Thanks Vijay for opening the discussion. You have given good points, can you cite some examples of judicious mix of agricultural enterprises and how best we can optimize the resources in agriculture. How we can address the issues if our productivity is down? Costs have exploded? production or business processes no longer meet our needs?  Using proven techniques, we improve existing processes, promote better operational management to increase productivity and better control costs. Let us have views from all fronts.

Does integrated farming system approach integrate both conventional and traditional art of farming ?

Yes Sir,  the IFS can integrate both conventional and traditional art of farming. All the components of farming such as Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal husbandary, poultry, water conservation, forestry etc., can be clubbed and sustainable income from one or the other sources can be obtained and it is possible and easy to integrate both the farming systems

Can integrated farming system approach maximise the production through change in current land use pattern?

If farmer go for mono cropping, the profit will be less. If there are more number of crops per unit area and all farm activities in different directions of farming through agri. horti. silvi. aquaculture etc. will maximize the production

Is integrated farming system approach capable of optimal utilization of available resources.?

Yes Sir, Once we see the principles of organic farming and sustainable use of natural resources. It is possible for optimal use of resources for maximising the production

How effectively farm wastes are recycled for productive purposes in such integrated farming system?.

What are the judicious blend of agricultural enterprises like agriculture , dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, sericulture, forestry etc. suited to a given agro-climatic conditions and farmers social dynamics that could be fitted in an integrated farming system approach?

How far, an integrated farming system approach can sustain the current agriculture scenario ? - ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_far_an_integrated_farming_system_approach_can_sustain_the_current_agriculture_scenario [accessed Mar 4, 2017].

Thanks Vijay for opening the discussion. You have given good points, can you cite some examples of judicious mix of agricultural enterprises and how best we can optimize the resources in agriculture. How we can address the issues if our productivity is down? Costs have exploded? production or business processes no longer meet our needs?  Using proven techniques, we improve existing processes, promote better operational management to increase productivity and better control costs. Let us have views from all fronts.

Dr Malhotra , let me send my compliments for putting up a type of question to all of us , that really needs an in-depth discussion .In my mind , integrated farming system approach is wholesome approach  , but its components will need to be streamlined on a regional basis, sometimes  on catchment basis or farm level even.  But , no doubt whatsoever , that this approach has the potential to address all the possible pending issues  that could come in the way of sustaining the current agriculture scenario, which is so heavily marred  by climate change-related issues so rampantly.  I am looking forward to more responses from our learned colleagues so that we  can thrash out this issue , more emphatically...

Interesting points Abhishek, in nutshell we can say that Integrated Farming System approach is based on effective management of water, energy and food systems by individual farm families on  1-2 ha of land, and involves a complete re-cycling program.

Good points. Can you cite economy driven enterprises within the farming system which can yield tangible benefits in terms of efficient nutrient and hydrological cycling, which can impart resilience by building soil quality with time. 

I think, integrated farming approach has to be based on watershed management basis .

Good feedback Dr Srivastava, I agree with you. 

Integrated broiler contract farming (IBCF) is one of the system used to increase poultry production in Malaysia.

http://journalijcms.com/sites/default/files/issue-files/0058.pdf

The instead of mono-cropping or traditional cropping practices, adoption of integrated farming system " IFS" by the resource-poor farmers could be of immense help in strengthening their net income as well as creating jobs, thus paving the way for sustainable family farming. Crops cultivated and other components in the IFS should be complementary so that the farming could be profitable and sustainable. An integrated farming system (IFS) is one which focuses on judicious combinations of any one or more of the enterprises and effective recycling of residue waste for better management of available resources.

Integrated Farming- UNI 11233-2009 new European agriculture organic standard (IF) or integrated production is a whole organic farm management system which aims to deliver more sustainable agriculture. It is a dynamic approach which can be applied to any farming system around the world. It involves attention to detail and continuous improvement in all areas of a farming business through informed management processes. Integrated Farming combines the best of modern tools and technologies with traditional practices according to a given site and situation. In simple words, it means using many ways of cultivation in a small space or land.

