Journals daily newsletter on your inbox.

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • SNIPPETS
  • ARTICLES
  • BROWSE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In