Farm Integration Research Articles

Integrated farming for sustainable development

Economic development of the country like India depends upon the development of the farmers. Several emerging challenges confront Indian farmers. These include limited land and water availability, which is further exacerbated by degradation of natural resources; climate changes; changes in demand and consumption patterns, moving toward high-value agriculture; increasing population pressure and liberalization of trade (Lele et al. , 2010). The most effective way of sustainable development of the target group is implementation of the schemes in a proper manner. Agricultural researchers widely recognise the importance of sustainable agricultural production systems and the need to develop appropriate methods to measure sustainability (Casare et al. , 2003). Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) is an innovative science-based institution, which undertakes vocational trainings of farmers, farm women and rural youths, conducts on-farm research for technology refinement and frontline demonstrations to promptly demonstrate the latest agricultural technologies to the farmers as well as the extension workers (ICAR, 1999). Integrated farming is today’s emerging need for economic development of the farmers. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kota of the Rajasthan district imparts trainings and making farmers and farm women efficient in integrated farming. Therefore, conducting vocational trainings on different aspects like processing and value addition of food products, fruits and vegetables preservation, establishment of vermin compost unit, handicrafts, nursery management, bee keeping, garment construction and designing and fish production etc. The impact of trainings conducted were judged in the year 2013-14 according to the performance and earnings of the farmers. Out of 6000 efficient farmers of the district 2320 have started adopting integrated farming viz ., crop production with processing, horticulture, dairy etc. Data revealed that rural communities were deeply motivated through the agriculture technologies transferred during all the trainings and they have started integrated farming to improve their economic status. Majority of farmers and farm women were found engaged in processing of food products through its grading, splitting, polishing and different products like squash, pickle, powder, jam, murabba, soya paneer, soya milk, and soya nuts. Value addition of food products along with preservation of fruits AND vegetable were started by 82 % of women farmers resulted in good earning. Similarly 79 % of farmers started dairy with vermi compost unit. Progressive farmers of them established orchard of of Amla, guava, mango, papaya and orange with dairy, poultry farm, nursery and beekeeping unit together. Marginal farmers were found highly interested to develop herbal garden/medicinal plant with its processing and ornamental plant cultivation with beekeeping.

Nematode indicators as integrative measures of soil condition during conversion from conventional to organic rice production in Italy: a case study

The Vercelli district is one of the most technologically advanced rice cultivation areas in the world, but the sector is causing serious environmental problems. This study aimed to acquire information on the ecological impact during conversion from conventional to organic farming, using the nematode community as an indicator of soil quality. An organic farming system managed with a 5-year crop rotation, based on rice (4-years) and soybean (1-year), was compared, during the fourth and fifth year after conversion, with conventional and integrated farming systems, both based on monoculture of rice. The relationship between soil biology and the type of farming system was explored by examining the nematode community, assessing maturity, plant parasitic, basal, enrichment, structure, channel indices and diversity-weighted abundance. No significant differences in total soil organic C, total N and C/N ratio were found between the management systems. Total nematode abundance was not strongly affected by the conversion, but the response of the nematodes to change varied with the trophic groups, year by year. The conversion from conventional to organic farming represented a disturbance factor. The introduction of the soybean crop determined a marked change in nematode composition; the persistent nematode population was only 20%, while the colonizer reached 80%. The indices showed that the nematode community varied between the farming system; in both years maturity index was lower in organic than in other management systems. Higher values of pH, C/N ratio and available P favoured basal and channel indices, while total N was negatively correlated.

