Integrated farming system for improving sustainability in agriculture

Abstract

Modern agricultural practices and development have contributed a vast share towards advancements in agriculture and creation of stable economies around the globe and while these have been pivotal in establishment of agriculture as a major source of income, its beneficiaries have been limited to large-scale farmers capable of mass investments. This effectively left out a vast chunk of cultivators who were smaller or more marginal in scale. Apart from this, the unsustainable approach of conventional methods has taken a toll with increasing pollution and global climate crisis. In the wake of these events, integrated farming system provides a muchdesired
alternative that relies on synergies among different enterprises to curb the food needs of exponentially growing population while maintaining and enhancing ecosystem components with elements of effective waste management and reduced production costs. The present article discusses in detail the origins and possible applications of integrated farming systems with respect to a country heavily dependent upon agriculture as India.