Integrated Farming System: A Holistic Approach for Farm Income Optimization and Risk Minimization in Coastal Region of India

Abstract

Majority of households in the coastal region are small and marginal with average land holding size below 0.5 hectare. The tininess will be more prominent in the coming days with fragmentation of the land and its competitive use for other purposes. With provision of adequate water resources, there is scope for optimization of farm income in the coastal region through an integrated approach involving sustainable cropping system planning and adoption of integrated farming system approach. Rice based cropping system with water productive crops, tolerant varieties/hybrids, best management practices, adoption of efficient irrigation practices result in higher productivity. Combining complementary enterprises like pisciculture, duckery, mushroom cultivation with rice cultivation result in better use of natural resources through recycling of byproduct of one enterprise as input for other enterprise and reduction of the cost of cultivation. Pond silt can be directly used as base manure for field and fodder crops. Integrating fish and cow farming reduces the necessity to purchase fertilizers and fish feeds, and increases the income generated by the fish farm. Fresh animal manure can be applied directly to the fish ponds, which avoid energy losses due to processing and transportation. Livestock feeds that are not fully digested can be directly utilized by the fish. Ducks can be integrated directly with the pisciculture in the pond with resting place made inside the pond by use of locally available materials like bamboo, which saves land area. Droppings of the duck will act as a feed for fishes. The effect of aeration due to the movement of ducks in the pond water will enhance the growth of fishes. Fish ponds provide ducks with an excellent, essentially disease-free environment. Ducks consume juvenile frogs, tadpoles, and dragonfly larvae, thus eradicating many predators of fry and fingerlings. Furthermore, the protein content of these natural food organisms for duck is high. Therefore, duck raising in fish ponds reduces the demand for protein in feeds. Paddy straw abundantly available in coastal areas can be utilized effectively for mushroom cultivation. The utilized straw can be further used as compost for field crops and vegetables. Improved protected cultivation technology may be adopted for cultivation of off season vegetables, flowers etc. Thus, an integrated farming system approach as discussed in this paper will pave a way for ever green revolution, and provide benefits for effective adaptation and mitigation to climate change in the vulnerable coastal region.