Uso de las plantas por comunidades campesinas en la ruralidad de Bogotá D.C., Colombia

Los campesinos colombianos poseen un valioso conocimiento etnobotánico que constituye parte del patrimonio biocultural e identitario que está en riesgo de desaparecer, producto del cambio en el uso de suelo, migraciones internas y dinámicas del mercado. En este estudio se documentaron usos de las plantas por parte de comunidades campesinas que viven en las áreas rurales de la ciudad de Bogotá. Basados en métodos de investigación cualitativa aplicados en entrevistas y en caminatas etnobotánicas se visitaron las áreas de aprovechamiento de 18 sabedores quienes proporcionaron información de 231 especies de plantas útiles asociadas a 320 nombres comunes. Estas especies corresponden a 86 familias botánicas y 191 géneros. Las familias Asteraceae (11%) y Lamiaceae (6%) son las que presentan mayor porcentaje de especies. Se determinaron 12 categorías de uso, dentro de las que predominó el uso medicinal (39%). La categorización de valor relativo indica que las variedades de “Cubio” (Tropaeolum tuberosum) están definidas como muy importantes, mientras que el “Encenillo” (Weinmannia tomentosa), proveniente de áreas boscosas circundantes, con cinco usos reportados, fue el que mayor número de registros presentó. Entre las especies útiles reportadas el 58% son sembradas en las huertas, mientras que el 42% son especies silvestres. En ese sentido en la ruralidad de Bogotá las huertas campesinas junto con la vegetación silvestre adyacente cumplen un papel fundamental para el autoconsumo y el mantenimiento de la agrobiodiversidad local, sugiriendo la importancia de la valoración y la integración de los conocimientos campesinos en planes de manejo y conservación de la biodiversidad de los ecosistemas altoandinos.*Anexo 1

Productivity and Economics of Free Ranging Desi Poultry In Sugarcane Integrated Farming System

A field experiment was conducted at farmers field, Coimbatore during kharif 2016 -17 to analyse the productivity and economics of free ranging desi poultry in sugarcane integrated farming system. The popular sugarcane variety Mandya and local breeds of desi poultry were used for this study. Two farming systems viz., Sugarcane alone; Sugarcane + desi poultry (2 hens and 1 rooster for 3 cents) were evaluated under field conditions. The sugarcane + desi poultry recorded higher cane yield than sugarcane under sole crop. The increase in yield under sugarcane + desi bird farming system was negligible when compared to cane yield of sole sugarcane. The treatment combination of sugarcane with desi bird recorded higher gross return, net return and benefit cost ratio through selling of eggs and birds in addition to sugarcane yield

Analysis of Good Agricultural Practices in an Integrated Maize-based Farming System

ABSTRACTProfitability due to use of good agricultural practices (GAPs) is important for improving farmer return on investment. Although GAPs are theoretically expected to be profitable, actual returns accrued to farmers may not necessarily be realized due to shortfalls in profit to farmers after harvest. Farmers cultivate vegetables because of their high farmgate values and profitability per unit area compared to field crops. However, farmers sometimes experience reduced profits due to lack of awareness and technical know-how on improved technologies, lack of bargaining power at market, and lack of access to market information and high-value markets. The objective of the study was to measure gross margin of GAPs introduced to farmers using a financial cost–benefit analysis approach. In 2013, a field survey of 45 randomly selected farm households was administered to elicit enterprise data on production practices including Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and other crops before intervention of GAPs. A similar survey was carried out in the GAP intervention area in 2014 from 55 randomly selected farm households. Integrating GAPs within existing maize-based farming systems yielded an average gross margin of US$1870·ha−1 for vegetable producers who primarily produce tomato, African Eggplant (S. aethiopicum L.), cv. DB3, and Amaranth (Amaranthus spinosus L.), cv. Madiira 1, compared to standard farmer practices that yielded a gross margin of US$1846·ha−1 during the study. Profit from the introduced GAPs was not statistically different from traditional practices within the short time duration. Whether the introduced GAPs could enhance farmer net crop income and livelihood over the long term needs to be determined.