Dear Dr. Ahmed and Dr. Ali, sincere thanks for nice information that judicious combinations of any one or more of the enterprises which primarily involve better management of available resources. Dr. Ali has also described in simple words that IFS means using many ways of cultivation in a small space or land. 

Sir

I am basically from Vijayapur(Previously Bijapur) where the annual rainfall is only 530mm. The major crops are sorghum, Bengal gram, Red gram, Sunflower, etc. Among horticultural crops grapes, lime and pomegranate, ber etc. By default here farmers follow organic farming because of scarcity of water(rainfall) and every farmer have a subsidiary farming such as animal husbandary,  poultry, goat rearing etc. There by following IFS farmers get additional income

Interesting discussion.  Infact , we need integrated farming system module on a given watershed , then only concept such as this would find some real implementation in field and its affect thereon..

 Suitable pilot projects will have to be designed and implemented to test the systems and based on the results of such projects, further development will have to be planned.

Integrated farming system also looks at , how the natural resources are utilised horizontally as well as vertically over space and time , besides optimising the input -output relation...

Thank you Abhishek for good points, yes Integrated farming system with multi enterprise will pave the way for realizing increased productivity and profitability in small farms. But such models are needed to be adopted by farmers which can provide a regular income and employment to farm family. Abhishek, see my new question on Conservation Agriculture.

Good topic and good discussion on IFS. I think to elaborate this  ICAR last year created NRC for IFS at Motihari, Bihar. So as you all suggesting a pilot study needed but ICAR itself on its website flagged so may successful stories of IFS in Indian villages. The only question is how that profitable models are in adoption by majority of framers. Its true it is substantive farming model to self employ and nutritious food for small  & marginal farmers.  But everybody want more  means economics wins over ecological and sustainable aspects, no doubts IFS provide diversification of agri produce and leverage the more options to farmers than monoculture from risk to price loss some time but the management of such diverse and complex farming farmer need to be attentive and industrious.    Our forefathers already adopted this systems and still may remote places where land holdings are limited are still practicing but to feed others ( like us urban people) green revolution, land consolidation etc enforced to go for intensive agriculture  and so today we are proudly saying to produce more than 270 million tons food grains with self sufficient of 131 crore population.

These questions of food security and to feed this nation certainly difficult to answer by IFS model but individually a farmer family can sustain his family economically and profitably.  So question rises what to be opted only farmer & ecology or food for 31 crore population.

I agree , integrated farming system is  not a   new concept , but looking at shrinking per capita land availability , this has become mandatory to analyse the possibility to exploit the available land space both horizontally as well as vertically. Vertical farming in floriculture has already started in a big way. There is an absolutely no doubt , integrated farming system , though looks so familiar , but so difficult in implementation.

Thank you Abhishek for good comments. See one more question which I have loaded on Climate Smart Horticulture 

Mechanization in agriculture has to play greater role in integrated farming system.

While  visiting south and northeast  India, we come across many of the  effective modules of integrated farming system. And , they are so effectively in practice ..

Yes Sir. home garden or homesteads of  Kerala and North East areas are well known model.

Nice attachment Abhishek. These studies amicably narrate about the sustainability of integrated farming system . But , it would be interesting to see, how such integrated arming system works out in a given concept of watershed..

Excellent remarks by Dr. Anoop, Dr. Abhishek. But I shall be happy to know the details on judicious blend of agricultural enterprises like agriculture , dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, sericulture, forestry etc. suited to a given agro-climatic conditions and farmers social dynamics that could be fitted in an integrated farming system approach?

Thanks Dr Malhotra..Please find enclosed some excelelnt links on the issue, which is peaking up now..

Shift to integrated farming and earn Rs. 40,000 per month - The Hindu

www.thehindu.com/news/cities/.../shift...integrated-farming.../article7889816.ece 

Nov 18, 2015 - UAS-B to showcase integrated farming models' demonstration plots to instil confidence among farmers at Krishi Mela.

