Integrated Farming System concept & farm design )Frrstpublishedin August 2012 ©. Rese Arden Chatejoe Devetopedy ‘Anshutan Das PanhiaBast Langone ea SanjbChatajoe Typeset covers Layout icon mation ‘ArdhendsS Chateroe ‘anwtaman as Published prey Development Rescarch Communication and Sences Cente 58 ADharmotle Road. Bosepulu,Kasba, Kolkata 700 042, E-mal :orescind@igmal com | wanes ong Rs, 80/- Contents ‘Sor rm tho past Wat we were tying to do ‘To red ie not so straight tarm aesion Basie pines of fam design Designs suitable fr diferent agroecciogica region Serer10 Story from the past ‘The newly developed concept of integrated or ecological farming is a synthesis of our age-old Wadlonal knowledge and modem scientific techniques. Eartyin our civilization the source offood was mainly through collection oF hunting, That was the age ofthe hunter-gatherers. As people started to sete down a communibes in vilages, thy felt the need foramore stable food and perhaps fodder production systom. What was te inspiration fr ‘our ancestors? The natural production system of course —, those [pastures those forests. Afterall whal can be more productive than alot {orest? Talking about sustainably can any production system be more ‘sustainable than a forest? Quit naturally ur earyagricuturists emulated ‘the natural production sysiems as they slated the business of grwing foadinstead ofhunting and gathering, ‘Such agrcuture-system had the dversiy alike any natural system, Such ‘a setup was self contained and sof suficent, Le. it id not require any input fom outside the farm or vilage. The farmiand ofa farmer gave him Other at least enough to feed the family. Slowly through the ages, our ‘arcuturists developed a rich body of knowledge about how to produce ‘while in tune with nature and without harming the nature, Such afarm was ‘more cushioned againstnatura or cmaticrisks oo. “Thefarming system that develapedin our own country also evolved along the simlar line, k evolved keeping in tune with the local ecological phenomena and the resources that were avaliable locally. Considering the rch diversity of agroecological setings, a cn varity of farming methods evolved across the length and breadth of our county each with Rs own features and each with lis own body of agro-ecological knowledge systems. “But Traditional Technologies did not Produce Enough” ‘Wiay back o sixties, eourity was going through severe food isis. As we ‘could ne longer expand our arab lands much, the challenge was to increase the productvly of our farmlands to food the fast growing population, The tradtonal agriculture were fang us we were tol. We needed to “Moderize" it and we needed new technologies ~ we were told, Although # remains a matter of debate as to, whether the food shortage was due to low produchity’ or had to do with almost non ‘extent public dlstbuion system, county's agricultural establishment ‘cided thatthe ow extemal input adional agriculture was te reason é ac shad oar te text ow seca, Wher Wetinrenee a or Soe reached each of ou siared and half larved countymen ee sae ut tefl thal, our food gran production has Indeedimproves But what happened tothe Green Reyohon ht was oght be he Oe os insects of ow rowing popuaton? Tore ate ste es ut fot prodcon taey. A whale range of sarrame auton page ou agit, recurs ee aie bl ering suck Hundreds of smal and marginal anes Fre eco tba cere soerch of fob, ve cous ae ete nos to gon a afore There are serous cencers al population iy welt ve sal be be feed ou tering mllons 9a decacetomnon? \Whathas gone wrong? 44 TheFading Gren! sth newandModerYehnologies areiing uso. Sere et choral ferszos has feo he steady decline of Ferre matern sland the slhaslsts "Li‘Thanks tothe indiscriminate and erratic use of chemical pesticides — our Natural ecosystems are poisoned — the food that we eats poisoned ang ‘everyday theres a newer variety of pestn our crop feds that has grown resistanceto pesticides. (Our groundwater store is dctning fast. Thanks lo the green revolution that prompted our farmers to tap this aaufer for doing agriculture, The heavy mining of groundwater hasledt arsenic contamination, ur rich cop diversity is as good as lost. Thanks tothe handful of ‘High Yielding and Improved! crop varieties that now sway incufarmlands, ‘The