Enhancement in productivity and income sustainability through Integrated farming system approaches for small and marginal farmers of Eastern India

Integration of different components viz. livestock, fishery, horticulture, mushroom etc. along with field crops not only enhanced productivity but by-products (waste) of one component act as input for another component through resource recycling within the system. Six integrated farming systems models with suitable combinations of Crop, vegetables, fruit trees, fish, livestock, mushroom etc. were made and evaluated at the experimental farm of ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna during 2012-16 for harness maximum income, nutrient recycling and employment. Among six combinations, crop + fish + duck + goat resulted as most profitable combination in terms of productivity (RGEY- 22.2t), net income (Rs. 2,15,900/ha), additional employment (170 days/year) with income sustainability index (ISI) by 90.2. Upon nutrient recycling prepared from different wastes from the system Crop + fish + duck + goat combination added N (56.5 kg), P (39.6 kg) and K (42.7 kg) into the soil and reduced the cost of cultivation by 24 percent and was followed by crop + fish + goat combination. Crops grown under IFS mode with different types of manures produced 31 percent higher yield over conventional rice- wheat system. The contribution of crops towards the system productivity ranged from 36.4 to 56.2 %, while fish ranged from 22.0-33.5 %; for goat 25.4-32.9 %; for poultry 38.7 %; for duck 22.0-29.0 %; for cattle 32.2% and for mushroom 10.3 %.

Smooth Integration of Gansu Wind Farm into the Grid Using the Stator Flux-Oriented Vector Method and Fuzzy Logic Control

Gansu province wind energy potential in China is around 237 GW. According to the schedule, 20 GW wind energy is connected to the grid by 2020. However, there is a chance of instability in the presence of big intermittency. To integrate this huge generated wind power, a reliable control strategy is required. The proposed portable power plant (PPP) energy storage system is fully compatible with a smart grid and mitigates the dispatching complexity and provides better designing and implementation of Gansu wind farm in China. In a two-way power flow, when the generation is bigger than the load demand, the additional power is stored in the PPP for future use, and when the demand is higher than the total generation, the stored power is applied to feed the grid. Also the PPP can charge the grid during peak demand periods or when the local network is stressed. An intelligent controller is linked with PPP to monitor the power flow. The stator flux-oriented vector method is used for modeling the system. Then, a fuzzy controller is applied to adjust the modulation index of PWM inverter and also uses energy storage units to stabilize the output of the power plant. Real field data of the Gansu wind farm with 24-h horizon have been applied on the proposed system. The results show the high performance of the fuzzy-based PPP system in the presence of fluctuations and increase the efficiency of the power system by storing energy through PPP. With a large-scale plan for application of smart grid and renewable energy sources in China, this paper introduces an essential step of this vision to provide a feasible framework for future large-scale smart grid projects in China as well as stable operation of Gansu wind farm as the biggest wind farm in mainland when it is completed.

Integracja pozioma producentów rolnych – możliwości i bariery

The paper aims at evaluating the status of horizontal integration of farmers in Lublin region and gathering feedback from agricultural producers regarding barriers to and chances of cooperation within groups of agricultural producers. The study was based on public statistics derived from the Central Statistical Office, data from the Marshal’s Office of Lublin Region and outcomes of surveys carried out among 104 farm managers in Lublin region. The studies indicate that in 2016 only 33 groups of agricultural producers were in operation in Lublin region, which accounted for as little as 2.5% of their total number in Poland. The surveys show that, despite low advancement of horizontal integration of farmers, they are aware of related benefits. What they consider most significant is increased reliability of product sales, improved farm competitiveness, brand creation and lower business risk. In addition, studies have identified a number of barriers preventing the integration of farmers. Such barriers, mentioned by managers of farms covered by the survey, most often included fear of conflict, loss of the power of making independent decisions, mutual competition and lack of preparation for operating within a larger organisation.

