Ronish Sedhai
Farming system approach requires involvement of agriculture, horticulture, soil conservation, forestry, fisheries, animal husbandry (piggery and poultry) and allied enterprises (apiculture etc). The soil and water conservation practices are encouraged through contour bunds in low rainfall areas and graded bunds or bench terraces in high rainfall areas. Half moon terraces and contour system are practiced in hill slopes for planting horticulture plants. Water harvesting structures in the form of small farm ponds or community large ponds are constructed and integrated with fishery, poultry, piggery etc. Gulley plugging is resorted to wherever needed. Toposequential cropping involving agro forestry in top portion, horti-pastoral crops in the middle and agricultural crops like rice, maize/popcorn, soybean, groundnut etc. are to be grown in lower portion of the hills for effective management of land and water resources. This integration of components of ecosystem (land, water, plant species etc.) to give sustained production from rainfed and degraded lands which inturn to check natural calamities like floods, drought and soil erosion.
farmers work hard but do not make profit, because there is very little left after they pay for all inputs (seeds, livestock breeds, fertilizers, pesticides, energy, feed, labour, etc.). The emergence of Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) has enabled us to develop a framework for an alternative development model to improve the feasibility of small sized farming operations in relation to larger ones. Integrated farming system is a commonly and broadly used word to explain a more integrated approach to farming as compared to monoculture approaches. It refers to agricultural systems that integrate livestock and crop production or integrate fish and livestock and may sometimes be known as Integrated Bio systems. In this system, an inter-related set of enterprises is used so that the “waste” from one component becomes an input for another part of the system, which reduces cost and improves production and/or income. IFS works as a system of systems. IFS ensure that wastes from one form of agriculture become a resource for another form. Since it utilizes wastes as resources, we not only eliminate wastes but we also ensure overall increase in productivity for the whole agricultural systems. We avoid the environmental impacts caused by wastes from intensive activities such as pig farming.
In Nepal, Integrated farming system is in immerging rate. The hill farmers grew several species of fodder trees and grasses in the contours of the farmlands to meet the demand of the ruminants. The terai farmers, however, have fewer species of fodder trees and grasses than that of the hills showing a lesser degree of crop-animal-tree interaction. Control of soil erosion and environmental protection were additional intangible benefits from such trees and grasses. Such strategy of growing trees is scientific and innovative since environmental degradation and maintenance of hill ecosystems are of major concerns not only for the sustainability of hill development itself, but also for the reduction of the havoc in the flatland due to afforestation of the hills. Integration of Poultry, swine/pig and fish is also a best choice. The system should be made in such a way that the food leftover from animals and excreta should be directly pass to the pond where fish are reared. This provide fish the necessary food material. Poultry like duck can be reared in the dam of ponds where they can swim in the pond to collect the food. This balance the ecosystem and fruitful for all the components.
Integration of different components makes less risk losses as losses of one component will be uplifted by the profit from another components. So, in this sense too Integrated system is far better than monoculture. To in today’s context Integrated farming system is the most to uplift the farmers economy level and make the sustainable agriculture.