small and marginal farmers today are at their wits end. Market ‘clas them today about what to grow and when not o eat, what they ‘Tow butselltinthe market to get some cashn hand tobuy food fromthe market 1.2 TheMyth ofthe unproductive smallfarmers. The main argument used for the industalzation of food and corporaistion of agriculture isthe low productiviy ofthe small farmers, ‘Some statistics (World Development Report and Repor of Intemational Conference on Giobalisaton, Food secunty and Sustainable Agnculue, ‘New Dob 1996)to prove the fallacy’of the myth * In Braz, the productivity of 0-10 ha farm was worth $85/ ha while the productivty ofa 600 ha farm was worth $2/ha + In India a 05 acre farm had a productviy of worth Re 736/are, ‘ile 36 acre farmhad a product of worth Rs, 346/acre + The slate of Bengal had shown the highest rate of growth of 6.5% for agriculture as a result of land reform, while the rate of growth for indiawasamere 3%. + Ina mixed cropping system, 5 units of npUtare used to produce 100, units of food, thus having a productivity of 20, whereas in an Indusval monoculture 300 units of input are used to produce 100, Unis offood, thus having aproductivity of 0.3, Thus, biodiversity based productivity measures have shown that small farmer can feed the word better. Because in terms of mulipleyiekds they hhavehigher productivity than the big andcorporate farmers. 2.0 Whatwe are trying to do emote ts as nit septs tet ee nt aaqnnrmonotedstgetn iether Ent initio gedit acmencectescu, Fetmmattineatner teen Sieaatestecntate conte ene oo ‘+ Theproponents of the organic farming movement ie creeamata! iaeieerec ae career wa + Natural Farming aii eines Sona aeen i ooaees urea -engumnemicantnar a, _ Sear apm te rn eae pene= and there re some, wh see who supposed suc! and funcional negrationcttamingcomponeniasroadio sustanebiy. ee at each fn oeommendten msl olthesuggostonarstorestones reer thonertas etal loa i gamsave sons et ih extant ctrl phosopy We fol et anawer around the last of the lis, wr {ound the lat ofthe Is, which roles integration at stuctural and offers partial solution. Although Woetthatte anawerisin econ ; sin (crrdgt ore) — Frog eoper meh ir knowles oor hertage fw external input agricultural systems extemal input aoretralsystoms and understanding the ntl + Leaming more about the various Learing more about he various Blogical resources in and around Brrr ener = Feschlen cn ty et dene esikee eee mantlanen cmaeenaciorete seoowes gee cn TS rey Seren ne Meenas _ Seca ag nd Seacoast tere Sencha eres” Spee a See ere ence t __ Possible, who would practise similar farming as a groug eon Petree oer ea vurce base or in other words the surrounding ecosystems. oo smi tats cena See oo ‘on xn es fn inked oct ot lll ea 70 Bio-integratedfarmingis one possible way to achievettis. ‘We are actualy trying to find out some alematives to these problems Trough some recoutce management. This aims af increasing Cop sRerSty, productivity and sustainably. Tis would aiso enable the Ae eink. scientifically, make them se suffient regarding (accion and supply of soeds,frlizers, pesticides, It wil also make Fensetrare about importance of farming In tune with the nature and its laws, Most ofthe farmers in our country possess less than an acre of land reeive of paddy fel, pond and homestead. Nether dothey have more reese 4000-5000 per bigha to nves (some farmers have to Borrow ‘aontvs amount! norean they eam any signicant amount of proiteven Shor cutvating paddy almost trie a year (that too, there is no drought aiood), Most of these farmers possess oneltwo goats, 10-12 ducks or Pere Ghettwo cat wich are substituted by pigs in many cry areas Or ‘reas dominated hy bal commutes). Letustry tounderstand this with an example ‘Take a alluvial floodplain orriverbasin asthe seting Sinsuch region solis clayey. 1 Amost each farming fal has a pond of area 2-3 decimal. 