Integrated Farming System

The Integrated Farming System (IFS) is a farming approach that focuses on adopting and integrating some or many of the components of crops, aquaculture, livestock, agroforestry, etc. so that it closely resembles the natural feedback loop, resulting in harmony in the whole system. It is not a new concept. It was used traditionally for many years before commercial farming was introduced. The IFS is a sustainable and highly productive means of farming that can achieve other societal objectives such as doubling farmers’ income, poverty alleviation, women empowerment etc. It is a diversified farming system that also addresses the varied dietary needs such as grains, vegetables, meat, milk, and fish. This system is also gaining more prominence due to the effects of climate change on agriculture and India’s vulnerability due to the large population engaged in agriculture. Both state and central governments have promoted IFS through various schemes to promote climate smart agriculture as well as to make agriculture more profitable. Adoption of IFS is promoted through the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) and various other flagship schemes.

The Green Revolution, which was introduced in the late 1960s brought prosperity to agriculture and ensured food security for India. But the positive effects of the Green Revolution were limited to well irrigated areas of the country. Currently, agriculture in India is facing following issues:

• Fragmented land holdings: the average operational land holding in India is 1.08 hectares in 2015-16, according to the Agriculture Census.
• Low farm revenue.
• High debt burden on farmers.
• Low capacity to invest and a lack of formal credit.
• Increasing cost of inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, etc.
• Climate change.

Adoption of an Integrated Farming System (IFS) can be a possible solution to deal with the challenges in agriculture mentioned above.

Integrated Farming System (IFS): Concept and Approach

IFS denotes a farming approach in which there is integration of many components of agriculture, such as cropping, aquaculture, livestock, agroforestry, etc., with the specific aim of maximising complementarities and minimising competition between the components with the help of advanced scientific and agricultural knowledge and management tools. In this system, the by-products and waste of one of the components serve as the input material for other components. This not only reduces the need for costly external input materials but also increases the yield and efficiency of each component. Overall, the system produces less waste and is more cost-effective.

The adjacent figure demonstrates a simple example of IFS that can be implemented on a small farm. It has three components, namely crop cultivation, mushroom cultivation, and fish farming. All three components complement each other, in turn reducing external inputs (such fertilisers etc.). Field trials have shown that yield in each component increases when compared to a non-IFS approach.

The selection of different components for a particular farm will depend on the farmer's knowledge and capacity, local conditions and resources available, and market demand. But there are a few key components that are essential around which other components and activities can be built.

• Low external input cost: Since by-products and waste from one component can serve as input materials for one or more other components, the overall input cost for the whole system is very low. For example, livestock manure can serve as fertiliser for paddy and as a fuel for households when converted into biogas. Hence, eliminating the cost of fertiliser or fuel.
• Better yields: Studies have shown that adoption of IFS has maintained high yields or increased yields in most of the components involved when compared to a single-siloed approach. For example, beekeeping can increase pollination and yield some crops, such as mustard.
• Higher remuneration for farmers: IFS offers better remuneration for farmers on the same land size. For example, when a farmer grows a crop along with the integration of fish and goats, he stands to gain as much as three times the remuneration he would have gotten when the crop alone is grown. Hence, IFS can help double farmers’ income.
• Ensuring food security along with nutritional security: IFS can not only ensure food security by maintaining high yields and increased calories produced per hectare but also contribute towards nutritional security by offering many diverse dietary options such as meat, fish, milk, and grains.
• Recycling and reduction of waste: It can reduce overall waste at the farm level as waste is recycled and put to use for other components. This forms a cycle where very little waste is generated.
• Use of waste land: For IFS, fallow waste land can be utilised by choosing appropriate components such as fish+poultry+livestock etc. that do not require fertile land to operate.
• Employment generation: an integrated system such as IFS can generate gainful employment for the local unemployed population, as three or more components can require more mandays of work. Thus improving the standard of living not only for the landholders but also for the surrounding community.
• Environment protection and climate change mitigation: With effective waste recycling, nutrients in the soil can be restored and thus help in maintaining soil fertility. Reduced usage of chemical fertilisers and other farm inputs eliminates associated pollution, thus helping preserve the environment. Also, the overall system produces fewer Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) and a smaller carbon footprint. Hence, IFS can be important for Climate Change mitigation.

• Lack of awareness and knowledge: Farmers are unaware of the benefits of IFS. Also, there is a lack of knowledge that is required for adopting IFS.
• Lack of well developed cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs): Since the landholdings of small and marginal farmers are low, the resulting production of any component such as fish farming, crop cultivation, etc. is low. Therefore, the lack of any farmer organisation, such as cooperatives or FPOs, prevents the farmers from getting good prices for their produce.
• Ineffective implementation of government schemes: Both state and central governments promote IFS through their various schemes. But there is a general lack of awareness regarding the government scheme due to ineffective implementation by the ground workers.
• Lack of formal credit for initial capital investment: In order to integrate different components, farmers may need an initial capital investment. So the lack of formal credit facilities proves to be a stumbling block.
• Lack of awareness among the consumers: Final consumers of all the produce also lack awareness and knowledge about the importance of a balanced diet. Due to a lack of nutritional awareness, people are not consuming the varied diets that IFS can offer, such as meat, fish, milk, etc. Hence, the demand for these products is lacklustre. This dents the confidence of the farming communities regarding the adoption of IFS and other sustainable techniques.

• Awareness campaigns regarding the benefits of IFS.
• Multi-stakeholder approach to deliver the requisite knowledge and training to the farmers.
• Promotion of FPOs and cooperative for ensuring better processing, marketing, and price of the farmer produce.
• Research and development and field trials for developing different models of IFS demonstrating coherence among various components.
• Availability of formal credit to farmers.
• Investing in storage facilities.
• Harnessing indigenous traditional knowledge for adopting locally suitable components to integrate into the IFS.
• Promotion of different diets among consumers for ensuring complete nutrition and robust demand for various farmer produce.
• Effective implementation of government schemes and capacity building among the stakeholders.

India is facing various challenges in agriculture, such as unsustainable agricultural practices, low profitability for farmers, climate change, etc. The Integration Farming System (IFS) can be a solution to these challenges. By diversifying current farming techniques through small changes and the addition of different compatible components, farmers can improve their income. IFS can help India achieve the twin objectives of sustainability and food and nutritional security. Therefore, all stakeholders must make coordinated efforts to increase the adoption of IFS especially among small and marginal farmers, to achieve the target set by the government of doubling farmers income.