UNIT 8: Farming Systems

Success Criteria

• Explain the meaning of the term ‘farming systems’.
• Identify types of farming systems.
• Explain the meaning of the term ‘intensive farming’.
• Discuss how intensive farming can support a growing population.

The Meaning of “Farming Systems”: 

A farming system refers to the comprehensive way a farmer organizes and executes all agricultural activities on their farm. This encompasses the strategic allocation and utilization of available resources—such as land, capital, and labor—towards both crop production and animal husbandry, in pursuit of specific economic and social objectives. It reflects the intricate interplay of natural, economic, and human factors influencing farm operations.

Types of Farming Systems

Broadly, farming systems are categorized into two main types:

1. Intensive Farming System
2. Extensive Farming System

The choice between these systems is influenced by factors such as:

• The diverse needs of the farm family.
• Economic considerations, including the relative profitability of technically feasible enterprises.
• Availability of farming resources (land, capital, labor, water).
• Supporting infrastructure and institutions (e.g., irrigation facilities, robust marketing channels including storage and transportation, and access to credit).

Intensive Farming System: Exclusive Details

Intensive farming is characterized by high capital investment and the maximum utilization of resources, often on a relatively small land area, to achieve the highest possible output per unit of land. Farmers aim to efficiently use every available resource to maximize production.

Examples of Intensive Farming Systems:

1. Mixed Farming:

   • Description: A farmer integrates both crop production and animal husbandry on the same farm. This creates a symbiotic relationship where outputs from one enterprise serve as inputs for another.
   • Advantages:
     • Source of Power: Animals can provide draft power for tillage and transportation.
     • Mutual Benefit: Animal wastes (manure) fertilize crops, while crop residues feed animals, creating a closed-loop system.
     • Risk Mitigation: Diversification reduces total failure risk in case of disasters affecting either crops or livestock.
     • Food Security: Ensures varied food supply for the household due to diversification.
     • Land Utilization: Maximizes the productive use of available land.
     • Biogas Production: Animal wastes can be used to generate biogas for energy.
   • Disadvantages:
     • Labor Intensive: Requires significant labor for managing both crops and animals.
     • High Management Levels: Demands complex management skills to coordinate different enterprises.
     • High Capital Investment: Requires substantial initial capital for both crop and livestock infrastructure.
     • Crop Damage: Livestock may accidentally damage crops if not properly managed or confined.

2. Mixed Cropping (Intercropping):

   • Description: A farmer cultivates two or more different crops simultaneously on the same piece of land.
   • Advantages:
     • Reduced Crop Failure Risk: Diversification minimizes total crop failure in cases of drought, specific pests, or diseases.
     • Mutual Benefits Among Crops: Some crops benefit each other (e.g., climbing beans use maize as support, while beans fix nitrogen for maize).
     • Pest Control: Certain crops can act as natural repellents or trap crops for pests.
     • Soil Conservation: Provides intensive ground cover, which helps prevent soil erosion.
   • Disadvantages:
     • Competition for Resources: If not properly planned, crops can compete for light, water, and nutrients, potentially reducing individual crop yields.

3. Stall Feeding or Zero Grazing:

   • Description: Animals are confined to pens throughout their lives, and all their requirements (water, feed, and other care) are provided within the enclosure. They are not allowed to graze outside. This is also known as zero grazing.

4. Continuous Cropping:

   • Description: A farmer grows crops on the same piece of land repeatedly, often multiple times a year, without leaving the land fallow or resting it. This requires constant replenishment of soil nutrients and active pest/disease management.

5. Crop Rotation:

   • Description: A farmer systematically grows different types of crops in a planned sequence on the same piece of land over successive growing seasons or years. This is a key practice in sustainable intensive farming.

6. Deep Litter Poultry Rearing System:

   • Description: Poultry birds are kept confined within a large house, typically without partitions. The floor is covered with an absorbent litter material (e.g., wood shavings, rice hulls), which, through microbial action, breaks down droppings. The house includes feeders, waterers, laying nests, etc.

7. Battery Cage Poultry Rearing System:

   • Description: A system for raising poultry in confined rooms where each bird (or a small group) is kept in a separate, small wire cage. This method is common for laying hens in commercial operations.

8. No-Till or Zero Tillage System for Fruit Growing (and other crops):

   • Description: Instead of plowing, land is minimally disturbed. For fruit trees, holes are made only for planting. Mulches and herbicides are often used to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
   • Advantages:
     • Reduces Soil Erosion: Minimal soil disturbance maintains soil structure and cover.
     • Reduces Production Cost: Saves on fuel and labor associated with tillage.
     • Conserves Soil Moisture: Mulch and undisturbed soil reduce evaporation.
     • Promotes Timely Planting: Field preparation is quicker.
     • Prevents Root Damage: Avoids damage to crop roots by tillage implements.
   • Disadvantages:
     • Pest/Disease Build-up: May encourage the accumulation of soil-borne diseases and pests if not properly managed.
     • Poor Water Infiltration: Undisturbed compacted layers can sometimes lead to reduced water infiltration.
     • Poor Aeration: Lack of tillage might lead to reduced soil aeration in some soil types.