1 MO STaI farmers usualy don't have plough of there own, so they ree Ste ike vactors and power ilers and also have to pay for the water used foriigation, «Tere are many fruit trees and multipurpose trees like Coconut, eeu Guava, Papaya, Banana and so on are very common round tiehouses ranging from 4-5to 10-12innumber. LLetus ty to design a farming system model or these farmer. Before designing, let us try to define aim and techniques of integrate farming again. the ever ofthe farm should be increased as much as possible by introducing atleast 5/6 types of careals and pulsesioiiseeds, 10-12 variates of vegetables, 5-6 varieties of fruit trees, fuel ‘wood and fodder trees, 5-6 ypescof spices or medicinal plants, S- S types of livestock, 3-4 types o fis. That could ensure food and lvelinood seourt throughout year 2. Baer ipats wil have to be reduced. At least 1-2 members of Sami should take the responsiblity to produce inputs ke Seeds forizrs ec. andto cover the eld wth ive fence from within 1the vilages. Measures should be taken to conserve soll and to hamess rainwater, Measures should be to prevent water run off and sallecsion. The organic wastes generated from farms, cawshed, household should be reused, best would be to recycle them. For example excreta of livestock can be used to produce biogas, a pat ofthe liquid sturr obtained as a byproduct ofthe process, can be used as {ish feed andrest canbe applied o paddy or vegetable el. Even te inherent behaviour af the vestock can be utlized also I ‘the integration is done at right ime and quantum, they might serve ‘many of our purpose free of cost. As hens can provide fertizers in ftuitorchard along with dearing up weeds and pests; local variety of ducks and predatordishes kept in paddy feld can save works ike weeding, fering, aerating and socn, Water hyacinth and other organic weeds like Cassia tora, Ivy Gourd, Prickly Amaranth, Lambs quarters (Chenopodium alburn) et., which are grown on its own, shouldbe processed and utilized tomeet consumption requirements of human and ivestock. Fast growing trees lke Gliicdia, Ip pl, Common Sesban, Variegated Bauhinia (Bauhinia variegata), Pigeon Pea, Bamvoo shouldbe planted as they add high nutentcontentin sl. They can be used for enriching soll as well as fodder oflivstock At the Same time these may alsobe ugedas frewood Farmers shoul tak inate to sel ther products, nt crectly from ‘ies, but should process them, which help them to earn more prof ‘And this i also a good process to keep the organic wastes thin the vilage, Seling of mango leather instead of mango, extraction of Oil from Neenvingian Beech (Pongam Oil Tree)(Casior within the village, seling of fut juices are few examples of such post harvesting technologies, Uses of chemical pesticides are to be stopped while practising integrated farming. In fact, use of chemical fertizers ike Urea, Super Phosphate, Ammonium Nitrate, Polash should also be stopped gradually. Though litle amount of chemicals like DAP or NPK can be used mixed with organic fertlizer, yet tis advised fo reduce the application. Instead of rock phosphale, limestone, wood ash etc.can be used if required. Emphasis should be given on preparing and using ‘of ‘organic fertilzer, green manure, \ermicompost, extract of various plants end weeds or ash as organic weedicide at 2 tering together we can ty out diferent types of farming sy techniques. 2.4 The Model fora Floodplain region farm “This has been illustrated amply uring the lasttwo and aha decades, versed, there are scopes to create diferent < fam ends mat vecay ae, I wo ave iret ecoytem To den or some ow iands, produtive lan, Garden or Some = ee ey aan reas ceca ma i ae eee ounce Imecology now, that siabilly of a system is enhanced by Nigher Rice eg Seo reer {, Optimum peductvy wh maximum nputuseoficency ey by a number of expert valatons vie ae Renyding [ aio A sledabe evolution 8 uae rose? te Noral conse cane bing tes OUT senfaly managed’ ecosystems, Even hough Se ese eer and compoaty than 2 nal ural ecosystem principles 100, ‘agroecosystems provides & oceans She tancep of oghelal ysis a5 @{fundamental insight that any farming system should ideally emutate a productive natural ecosystem. A farm developed under this ‘natural frameworkmaybe termed as'BiO-FARM. ‘Themodelto be developedis envisaged at? scales: 1. Singlefarm scale ii Farmelusterscale Farm cluster scenario is thought to be an ideal scenario, tis essentially ‘2 duster of BIO-NTENSIVE FARMS. In i apart from integration at the farm level, there would also be integration of resources that are common to such farms. Ideally such acter boundary should be a ‘whole vllage ecosystem, ‘Therationale