FARMING SYSTEMS: What is a System?
FARMING SYSTEMS
What is a System?
A system is a group of interacting components, operating together for a common purpose, capable of reacting as a whole to external stimuli: it is unaffected directly by its own outputs and has a specified boundary based on the inclusion of all significant feedbacks. For example, the human body is a system-it has a boundary (e.g., the skin) enclosing a number of components (heart, lungs) that interact (the heart pumps blood to the lungs) for a common purpose (to maintain and operate the living body). Collection of unrelated items does not constitute a system. A bag of marbles is not a system: if a marble is added or subtracted, a bag of marbles remains and may be almost completely unaffected by the change. The marbles only behave as a whole if the whole bag is influenced, for example by dropping it, but if it bursts the constituent parts go their own ways. It is the properties of the system that chiefly matter and they may be summarized in the phrase ‘behavior as a whole in response to stimuli to any part’.
Farming Systems approach
In system approach all the components and activities are linked, they affect each other. It is not sensible to look at one component by itself without recognizing that what it does and what happens to it will affect other parts of the system. For example consider what happens when you stub your toe: the whole body may react and different parts may respond differently. Eyes may water, the voice may make appropriate sounds, the pulse rate may increase and hands may try to rub the damaged toe. It would be very rash to alter any component of a system without regard to the consequences and reactions elsewhere. You cannot, for example, improve a car (system) by doing research on one wheel and then making it rather bigger than the rest. Or increase the power and size of the engine without regard to the ability of the chassis to support it.These things are common sense in such familiar contexts- they also apply to biological and agricultural systems.
In agriculture, management practices were usually formulated for individual corp. However, farmers are cultivating different crops in different seasons based on their adaptability to a particular season, domestic needs and profitability.
Therefore, production technology or management practices should be developed in view all the crops grown in a year or more than one than one year if any sequence or rotation extends beyond one year. Such a package of management practices for all crops leads to efficient use of costly inputs, besides reduction in production cost. For instance, residual effect of manures and fertilizers applied and nitrogen fixed can considerably bring down the production cost if all the crops are considered than individual crops.
Farming system
Farming system is a complex inter-related matrix of soil, plants, animals implements, power, labour, capital and other inputs controlled in part by farm families and influenced by varying degrees of political, economic, institutional and social forces that operate at many levels. In other words it is defined as unique and reasonably stable arrangement of farm enterprises that the household manages according to its physical, biological,economic and socio-cultural environment in accordance with the household’s goals, preferences and resources. Conceptually it refers to a set of elements or components that are interrelated which interact among themselves. At the center of the interaction is the farmer exercising control and choice regarding the type and result of interaction.
It is a resource management strategy to achieve economic and sustained production to meet diverse requirement of farm household while preserving resource base and maintaining a high level of environmental quality.
For example it represents integration of farm enterprises such as cropping systems, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry, sericulture, poultry etc for optimal utilization of resources bringing prosperity to the farmer. The farm products other than the economic products, for which the crops are grown, can be better utilized for productive purposes in the farming systems approach.
Farming systems concept
In farming system, the farm is viewed in a holistic manner. Farming enterprises include crops, dairying, poultry, fishery, sericulture, piggery, apiary tree crops etc. a combination of one or more enterprises with cropping when carefully chosen, planned and executed, gives greater dividends than a single enterprise, especially for small and marginal farmers. Farm as a unit is to be considered and planned for effective integration of the enterprises to be combined with crop production activity, such that the end-products and wastes of one enterprise are utilized effectively as inputs in other enterprise. For example the wastes of dairying viz., dung, urine, refuse etc are used in preparation of FYM or compost which serves as an input in cropping system. Likewise the straw obtained from crops (maize, rice, sorghum etc) is used as a fodder for dairy cattle. Further, in sericulture the leaves of mulberry crop as a feeding material for silkworms, grain from maize crop are used as a feed in poultry etc.
Sustainability is the objective of the farming system where production process is optimized through efficient utilization of inputs without infringing on the quality of environment with which it interacts on one hand and attempt to meet the national goals on the other. The concept has an undefined time dimension. The magnitude of time dimension depends upon ones objectives, being shorter for economic gains and longer for concerns pertaining to environment, soil productivity and land degradation.
