Farming on the Cusp of Change

Business Standard     24th August 2020     Save    

Context: Piecemeal revamping of agriculture to give way for Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) opens up avenues for efficient agriculture production and profitability. 

Advantages of Integrated Farming Systems:

  • Widening of Choice for Farmers: Traditionally, farmers depended only on cows and buffaloes; Now the choice has been increased to include: 
    • poultry, piggery, goat husbandry, fisheries, bee-keeping, sericulture (silk-worm rearing), mushroom growing, floriculture, horticulture, agroforestry, biogas production, and many others.
    • Enhances Profitability: as the produce of the allied sectors — be it milk, eggs, meat, fish, or honey — normally has high market value.
  • Income Support, Employment and Risk Mitigation:
    • For, E.g. If crops fail due to some reason, the income from non-crop components will support the farm household.
    • It makes farming a full-time job, rather than a seasonal activity, to keep farmers gainfully occupied most of the time.
  • Sustainability Ensured: Some tacit benefits of this form of sustainable and the environment- friendly agriculture include 
    • Improvement in soil health and fertility, 
    • On-farm recycling of wastes,
    • Higher input-use efficiency,
    • Better nutrition for farm families.
  • High Degree of Satisfaction: among the farmers in the adoption of these systems:
    • For. E.g. Around 73% of the farmers who opted to try out the integrated farming systems tend to persist with them

Current Measures: 

    • Research & Development (R&D): Various institutions of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) are collaborating in this effort.
      • The Modipuram- based Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research (IIFSR) in Uttar Pradesh, 
      • The All-India Network Programme on Organic Farming: including numerous agricultural universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (agriculture science centres).
      • Findings: Investment needed would be Rs 11,500 per hectare on an average but will lead to rise in farm incomes by 2.7 times in 2-3 years.
    • Officially Promoted by States: States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have been allocating funds in their Budgets for this purpose since 2017.
      • Public Participation: Local farmers have been actively involved to ensure the adaptability of the mooted farming models.
    • Sponsored Under National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA): 
      • The Union Agriculture Ministry has counselled all states to promote the IFS under the action plan for rainfed agriculture and the programmes.

Way Forward: 

  • Prudent Selection of Enterprises: taking into account agro-ecological conditions, locally available resources and inputs, and market demand for end-products.
    •  Care has to be taken to ensure that the chosen enterprises complement — and not compete with — one another.