behind developing such BIO-INTENSIVE FARM CLUSTERs that inthis process, the ecosystem, both in and around the farm would ‘ameliorate. An enriched and rejuvenated ecosystem would provider lecosystem services tothe indvidual farms. The association between a farm and the cluster ecosystem would ameliorate through a process of synergy. Attempis to improve the eco-system level productivity would be made Keeping the Micro-watershed perspective view. It's more than a decade that southern Asian countries are workingresearching on altemative cultivation techniques. Farmers were encouraged by the outcome of various experiments carried out by private and publi itultons in Vietnam, Thalland and China n Japan some farmers and universes are also researching on the integration of paddy-sh-duck-azola cultivation. Some work has also been done in Philippines, Cambodia, India and Bangladesh; mainly those are one by the innovative farmers with the help of a few voluntary ‘evelopment organizations. 7% 2.2 Theselection of Species: Integrity among diversity DIVERSIFICATION & INTEGRATION ‘Awe designed garden romana prodotve 6 12 poross ‘and can Wi Keenssgotny ga wee ote Win ts anne m2 ttarnttaynep echoes Inoocs & Repties uations (wild & domestic) ‘Sorgansm (id & domestic) Micros & Mlrefauna (ld & domestic) eExample ofan Ideal Scenario from a sub- sternindia Ta The present seen of ntatin ‘This is what we cal he usual scenario ofa smallmidae frm, It usually has a rice field (RF), paddies are sold dec in the marke, rice is ‘consumed and the siraws are forthe cate, they have any. The mk is either sold in the market or consumed. Vegetables, ful, cereals and ‘animal proteins are bought from the market. LLetusnow nroduce~ ‘A. Pond andlor dich ina portion ofthe fed for rainwater conservation andirigation. nthe dryland group farming, a multi-tr pondidtch in the middle ofa cluster of agricutural elds belonging to ferent farmers. Along the bank there wil be rows of varieties of fu, fu ‘and firewood tees, particulary which are drought-tolrant, consolidated system in which seasonal/perennial. vegetables calvated at diferent ters wil give harvest throughout the year providing food, fuel, fodder, frewood and contol bank erosion. Locally available fishes (endangered species) might be grown inthe ‘ond for easy source of protein, Some species of major carps can be Introduced only when the pondis ult the brim, ‘Aatich nthe xr nds nthe nooo esbana tobe so itn the ch and ons bund Ea Sean rato ir pec ope con aloes can Utadostenfoed and ied task Amt ot sec br gogo we caf wil be projected over the porch as tolls 0 fo weet nee goa, opr cation paca dae en fnioed fomparstons owing oa ferred leaves. ‘Duckhouse / Chickpen projected over the pond so that the droppings ‘consumedby fishB Fish, duck, azolain the pond, dich andre efor improved nuttin, pest and weed conto, seraion, manure and fodder. This is @ very ‘good example ofinra-subsystemiink z Thebes apn No Especially nthe welland, lat us aise potion of the field and wid : e and widen the Sands wh te excavated ea fom the pan or gown vegetables anc oes adress water oging tha wlincreasg possi of year cud catvaton of vegetables Theres! he ed wl ein to ‘growrice. tis suggested to grow native varieties fice with 2 saplings Go ection of emorlel padlyFil for ducer ised caltine @ planted at an interval of 9 instead ofthe present practice of planting § casings at an itorval of 6°. This is for less seed requirement, post seeetaon and inorganic fetlizer, almost seme or increased yield and ‘qualitative amotioaton In dry tad, rice, millet and other rainfed tops wil be grown in betwen iopeable trees. Same field becomes farm during rainy season 3nd Feetauring dry season. Tree eaves used as green manure and fodder rnp fem nf rought-yrone 1 copes esha 2-Conpen Mote, Honegrn 3 Dich for root putin “Mined planing of galn «beans + feds ney any 800, oF Pgpon Par + Rosle, Casa» Back gram Niger ek and “Ground Nut Pulses andoll seeds et. willbe sown aterthe rainfed crops are harvested Cutz the residual moisture of the soto enhance income and balanced ties andimprove the soil quai. @THE] Staeptemndlllepetcien Recycling is aways an important part of tegrated system Plant wastes, Caniood ies ard amas her exrela can selma Boge, on Produced slury