Sustainable Farm Income from Integrated Farming in Arid Region ...

www.icar.org.in/en/node/5718 

Shri Nand Kishore Jaisalmeria a farmer of Manaklao village of Jodhpur (25 km north) owns ... The piece of land was developed as an integrated farming system.

Integrated crop-livestock farming systems

An integrated farming system consists of a range of resource-saving practices that aim to achieve acceptable profits and high and sustained production levels, while minimizing the negative effects of intensive farming and preserving the environment. Based on theprinciple of enhancing natural biological

processes above and below the ground, the integrated system represents a winning combination that (a) reduces erosion; (b) increases crop yields, soil biological activity and nutrient recycling; (c) intensifies land use, improving profits; and (d) can therefore help reduce poverty and malnutrition and strengthen environmental sustainability..PDF enclosed for further reading..

Interesting work..

Integrated Farming System - An Holistic Approach: A Review.

ABSTRACT

There are 115 million operational holdings in the country and about 80 % are marginal and small farmers. To fulfill the basic needs of house hold including food (cereal, pulses, oilseeds, milk, fruit, honey, meat, etc.), feed, fodder, fiber, etc. warrant an attention about Integrated Farming System (IFS). Undoubtedly, majority of the farmers are doing farming since long back but their main focus was individual components but not in a integrated manner. At the ICAR and State Agricultural Universities level, lot of efforts have been made aiming at increasing the productivity of different components of farming system like crop, dairy, livestock, poultry, piggery, goat keeping, duckery, apiculture, sericulture, horticulture, mushroom cultivation etc. individually but lacking in their integration by following farming system approach. The integration is made in such a way that product of one component should be the input for other enterprises with high degree of complimentary effects on each other. The preliminary research investigations advocated the benefits of productivity improvement by 30-50% depending upon the number and kind of enterprises and their management. The information on farming system in a systematic way is presented here. The methodology is explained keeping in mind the work done so far to realize better productivity, profitability and sustainable production systems that would help to solve the fuel, feed and energy crisis, create more employment avenues, ensure regular income and encourage agricultural oriented industry.  (RRJAAS | Volume 3| Issue 4 | October - December, 2014)..PDF  enclosed for further reading..

What are the conventionally used criteria to be used while evaluating the sustainability of integrated farming system...

Dear Anoop good query. Synergistic blending of crops, horticulture, dairy, fisheries, poultry, etc. as viable option to provide regular income and at site employment to small land holder, decreasing cultivation cost through multiple use of resources and providing much needed resilience for predicted climate change scenario.

Dr Malhotra and other colleagues, why integrated farming module tested experimentally..later virtually fails when replicated in farmers field..

It is not true in all cases. There may be few instances where it failed only because of  lack of market support. Farmers did not get good price to commodity.

I am talking of field implementation of integrated farming module, Dr Malhotra...

I agree with you Dr. Anoop, integrated farming modules developed fail at field implementation level. Farmer usually get confused. Before adoption of any module, farmer need to assess the resources in hand and at farm, to have win win situation. will you please suggest any win win approach to maximise the production through change in current land use pattern.

Good points and very well placed arguments Dr Malhotra. Change in land use alone might not solve the problem, it has to be addressed aggressively at conservation of natural resources at watershed level plus introduction of some horticultural crop with an eye on ecosystem functioning.Unfortunately, these issues either at farm level or at watershed level ,  have failed miserably at both ends  , implementation point of view and from planning point of view as well. A farmer is always willing to growing everything  he hardly uses land use according to available resources , regardless of farm size to certain extent.Therefore , integrated farming system, though, sounds so lucrative but farming incentives hardly testify such concept.Its a high time to revisit these issues , instead of debating through academics . Hope , you will take up these issues , the way and the extent , they deserve to be discussed..

Yes. Field implementation of integrated farming is really tedious . We need to address this issues. 

