Complementary practices adopted by farmers of Haryana (India) for conservation agriculture

Abstract

Aim: To study different complementary practices like zero tillage, agroforestry, crop diversification etc., adopted for conservational agriculture. Methodology: The study was conducted in the year 2018 in Haryana state of India, which is divided into two agro-climatic zones, i.e., North-Eastern Zone and South-Western Zone. A total of 240 respondents were personally interviewed for the present study. Results: The farmers were highly aware of the fact that the zero tillage reduces the field preparatory cost, agroforestry provides healthy environment and extra income whereas crop diversification reduces the risk of crop failure. Major constraints in zero tillage, agroforestry and crop diversification were ?straw burning?, ?lack of interest among respondents due to long duration of return? and ?lack of educational and training facilities?, respectively. Interpretation: Conservation agriculture opens new doors towards mitigating the effects of conventional agricultural systems and to improve the health of our degrading soil. Substantial improvement may be required in research on agriculture policy formulation involving training of scientists, extension workers and farmer leaders.