can be used as fish feed or earthworm feed and feraing pat can be Used as organ mane fo odes human fod ‘Sd animal od ha home garden ecnenwasas, ood os ene nd id excel and urine, rote footing afta wastes are Siar fsa Gace hs of eomelpesi ane cp ozs tpi nate the srry eon o's al 3 a som gd Te mapntons hoger nt el aly ates Ma aden Integrated Farming System that me dream. a Asa whole. we gonaalize th ubsyem niegraton an itwill be something like — uaa sane 3.0 The roads notsostraight ‘might thnk that if this concept isso good, then whty itis not being followedlpractioed ata large scale. The problems are not s0 technical Bt ‘mostly socal and organizational. Land reform isincompletein mostol the ‘las; consequently a land of 1-2 bigha is further subdivided. But fr @ farmer of 5-6 family members, atleast 50 cent of land is required to fulfil ‘thenutron requirements thefamiyt Distance of the field rom the household is another problem, which leads to lack of secur. The police, Gram Panchayet (and members of various Yyouth cubs afilaed to ferent isms) has failed to pay an effective role inthetof shui ete “The location of the land is also a problem. I itis located at one comer along the sige ofthe road or canal, there will be no problem as such regarding widering ofthe bund nd planting tres. But the land sat the mile of the fe, tscifcutto bring such changes, People who have so far successfully carried out tis practice, their land is Usually atone corner o side ofthe field and very near to the homestesd. ‘They have als received training 0 suggestons and shot term loans fom ditlrent organisations. Moreover, all of them are marginal farmers and are very dedicated. We ae stil skeptical whether tis farming practic can be suceassfl if done only to earn profit by employing labour (other than the landownes)inthe fe a‘We need to promote and popularize this fanning practice anyhow. For that purpose, farmers have fo workin small groups of 66 members, each of fvhom has @ land of 1-15 bighs. Scope for training and research in ‘government. and -non-goverment organisations (NGOs) should be fRereased. Further arrangements should be made fr digging of pond, ive ‘encing, preparation of compost and other biofetiisers, donations and contusions frlocal seed banket. \without running behind the iusion of greener revoiton let the people of the Government, NGOS, of Universes and Research institutes/L.bs, ‘arm hands union and farmers forum ty to understand the goals and bonefis of sustainable agriculture and work together to save our green arth, the only one. Resouree Integrated Farming is an achievable and possible path towards this. farm designChapter 1: Basie Prinlples of Farm Design 1A Introduction The past decade has witnessed dramatic changes inthe environment in which the farmers operate. There has been an Increasing shift into ‘commercialfarming as a result of market liberalization poicies, the growth (of urban population centers, and improvements in transport ané market Infrasiucture. Powerful diving forces are changing farming systems ‘across the world. Urbanization is inereasing the number of people for ‘whom food must be produced by farmers, increasingly delivered trough Supemarkels. AS 8 consequence, fariers are intensiying existing patterns of production, diversifying into new ines, seeking of-farm work, expanding business siz and even existing agviculture in an attempt to Improve er ivelinoods and escape poverty ‘Sustainability rests onthe principle that we must meet the needs of the present witout compromising the ably of fure generations fo meet {heir own needs, Theretore, stewardship of both natural and humen resources 's of prime importance. Stewardship of human resources includes consideration of socal responsbilties such as working andliving ‘conditions of laborers, the needs of rural communities, and consumer health and safety both in the present andthe future. Stewardship of land and natural resources involves. maintaining or enhancing this vital resource base fr thelong term. A systems perspective is essential to understand sustainably. The system is envisioned init broadest sonse, from the individual farm, tothe local ecosystem, and to communities affected by this farming system both locally and globally. An emphasis on the system allows