Impact Assessment of Integrated Farming System Project on the Socio-economic Status of the Beneficiary Farmers of Bidar District of Karnataka

Abstract

Integrated farming system (IFS) is recognized as the best solution to the farmers for providing income assurance and nutritional security to the farmers particularly for the small and marginal farmers with limited resources. Looking into the importance of the Integrated farming system, Government of Karnataka has implemented the IFS project to the farming communities of different districts coming under the jurisdictions of the University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot from the financial supports of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). Hence, the present study at College of Horticulture, Bidar was undertaken as one of the project implemented campus of the University for assessing impact of IFS Phase II on the beneficiary farmers of Bidar district. Initially, this project has created awareness about the IFS project among the selected beneficiaries through training programmes and then distributed the farm inputs like vegetable seeds, field crop seeds, vegetable seedlings, fruit grafts, nutrient specials, bio-fertilizers, and farm implements like battery operated sprayers, seedling planters and cycle weeders. The study found that, before implantation of the project, the farmers in the Bidar districts were generally growing Redgram with intercropping of Greengram/ Blackgram/Jowar/Soyabean and sugarcane crop, after implantation of the IFS project, there was a change in crops cultivation to the horticultural crops. The farmers who had received the benefits of seeds/seedlings and the technical information at free of cost for the cultivation of the horticultural crops, it was observed that, papaya crops growers were realised higher net profits of Rs. 1,10,988 per acre with the B:C ratio of 1.45, followed by the farmers of marigold crop (Rs. 1,01,881/acre), watermelon (Rs. 84459/acre), onion (Rs. 72,938/acre), chilli (Rs. 49,023/ acre) and Brinjal (Rs. 39,801/acre). Further, it was found that, the use of farm machineries like sprayers, farmers reduced the cost and time requirment of labour for spraying of pesticides. Similarly, famers used cycle weeders have opined that, for weeding men and women labours requiremnt was reduced to the tune of 12 to 15 days/ acre for men labours and 8-9 man days/acre for women labour and the use of Vegetable Handy Planter resulted in reduction labour and time requirment in planting of seedlings to the tune of 40 to 50 per cent of time duration. Hence, in overall, the IFS project interventions have benefited the farmers economically for minimizing the cost of production through availing the inputs at free of cost and also helps them for realizing the higher income from adoption of the best technologies given through the university.