Identifying Sustainability Assessment Indicators for Assessing the Sustainability of Smallholder Integrated Farms in Coastal West Bengal, India

Identifying Sustainability Assessment Indicators for Assessing the Sustainability of Smallholder Integrated Farms in Coastal West Bengal, India

Integrated farming in Greece: a transition-to-sustainability perspective

The aim of this paper is to explore the linking process between a niche and the regime in the context of an emergent transition, using the concepts of 'anchoring' and 'translation' embedded in the broader multi-level perspective. The case study concerns the transition of an intensive farming system, from subsidy oriented productivism, towards an integrated farming (IF) system focusing on the market, in the canned peach sector in Imathia, Northern Greece. The study revealed an anchored regime-triggered innovation, which resulted in the creation of a market niche within the incumbent regime. In this transition, all forms of anchoring are involved, and various forms of translation were encountered while a hybrid forum was identified, serving as the 'fertile ground' upon which all subsequent networking and translation activities took place. Research findings question a clear-cut analytical separation between the three levels of the multi-level perspective, as well as the relevance of a bottom-up procedure as a prerequisite for niche emergence vis-a-vis policy induced change.

Chemical composition and morphometric traits and yield ofcarrots grown in organic and integrated farming systems

Changes in chemical composition and quality traits of carrot roots (Daucus carota L.) grown in organic (ORG) and integrated (INT) farming systems were investigated during two successive years. Three carrot cultivars (Fanal, Rodelika, and Rolanka) were included. Determinations of sugars, organic acids, α- and ß-carotene, and vitamin C were performed with an HPLC system, and a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) system was used for the identification and quantification of phenolics. A higher yield of carrot in the ORG system was observed (42-44 t ha-1) as compared with the INT system (37-40 t ha-1). The impact of farming system on morphometric traits was cultivar-specific. The composition of sugars and carotenes was determined using compositional data analysis. The relative amount of sucrose against the combined amount of fructose and glucose was higher for roots from the ORG system compared to the INT system and for roots of Rodelika compared to Fanal. Roots from ORG farming contained 1.6-fold higher content of malic acid in Fanal and Rolanka and 2.4-fold in Rodelika compared to the INT system. Organic farming increased the content of vitamin C by 5% in roots of Rodelika, 15% in roots of Rolanka, and 22% in roots of Fanal compared to the INT farming. Changes in carotenes content in carrot roots were cultivar-specific with significantly higher α- and ß-carotene contents in Rodelika and Rolanka compared to Fanal. Farming system influenced the ratio of ß-car/α-car, which was higher for roots gathered from the INT system (1.9) compared to ORG system (1.7), but the differences were not significant. Phenolic acids detected in the study differed significantly in relation to cultivar as revealed by lower concentrations in the roots of Rodelika and Fanal compared with higher levels in the roots of Rolanka.

El papel de la gestión cooperativa en la mejora del funcionamiento técnico-económico de explotaciones ovinas

Las explotaciones ovinas en el SO de España se han visto sometidas en los últimos años a distintas presiones, tanto comerciales por los cambios de consumo como políticas por las diversas reformas de la Política Agraria Comunitaria, que se han traducido en procesos de abandono de la actividad o de intensificación para aquellos ganaderos que se han mantenido en el sector. Estos sistemas, no obstante, son enormemente frágiles, además de tener un papel fundamental en la provisión de servicios ambientales. En este contexto se ha estudiado una muestra de 101 explotaciones ovinas pertenecientes a cooperativas y localizadas en el SO de España analizando indicadores de gestión técnica y económica. Se observa que la integración de las explotaciones en estructuras cooperativas puede mejorar las explotaciones y asegurar la persistencia de las mismas gracias a la provisión de servicios adicionales al ganadero, a la generación de valor añadido y a la estabilidad en los precios percibidos.

