In many areas around our world the soil is depleted from generations of its mismanagement. Monoculture with improper tillage is a chief culprit. The present need is to regenerate our soil resources and improve our food system which our food system depends.

This can be done by systematic focus on the regeneration of the soil resource starting with a thorough baseline analysis of the soil properties and development of plans to regenerate the soil resource.

In nature our own and animal life depends on plants which depend on the soil in over 98% of our food system. Mixed farming with the integration of animal and plant productions working off each other is critical.

The use of forage which has a emphasis on mixed perennial legumes and grasses is a proven way to regenerate the soil resource. A mixed crop stage can follow. The mixed crop and animal production schemes avoids many of the issues in non integrated systems such as animal and crop diseases weeds and pests and the system components feed off each other.

Wastes from the animal and crop components become the resources for the bolstering of the system and provide vehicle for soil improvements which work to counteract over enriched greenhouse gases in the enrichment.

While much of the integrative wisdom is found in some tradtional agriculture the promotion of monocultures and agrichemical inputs has not fostered their application and development.

Specialized ways of looking at the field and animal issues much change to a holistic focus and understanding and latest technologies need to be integrated with understanding of integrative biology and the vision of soil being an environment focused on life potential and not the kill the life focus which prevaded the post World War 2 paradigm.

Dr Paul Reed Hepperly thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Characteristics of diversification strategy

• Reduces risk: Diversification helps to reduce risk by spreading investments across different asset classes, industries, and geographic regions. This means that if one investment performs poorly, the others may still perform well, helping to offset the losses.
• Increases potential returns: By investing in a variety of different assets, diversification can also increase the potential for returns. This is because different asset classes have different risk and return profiles. For example, stocks are generally riskier than bonds, but they also have the potential for higher returns.
• Requires careful planning and management: Diversification is not a one-and-done strategy. It requires careful planning and management to ensure that the portfolio is properly allocated and that the investments are monitored and rebalanced on a regular basis.

How is diversification of crop production different from diversification of production activity?

Crop production diversification is the practice of growing a variety of crops on the same farm. This can be done to reduce risk, improve soil health, and increase profitability. For example, a farmer might choose to grow a mix of cereal crops, oilseed crops, and legume crops. This would help to reduce the risk of crop failure due to drought, pests, or diseases. It would also help to improve soil health by rotating different crops and using different nutrients.

Production activity diversification is the practice of expanding into new product lines or markets. This can be done to grow the business, increase profitability, and reduce risk. For example, a company that makes shoes might choose to expand into making clothing or accessories. This would help the company to grow its business and reach new customers. It would also help to reduce the risk of failure if one product line performs poorly.

Here are some key differences between crop production diversification and production activity diversification:

• Scope: Crop production diversification is typically focused on the farm level, while production activity diversification is typically focused on the business level.
• Goals: The primary goal of crop production diversification is to reduce risk, while the primary goal of production activity diversification is to grow the business and increase profitability.
• Strategies: Crop production diversification can be achieved by growing a variety of crops on the same farm, while production activity diversification can be achieved by expanding into new product lines or markets.

Overall, both crop production diversification and production activity diversification can be effective strategies for reducing risk and increasing profitability. However, it is important to choose the right strategy for the specific business or farm.

Dr Murthada Shukur thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Diversification is a strategy that mixes a wide variety of investments within a portfolio in an attempt to reduce portfolio risk. Diversification is most often done by investing in different asset classes such as stocks, bonds, real estate, or cryptocurrency. The strategies of diversification can include internal development of new products or markets, acquisition of a firm, alliance with a complementary company, licensing of new technologies, and distributing or importing a products line manufactured by another firm. A strategy is characterized by various features which have been presented as follows long range scope and direction to organization actions for every organization. Hence, it is action oriented. Furthermore, there are four basic characteristics of a successful strategy: goals that are simple, consistent and long term; profound understanding of the competitive environment; objective appraisal of the resources; and, effective implementation. Diversification includes two aspects, one relates to diversification of crop production and the other relates to a shift of workforce from agriculture to other allied activities and non-agricultural sector. Shifting the cropping system from a single-cropping system to a multi-cropping system the diversification involves shifting the cropping pattern from food grains to cash crops.