alarger and moce thorough view ofthe consequences of farming practices on both human ‘communes andthe environment Asystems approach gives us the tools to explore the interconnections between farming and other aspects of ‘our environment Farming system is all about coexistence of diferent spacios working together to achieve maximum productivity, the process of production should be such that the natural inweractions between ecological ‘components are not hampered. in aditon to tis thrust on productivy, farming also includes within is span, the issues of achieving food, 2 rutton and lveliiood securiy, restoring soll fertity, regenerating ‘degraded forests, grasslands and wetlands, Sustainable natural resource ‘management basod on bo-organic inputs, ecological design approach, Choloe of crops and cropping systems appropriate to agro-ecological Zones and bio-egions can be one idea to expore with. We also have to ‘Empower our small producers traugh implementation oflandreforms, by fensuring access to basio education and health facities and by eating possiites of horizontal communication and opportunities of Participation in development planning, Well designed agro-ecosystems Wil conserve sol, recharge ground water, protect habit for wife, enrich eulture, provide earning opportunites et ‘Farm management and farming systems approaches help to understand the consequences an opportuni for farm women and men ofthese changes. An Integrated Farming System is about mixing up in proper fata, the ecologial, economical and social understandings withthe alm Of poverty alleviation through appropriate scieniic technology. it ‘approaches to analyze dynamics and dversiication and evaluate faltemate development pathways for similar groups of farmers. Farm ‘management helps support improved decision making capacty of farmers confronting these rapid changes. 4.2 The Farm Design ‘The approach to address a faming issue has three aspects, the input aspect the technical aspect and a design aspect. For instance, i we Consider water unavaiaiity Is a major issue, the input aspect wil be to Inorease organic matter, so that water holding capacity increases. The technical aspect wll be to adopt techniques ike mulching, cover crops etc {or moisture retention inthe sol The design aspect willbe to do land ‘shaping or rain water harvesting and proper uiization of he waste water. However, inthis booklet we wilfocus on the design aspects. ‘A design ofa farm always depends trgelyon the agro-cimatic condition fand constraint and available genetic / human / knowledge / natural Tesources and the problem facing by the farming community, The Ecological farming, Bio organic farming, Nature Farming etc. alt focus primary on enhancing divers of genes, species and ecosystem levels. Mulpurpose species and multfunctonal elements are prefered. Muli cyslory arrangement, harvest energy and water more efficiently, and Keep sal covered for longer period artical requirementin topical agriculture: wore evapo-transpiational losses are high and rainfall is poorly tlstibuted Permaculture guiding principle sums upas “every elementin the design should have more than one purpose and every purpose ‘shouldbe served by more than one element” zl 41.3 The Why and How of designing a Sustainable Farm smo Sif Dx pure he ene PROUDS GAINING OMORANTISET. SZ Se > Thenhys hows of Sstaable Natura Resource Management aSustainable Agriculture integrates three, main goals health, economicefciency and social-economic oquly. Environmental goal Ecological sustainability involves within is broad span the genetic resource bese and biodiversity. Increase in diversity at genetics, species land ecosystem level forms the backbone of a sustainable ecology. ‘Several possible solutions to the environmental problems creatad by ‘capil ad technologyintensive faming systems have been proposed and research is curently in progress to evalateallerative systems. The main focus les on the reduction of elimination of agrochemical inputs through changes in management to assure adequate plant nutriion; plant protection through organic nulvient sources and integrated pest ‘management and ffcientusage of energy and water. ‘environmental Economic goal In an economic context, the farm must generate revenue, not always in terms