Profiling farming management strategies with contrasting pesticide use in France

Reducing pesticide use in agriculture is a major challenge to improve sustainability of cropping systems. It is critical to identify effective integrated farming strategies able to decrease substantially pesticide use. This study is based on a unique French national network of 1012 arable commercial farms involved in a pesticide reduction program. These farms displayed contrasting levels of pesticide use, and covered a large diversity of environmental characteristics and farming practices. Our objective was to identify profiles of management strategies showing contrasting pesticide use levels in France. Two categories of factors potentially related to pesticide use were considered successively, namely factors describing production situations and factors describing management strategies. Regression tree methods were applied to the dataset to identify combinations of factors associated with low vs. high pesticide use levels. Results showed that, among the factors describing production situations, the presence of livestock, climate conditions, and to a lesser extent soil characteristics were able to discriminate groups of farms with contrasting pesticide use levels. Among the factors describing management strategies, the crop sequence, the crop diversity, the pesticide spraying techniques, and soil tillage were frequently selected for discriminating farms characterised by low vs. high pesticide use levels, whereas specific factors such as mechanical weeding, crop cultivars and sowing dates were related with pesticide use in some production situations only. Across production situations, several contrasting strategies led to low levels of pesticide use. Besides, within each considered production situation, different strategies appeared associated with low levels of pesticide use. Our results reveal that a large diversity of strategies exists for controlling pests, weeds and diseases without high levels of pesticide use.

Bio-cultural anchorage of the prickly pear cactus in Tlalnepantla (Morelos), Mexico

The prickly pear cactus is a source of food with strong bio-cultural anchorage in Mexico. This is due to at least three factors: 1) the nature and heritage of cacti; 2) cultural heritage; and 3) the socio-cultural relationships with historical and symbolic roots that have facilitated knowledge of how to cultivate it and how to use it. The aim of this article is to put factors of territorial anchorage and its historical transformation in context by examining the case of the municipality of Tlalnepantla in the state of Morelos, Mexico. This community has experienced accelerated change due to the exchange of traditional crops for the prickly pear cactus and the integration of farming, commercialization and agro-transformation. Our hypothesis is that the market, internal conflicts and a lack of socio-institutional coordination have put social organization into crisis, favoring the territorial spread of the prickly pear cactus and making the Local Agro-Food Systems (LAFS) of Tlalnepantla less competitive. The conclusions highlight important economic and social advances whose roots lie in the strengthening and anchorage of the territory-product. However, circumstances both internal and external to the community persist, such as intra-community conflicts, the international market and cultural paradigm shifts that affect the producers and put consolidation of the LAFS at risk.

Ресурсы развития сельского туризма Ставропольского края

he article presents the authorial view on the composition of the tourism resources that are in demand in rural tourism development. According to the author, the specific of rural tourism makes somewhat different from the traditional approach to defining the composition and typology of tourism resources. The author shows that the division into primary and secondary tourism resources for rural tourism phenomenon is not true and is not obvious. The article substantiates that, along with the natural, historical and cultural tourism resources, it is advisable to consider the infrastructure and agricultural resources in the development of rural tourism. Stavropol Krai of the Russian Federation - a region with a high level of agricultural development and rich tourism and recreational potential. Development of the private sector in agriculture, the pursuit of small and large companies to diversify their activities at the expense of the development of non-agricultural segment, resulted in the formation and development of rural tourism. These circumstances justified the choice of the region for illustration the diversity of the group "enterprises and the production of agricultural purpose" among the tourist resources of agricultural and other activities in the countryside. Therefore, by the example of Stavropol region the author shows that agricultural activities and its results, as well as the technologies used, are becoming tourist resources. According to the analysis results the author draws conclusions about what direction of rural tourism have enough resource provision. The author also gives a description of the (peasant) farms placement, authenticity and originality of agricultural brands that can be used for the formation of attractive tourist products. The level of integration in tourism the peasant farms, equestrian centers, fish and game farms of the region, the potential for further integration of peasant farms in the tourism industry are shown. The problems of rural tourism development of Stavropol Krai in terms of transport (road) access to peasant farms of Stavropol region and practices of promotion of rural tourism sites in the Internet environment of the territory are revealed.