Principles of farming system
• Minimization of risk
• Recycling of wastes and residues
• Integration of two or more enterprises
• Optimum utilization of all resources
• Maximum productivity and profitability
• Ecological balance
• Generation of employment potential
• Increased input use efficiency
• Use of end products from one enterprise as input in other
enterprise
Characteristics of farming system
1. Farmer oriented & holistic approach
2. Effective farmers participation
3. Unique problem solving system
4. Dynamic system
5. Gender sensitive
6. Responsible to society
7. Environmental sustainability
8. Location specificity of technology
9. Diversified farming enterprises to avoid risks due to
environmental constraints
10.Provides feedback from farmers
Objectives of farming system
1. Productivity- Farming system provides on opportunity to increase economic yield per unit area per unit time by virtue of intensification of crop and allied enterprises. Time concept by crop intensification and space concept by building up of vertical dimension through crops and allied enterprises.
2. Profitability - The system as a whole provides an opportunity to make use of produce/waste material of one enterprise as an input in another enterprise at low/no cost. Thus by reducing the cost of production the profitability and benefit cost ratio works out to be high.
3. Potentiality – Soil health, a key factor for sustainability is getting deteriorated and polluted due to faulty agricultural management practices viz., excessive use of inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, high intensity irrigation etc. In farming system, organic supplementation through effective use of manures and waste recycling is done, thus providing an opportunity to sustain potentiality of production base for much longer time.
4. Balanced food- In farming system, diverse enterprises are involved and they produce different sources of nutrition namely proteins, carbohydrates, fats & minerals etc form the same unit land, which helps in solving the malnutrition problem prevalent among the marginal and sub-marginal farming households.
5. Environmental safety- The very nature of farming system is to make use or conserve the byproduct/waste product of one component as input in another component and use of bio-control measures for pest & disease control. These eco-friendly practices bring down the application of huge quantities of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, which pollute the soil water and environment to an alarming level. Whereas IFS will greatly reduces environmental pollution.
6. Income/cash flow round the year- Unlike conventional single enterprise crop activity where the income is expected only at the time of disposal of economic produce after several months depending upon the duration of the crop, the IFS enables cash flow round the year by way of sale of products from different enterprises viz., eggs from poultry, milk from dairy, fish from fisheries, silkworm cocoons from sericulture, honey from apiculture etc. This not only enhances the purchasing power of the farmer but also provides an opportunity to invest in improved technologies for enhanced production.
7. Saving energy- Availability of fossil fuel has been declining at a rapid rate leading to a situation wherein the whole world may suffer for want of fossil fuel by 2030 AD. In farming system, effective recycling of organic wastes to generate energy from biogas plants can mitigate to certain extent this energy crisis.
8. Meeting fodder crises- In IFS every inch of land area is effectively utilized. Alley cropping or growing fodder legume along the border or water courses,intensification of cropping including fodder legumes in cropping systems helps to produce the required fodder and greatly relieve the problem of nonavailability of fodder to livestock component of the farming system.
9. Solving timber and fuel crises- The current production level of 20 million m3 of fuel wood and 11 million m3 of timber wood is no match for the demand estimated or 360 m3 of fuel and 64,4 million m3 of timber wood in 2000 AD.Hence the current production needs to be stepped up several-fold. Afforestation programmes besides introduction of agro-forestry component in farming system without detrimental effect on crop yield will greatly reduce deforestation, preserving our natural ecosystem.
10.Employment generation- Various farm enterprises viz., crop +livestock or any other allied enterprise in the farming system would increase labour requirement significantly and would help solve the problem of under employment. An IFS provides enough scope toemploy family labour round the year.
11.Scope for establishment of agro- industries- When once the produce from different components in IFS is increased to a commercial level there will be surplus for value addition in the region leading to the establishment of agro-industries.
12.Enhancement in input use efficiency – An IFSprovides good scope for resource utilization in different components leading to greater input use efficiency and benefit- cost ratio.
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