9. Organic Farming:

   • Description: A holistic farming method that emphasizes growing crops and rearing animals without the use of synthetic agricultural chemicals (e.g., synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, GMOs). It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity, and cycles adapted to local conditions. Practices like mulching with organic materials and crop rotation are central.
   • Advantages:
     • Environmental Friendly: Minimizes chemical pollution and promotes biodiversity.
     • Residue-Free Products: Produces food free from synthetic chemical residues.
     • Utilizes Organic Manure: Relies on organic manures (compost, FYM) to replenish soil nutrients.
     • Improves Soil Health: Enhances soil structure, water infiltration, and retention.
     • Supports Soil Microbes: Provides food for beneficial soil microbes, which aid in nutrient cycling.
     • Natural Pest/Disease Control: Uses naturally occurring materials or biological methods (e.g., medicinal plants, beneficial insects) instead of synthetic chemicals.

Importance of Intensive Farming System in Supporting a Growing Population:

Intensive farming is crucial for feeding a rapidly expanding global population due to its ability to maximize food production from limited land resources.

• Increased Yield per Unit Area: Produces significantly more food from a smaller land footprint, which is vital as arable land per capita declines.
• Ensures Continuous Food Supply: Through practices like continuous cropping, mixed farming, and controlled environments, it provides a stable and year-round supply of diverse food products.
• Produces Excess Crop and Animal Products: Generates surplus for markets, ensuring food availability beyond subsistence needs and contributing to national food security.
• Reduces Risks and Uncertainties: Through controlled environments, improved management, and diversification (in mixed farming), it mitigates risks associated with weather variability and pest outbreaks, leading to more predictable yields.
• Land Conservation: By maximizing productivity on existing agricultural land, it reduces the pressure to convert natural habitats (forests, wetlands) into farmland, thus contributing to environmental conservation.
• Provides Well-Balanced Diet: Supports the production of diverse crops and livestock, enabling access to a balanced and nutritious diet.
• High Income per Unit Land: Due to higher yields and efficient resource use, it often generates greater income for farmers from a smaller land area, improving livelihoods.

Extensive Farming System: Exclusive Details

Extensive farming is characterized by low capital investment and the utilization of large pieces of land, often with relatively low labor input and consequently lower output per unit area. It relies heavily on natural factors and less on intensive management.

Methods of Farming Under Extensive Farming System:

1. Shifting Cultivation:

   • Description: Involves growing crops on a piece of land for a few years until soil fertility declines, after which the land is abandoned (fallowed) to allow natural regeneration of fertility. Farmers then move to clear and cultivate another virgin piece of land. Fire is often used to clear land, with the ash providing temporary fertility.
   • Advantages:
     • Soil Fertility Regeneration: Allows land to rest and naturally regain fertility over time.
     • Pest/Weed Eradication: Shifting to new land helps to control pests and weeds in the abandoned areas.
     • Low Cost: Cheap to practice as there is no cost of buying artificial fertilizers or investing in land improvements.
   • Disadvantages:
     • Extensive Land Requirement: Requires vast tracts of land, making it unsustainable with growing populations and land scarcity.
     • Soil Erosion Risk: Continuous use of land without proper conservation measures can lead to soil erosion before abandonment.
     • Limited to Annual Crops: Primarily suitable for annual crops, not perennial crops that require long-term land commitment.
     • Land Fragmentation: Can lead to scattered cultivation areas and difficulty in land management.

2. Ranching:

   • Description: The practice of raising livestock (typically cattle or sheep) on a very large farm called a ranch, primarily for commercial purposes. Ranches are often divided into smaller fenced areas called paddocks for rotational grazing.
   • Advantages:
     • Maximum Pasture Use: Rotational grazing through paddocks allows for efficient utilization of available pasture.
     • Overgrazing Control: Paddocking helps prevent overgrazing by allowing pastures to recover.
     • Even Dung Distribution: Livestock distribute their dung evenly across the paddocks, naturally fertilizing the land.
     • Facilitates Management: Allows farmers to carry out other management activities (e.g., animal health checks) while specific paddocks are recovering.
   • Disadvantages:
     • Large Land Requirement: Needs extensive land areas, which may be costly or unavailable in densely populated regions.
     • Low Output per Unit Area: Due to less intensive management and reliance on natural pastures, output (e.g., meat, wool) per unit of land is lower compared to intensive livestock systems.

Importance of Extensive Farming:

While less productive per unit area, extensive farming systems hold relevance in specific contexts:

• Low Capital Requirement: Does not necessitate large capital investment in infrastructure or inputs, making it accessible to farmers with limited financial resources.
• Less Labor Intensive: Requires less labor input per unit of land compared to intensive systems.
• Less Managerial Skill: Generally requires less complex managerial skills compared to the intricate management needed for intensive farming systems.
• Ecological Niche: Can be suitable for marginal lands where intensive cultivation is not feasible, helping to utilize otherwise unproductive areas.
• Environmental Impact (sometimes lower): Can have a lower direct environmental impact in terms of chemical use, depending on the specific practices.