ofcash, butin terms of kind also. Farmers make decisions in risky, Continuously changing environment and the consequences of their ‘decisions are generally nat known when the decisions are made. \Variabilty of pices and yields are major sources of risk in agrcutue. Changes in technology, legal and social concoms, and the human factor ite also contbute to the sky environment for farmers. Excessive dependency on extemal inputs maximizes the risk of prof reducon. In tfder to stabize the farm economics, the farm should be made self Sufcient, there should be party in income distibution and finally the resilience of agricultural systom shouldbe increased Social goal ‘farming system should be socially just. tis expected from an idea farm ‘hatitwil surely meet ntitional and veliood securty ofthe farmers and substantially decrease the market dependency. It should have equitable ‘access to Common Property Resources. farm can be said to be socially |ustoniy when satisfies athe folowing options. + whetherthefarmerisgeting fare share ofprice “+ whether tis sufficient to maintain his farily well being + whether he get enough remuneration to purchase his food ‘+ whether the minimum wage requirements attained = Generating more employment scapes where employment is necessary ‘accounts forthe lvelhood security of farmers. Whether the poor are better offs the selfsufcent indicator of progress. Teachieve these goals, wo noed totake the initiatives which = enhances ecolagical diversity * isdone through participatory learning process 1 isbased on conservation ethics 1.4nhancement of Ecological Diversity ‘One can learn about diversity rom natura ecosystemlike forest and river. Forests and aquatic systems have established Itself as a sel-supporive system and through ages a symbiotic relationship has been established between the forest and aquatic ecosystem and the dependent ‘communities. The reason is diversification and ightcecycing of waste. To (real a productive garden we need oinitate the nature. In commercial farming only fw sypes of vegetable ae grown and arge areas are planted witha few varieties. This uniformity makes it easy to manage, Dut also makes the production system unstable and vulnerable to attacks of pests land diseases. Divers lant species as well asin the crops culvated, keep pests away, and can play an important role in preserving our food habits and cultural traditions, Diversifation ofa farm has a direct impact upon the net productivity of {hat farm. The enhancement of ecological dversity depends upon some important factors incling .Cropping Sequence: ‘By choosing the appropiate cropping methodology farm diversity can be imoreased among which mixed cropping, crop ration, crop combination ‘and inler-rooping are of regular practice, Planning of sulable cropping pattem is of ulmast importance. The crop schedule canbe chalked out as per the folowing table before theiniiation of cropping season.cro te eaty ‘ate ty yseaton | on Season | any Suuson | Rainy Semon Leaty Vegetable Feat “Tuber Logume ‘The crops need to be selected carefully from the above table Crop ‘combinations needful tous as the concept paves the way by which there wouldbe: + Less competition fr food: this is achieved by a mixed combination ‘oflow feeding crops, medium feeding cops e.g, herbs) andheavy feeding crops (2.9, cereals, rts). Sol building plants legumes) ‘also occupies a majorpart + Space avaiiatilly for proper root system: The roots of diferent plans attain diferent depth. So @ proper combination of plants having cfferent root depths help in minimizing the intercrop ‘competition {or sol sap. + Duration ofcrop: tis to not thatthe chief aim of integrate faring isto minimize the lean period the field, The ntereropping shouls be done in such @ way thatthe field never remains vacant or ‘unproductive. Pest contro: Companion crops ae sometimes helpful in indigenous pest ‘ont Proper selection af some trap crops or pest repellant crops within themixed cropping can reduce pestattackio consderablelevel . Mutistoy Arangoment: Hast naturl scooters ae tol drangemers. High vel of acon arong Bit and aioe components and mule broray exchange ruts make anata seosyaiem reshent, sof mantaing ~ fnd highly productive. Moreover, Ww producwty improves. over tne! — thukeagre