Soil functions and ecosystem services in conventional, conservation, and integrated agricultural systems. A review

Soil tillage, crop residue management, nutrient management, and pest management are among the core farming practices. Each of these practices impacts a range of soil functions and ecosystem services, including water availability for crops, weed control, insect and pathogen control, soil quality and functioning, soil erosion control, soil organic carbon pool, environmental pollution control, greenhouse gas refuse, and crop yield productivity. In this study, we reviewed relevant bibliography and then developed a simple conceptual model, in which these soil functions and ecosystem services were scored and compared between conventional, conservation, and integrated agricultural systems. Using this conceptual model revealed that the overall agro-environmental score, excluding crop yield productivity, is largest for conservation systems (71.9 %), intermediate for integrated systems (68.8 %), and the smallest for conventional systems (52.1 %). At the same time, the crop yield productivity score is largest for integrated systems (83.3 %), intermediate for conventional systems (66.7 %), and the smallest for conservation systems (58.3 %). This study shows the potential of moderate-intensity and integrated farming systems in carrying on global food security while adequately sustaining environmental quality and ecosystem services.

A Study on the Profitability of Fish and Horticrop Integrated Farming at Nono District, West Shoa Zone, Ethiopia

A Study on the Profitability of Fish and Horticrop Integrated Farming at Nono District, West Shoa Zone, Ethiopia

Production and Marketing of Vegetables as a Part of Integrated Farming: A Case Study of Entrepreneurial Efficiency

The present study pertains to a small but innovative farmer, having a land-holding of just 2.5 ha, who adopted integrated farming including protected cultivation of vegetables in three net houses covering an area of 1500 m2, open cultivation of cash crops in one hectare, processing of tomatoes, turmeric, mushroom (dhingri) cultivation, livestock, vermi-composting, and growing of general crops, like basmati, wheat and fodder in one hectare. Budgeting Technique and other statistical tools have been applied to work out the economics of his adopted separate enterprises as well as the entire integrated system as a whole. For the purpose of marketing and disposal of his produce, the vehicle, being used to sell small packets of well graded fresh vegetables to well defined clientele at some fixed destinations within the district on a particular time during the days of weeks, has also been purchased after having availed the subsidy of the due kind from the National Horticultural Mission. He is earning a net income in the tune of more than 8 lakh per annum. The economics of his farm speaks volume of his entrepreneurial ability and the hidden strength of new technologies and farm integration.

Weed infestation of maize grown in sustainable farming systems

The main aim of the study was to evaluate the occurrence and development of weed species in maize grown in sustainable farming systems. The work deals with the impact of climate variables (temperature and precipitation) on the actual weed infestation of maize in the period of 2012–2014; the dynamics of occurrence of individual weed species in ecological and integrated farming systems; the effect of fertilizers and year of growing on incidence of weed species in maize. The specific conclusions and recommendations for the implementation of integrated and ecological farming system in practice were drawn from the results. The dynamics of occurrence of individual weed species of maize was different in ecological and integrated farming systems. The most important weed species for maize crop were: Amaranthus retroflexus, Chenopodium album, Persicaria lapathifolia, Echinochloa crus galli and Cirsium arvense . There was significant difference between fertilizers and no fertilizers variants in integrated farming system during spring. Manure did not affect actual weed infestation in ecological farming system. Effectiveness of herbicides in integrated farming system and effectiveness of inter-row weeding in ecological farming system were analyzed in this study. In applying prevention, direct and indirect measures of weed regulation are environmentally friendly and fully integrated viable in the cultivation of maize. Keywords: weed infestation, maize, organic farming system

Политика импортозамещения в гостиничном бизнесе: ориентация на отечественного производителя

The article discusses the new conditions for the functioning of the hotel enterprises, due
 to the state policy of import substitution, which is carried out under the influence of economic
 sanctions on European countries and the United States against Russia. Focusing on domestic
 producers can have a positive impact on the efficiency the hospitality industry through the
 development of direct cooperation links. The most urgent needs of the hotel, the satisfaction of
 which by domestic producers faced with certain organizational and financial problems, require
 the development of public-private partnership. Small farmers are regarded as the main suppliers
 of foods to hotels in the regions. The necessity of government support measures for farmers as
 key strategic partners of the hotel enterprises in the regions is justified. The experience of the
 pilot project for the integration of farmers in the Internet space, which provides rapid remote
 communication of small farmers and hotel companies in the process of cooperation, is
 represented.