Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala

NATIONAL CONFERENCE KHARIF -

2013

March 6th & 7th 2013

ADOPTION OF FARMING SYSTEM APPROACH IN RAINFED AREAS FOR

IMPROVED/ASSURED INCOME

“Rainfed farming is actually a gambling with monsoon”

If the rain fall

is adequate - A bumper crop

is less - A failed crop

is low - A lost crop

is heavy - Uncertain crop (may loose or

survive depending on the severity of flood)

Rainfed agriculture - Nearly half of all food grains are grown under rainfed

conditions.

• Rainfed agriculture accounts for about two-thirds of total

cropped area, nearly half of the total value of agricultural

output.

• Rainfed areas are highly diverse, ranging from resource-rich

areas with good agricultural potential to resource-poor areas

with much more restricted potential.

• Development workers are looking to rainfed, or unirrigated

agriculture to help meet the rising demand for food.

In order to address rainfed farming to get an assured income…

• The farm is to be viewed in a holistic manner with multi-

disciplinary approach.

• A system approach to farming is desirable.

Farming system is a complex inter-related

matrix of soils, plants, animals, implements, labour and

capital, inter-dependent farming enterprises.

Farming System Approach (FSA)

• Farming system approach is a multi – disciplinary

activity comprising of theory, concepts, principles and

practices.

• It creates an opportunity for developing diversified

models for different types and categories of farmers.

• New farming system models can be developed by means

of on-farm research and extension.

Objectives of FSA

• To develop the farmland as a ‘farm’ – transform the farming

systems on a sustainable basis.

• To improve efficiency in farm production.

• To assure income from farming, especially when rainfed

agriculture is practiced.

• To increase welfare of farm families and satisfy their basic

needs. (housing, food, energy, etc.)

Farming Systems • Refers to the deliberate raising of crops, forest and fruit trees,

animals including fisheries, piggery and duck farming, sericulture, mushroom, on a given unit of land to increase the productivity and profitability, to upgrade natural resource base and to achieve overall improvement in the environment.

• Provides a vast canvass of livelihood gathering, a better risk coping strategy, continuous flow of income and employment throughout the year for small landholders. It involves utilization of primary and secondary produce of one system as a basic input of other system through making them mutually integrated.

Farming system mode involves • In situ recycling of organic residues including farm wastes

generated at the farm to reduce the dependency on chemicals

• Decrease in cost of cultivation through enhanced input use efficiency

• Effective use of bye-products / wastes of one component for the benefit of other component/components

• Upgrading of soil and water quality and bio-diversity,• Nutritional security through minimizing chemical residues

in soil plant animal human chain, and • Environmental security by moderating flow of green house

gases from the soil to environment

Crop based farming systems in Kerala

• In Kerala Model Homestead farms; cow, buffalo and/or bullock forms integral components. The farmer would be raising paddy, tapioca, banana etc and the feed for the animals are paddy straw, dried tapioca leaves and discarded tubers, banana leaves after harvest etc. All crops are raised as rain fed. Bio gas is produced from the animal dung.

• In Kuttanad, the grass carp fish is raised in paddy fields after paddy crop so that the weeds and left over portions of straw are used as their food. The water which contains the humus will be used for irrigating the coconut garden which will in turn add to the productivity improvement of the palms.

• Goat rearing in homesteads, where jack leaves are fed to them, which is a common tree in most homesteads. No additional expenditure is incurred towards feed.

Agro forestry based farming systems

• Perennial grass components (hybrid napier, guniea grass etc.), besides imparting stability to crop production improves the soil organic matter and starts giving production from the establishment year onwards.

• The Agri-silviculture system is recommended for lands with less nutrient qualities.

Eg. A large number of tree-crop combinations, particularly of nitrogen fixing trees with cereals, millets, oil seeds and pulses are advocated.• Agri-horti system – fruit plants along with cereals or

pulses in the interspaces are giving promising results in rainfed environment.

Livestock based production system • The livestock farming system in rainfed agriculture are complex and

generally based on traditional socio-economic considerations. • An understanding of production factors (livestock, capital, feed, land and

labour) and processors (description, diagnosis, technology design, testing and extension) that effect animal production is pre-requisite for livestock integration.

• The productivity of livestock in farming systems in rainfed agriculture can be improved by

i). Increased fodder production as an intercrop with cereals and perennial crops, forage production on bunds

ii). Improving the feeding value of stover by chopping, soaking with water, urea treatment, strategic supplementation of concentrate, urea molasses and mineral block for enhanced utilization

iii). Improvement in productivity of grasses quantum and distribution.

Spatial dimension of crop intensification in rainfed areas in Kerala

1. Banana – Cucumber – Amaranthus in the same field and time

The banana farmers while planting banana in the pits will plant four seeds of cucumber each in every corner of the pit. Then they sow red amaranth seeds along the interspaces. Within 45-90 days they will harvest the amaranth and realise profit. After that the cucumber will be in the yielding stage. For another 45-60 days they will be getting income from cucumber. When these two crops are finished, the banana plant would be established in the field.

2. High density multi species cropping system.

Coconut is the base crop of Kerala. In the inter spaces of the full grown and yielding coconut gardens, banana, spices like nutmeg, fodder crops on the bunds, pine apple etc are planted. This is actually a sustainable system with profit maximization capacity.

3. Integrated farming system

Coconut – Paddy – cow – duck (poultry) - fish (prawn, fresh water fish) where an assured income is got. The BC ratio usually found is above 3.

Special rainfed farming situations of Kerala

• In Kuttanad and Kole lands, the cultivation occurs during the summer periods by dewatering the area. This is the only area where a rainfed cultivation of rice is being done by drainage.

• Pokkali cultivation – This is a unique rainfed farming tradition of Kerala

• Multi species homestead farming – A study conducted by KAU revealed that almost 130 species of plants are there in the typical homesteads of Kerala. This is well suited for conservation, risk bearing ability and inter dependence which is a sustainable system.

Conclusion

• Stability in crop production and income will occur in rainfed areas because of land use diversification over space and time

• A matrix of possible land uses as influenced by the resource carrying capacity and a basket of options are to be provided to farmers and this forms the cream of farming system approach.

• The livelihood capital improvements of the rainfed farming system is only possible through a farming system approach as the lion share of the food production is from rainfed agriculture