The emergence of Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) has enabled us to develop a framework for an alternative development model to improve the feasibility of small sized farming operations in relation to larger ones. It is a commonly and broadly used word to explain a more integrated approach to farming as compared to monoculture approaches. The prosperity of any country depends upon the prosperity of farmers. This in turn depends upon the adoption of improved  technology and judicious allocation of resources. Integrated farming systems are often less risky, if managed efficiently, they benefit from synergisms among enterprises, diversity in produce, and environmental soundness. It is only by combining all these farming activities together in a symbiotic process that the small tropical farm can become a viable and economic proposition. On this basis, IFS models have been suggested by several workers for the development of small and marginal farms across the country. Such identified judicious blend of agricultural enterprises like agriculture, dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, sericulture, forestry etc. suited to a given agro-climatic conditions and farmers social dynamics needs to be adopted.

Integrated farming module infact should be in such a way that it should earn the livelihood of dependent family with total safeguard on nutritional security of depend ent family. Role of soil and water conservation on a watershed basis should also be clearly define while debating such important issue..

More importantly, such concepts hold more promise to offer a complete security towards the livelihood of the farming family dependet upon the farmland. In the past, single enterprise-based farming has been quite non-dividend paying,thereby, warranting integrated farming module , especially under rainfed tropical/ subtropical climate..

Without better evidence for the relative merits of various strategies for agricultural intensification, formulating new policies will be challenging. We need to know more about how best to use land and water to accelerate yield growth and improve resilience in the face of climate variability and other stresses on critical natural resources. We must balance this with efforts to reduce agriculture’s environmental impacts and maximize profits.

 What are the judicious blend of agricultural enterprises like agriculture ,apiary, poultry, piggery, fishery, sericulture, forestry etc. suited to a given agro-climatic conditions and farmers social dynamics that could be fitted in an integrated farming system approach?

An integrated farming system can be developed according to local conditions and the demand on the market

http://www.wiso.boku.ac.at/fileadmin/data/H03000/H73000/H73300/pub/DA_Diss/2007_Lassmann_DA.pdf

I agree with you , integrated farming models dynamics to be fitted as per agroecological zones or as per  popular and sustained farming system module ..

Yes I agree with you , the integrated farming system  should be ecofriendly and should help in reducing pollution and should provide environmental services.

Yes whole system approach is needed to be followed for reducing negative impacts.

There is challenge but integrated farming system approach should integrate both conventional and traditional art of farming.

This link may help you  . https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/SabariNathan64/integrated-farming-system-61784067 

In effect, socio-psychological factors play a tremendous role in people’s willingness to change, and if these factors are not addressed properly, almost none of the technological solutions that will be brought forward will have a chance of adoption.

In addition to information provided by many colleagues related to IFS, I am to explain that basic objective is to make agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient by promoting location specific Integrated/Composite Farming Systems based on:

• Conservation of natural resources through appropriate soil and moisture conservation measures;
• Adoption of comprehensive soil health management practices based on soil fertility maps, soil test based application of macro & micro nutrients, judicious use of fertilizers etc.;
• Optimize utilization of water resources through efficient water management to expand coverage for achieving ‘per drop more crop’;
• Develop capacity of farmers & stakeholders

It is good to know that integrated farming systems favours presence of natural fauna such as predators etc. There is need to gather such basic information from different agro-climatic zones to describe beneficial role and environmental services thus provided.

Lets listen some success stories of climate smart horticulture.

Interesting results that  in crop enterprise, land preparation (84% in plain and 68% in hilly), marketing of the products (84% in plain and 96 % in hilly) etc. were mostly performed by male members of family Whereas in livestock enterprise, all the activities were mostly performed by female but searing of the milks and animals done by male members. Likewise in poultry and fishery enterprise both male and female members were actively engaged.

If integrated farming system increasing the income than why it has not been adopted at large scale

 Farmer needs to have enterprising thinking and action. For example joint products are those which are produced together e.g. cotton and cottonseed, wheat and straw etc. the quantity of one product decides the quantity of the other products. In case of joint products there is no economic decision the make with respect to the combination of products and two products can be treated as one and trade as enterprise mix for more profit.

Good information has been provided for integrated Farming Systems. There are many elements of traditional farmer knowledge that, enriched by the latest scientific knowledge, can support productive food systems through sound and sustainable soil, land, water, nutrient and pest management, and the more extensive use of organic fertilizers.