Role of farming system in sustainable agriculture

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ASSIGNMENT
Agron-242
TOPIC:
ROLE OF FARMING SYSTEM IN SUSTAINABLE
AGRICULTURE
Submitted By
Bandela Chandana,
Adm.No.101A-18,
B.Sc.Agri.2nd
year,
4th
Semester.

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Farming System
Definition: Farming system represents an appropriate combination of farm enterprises
through the Cropping system, livestock, poultry, fisheries, forestry, and the means available to
the farmer to raise them for increasing profitability. They interact adequately with the
environment without dislocating the ecological and socio-economic balance on the one hand
attempt to meet the national goals on the other.
Farming systems will be based on three technical principles:
 Simultaneous achievement of increased agricultural productivity and enhancement of
natural capital and ecosystem services.
 Higher rates of efficiency in the use of key inputs, including water, nutrients, pesticides,
energy, land, and labour.
Use of managed and natural biodiversity to build system resilience to abiotic, biotic, and
economic stress.
Farming System-Components
 Labourer
 Livestock
 Crops
 Water
 Soil
 Other resources
 Functions within the limits of capability/resources/socio-cultural settings.
 Interacting with physical, biological, economic factors.
 Managing agricultural activity/even non-farm vocations

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Advantages of the farming system:
1.Optimum and sustainable production
2.High farmprofitability
3.Resiliency to climate change effects
4.Optimized ecosystemfunction
5.Reduced emission of greenhousegases and carbon footprint from the agricultureindustry.
Factors affecting farming system:
HUMAN FACTORS IN AGRICULTURE
 Population size leads to larger areas of cultivation and competition for land
 Farming techniques.in developed countries, modern techniques,
Which include mechanization and fertilizers, which have increased production.in less
developed countries, traditional techniques keep production lower.
 Globalization-economic globalization means countries can export their products to other
countries.producersmustcompetein quality and price. Thisleads to intensiveproduction
techniques.
 Environmentalpolicies aim to protectthe environmentand guaranteesafe, healthy food.
Policies regulate irrigation, use of fertilizers, pesticides, and treatment of waste.
PHYSICAL FACTORS IN AGRICULTURE
Climate: Some crops grow better in one climate zone than in others. In general, plants
cannot grow in areas with very high temperatures or very low ones. They cannotgrow in
areas with too little rain or too much rain.
Soil: Plants need soil with certain characteristics. the grain size and porosity of the soil
affect the amountof oxygen the soil contains, and its ability to retain water. the chemical
and biological composition of the soildetermines its degree of acidity and the number of
mineral nutrients and organic matter.

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Crop diversification: It refers to the addition of new crops or cropping systems to
agriculturalproduction on a farm. by diversifying, farmersincreasetherangeof potential
food and income sources available to them.
 Scope for crop diversification, intensification, and value addition to agricultural produce.
 The sector can absorb the labor force and generate income.
 The scope for reducing yield gaps exists.
 The agricultural sector is a single large contributor to GDP.
 A crop production systemis highly labor-intensiveand labour is abundantin the country.
 Agriculturalcommodities have comparatively higher value addition than non-agricultural
commodities.
Nowadays our country is exporting many of our local products to many foreign countries,
it is very much helpful for us.
Advantages:
1. Better use of land, labour, and capital: better area land through the adoption of crop
rotations, steady employment of farm and family labour and more profitable use of
equipment are obtained in diversified farming.
2.Less risk to crop failure and market price of the product
3. The by-productsofthis farmcan utilize properlyas cattle, poultry,birds,etc. arereared
with crop production.
4.Quicker returns obtained from various enterprises.
5. Diversified farming is less risky than specialized farming.
6.Best use of all types of equipment
Sustainable Agriculture:

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 The successfulmanagementof resources for agricultureto satisfy changing human
needs while maintaining or enhancing the (natural resource-base and avoiding
environmental degradation).
 A current concept of sustainable agriculture in the united states showing the ends
and the means of achieving them through low input methods and skilled
management is shown below.
1.Reduced use of synthetic chemical inputs
2.biological pest controldiversification
3.Soil and water conservation practices
4.Useof animal and green manureprocesses
5.Biotechnology
6.Crop rotation
7.Useof organic wastes
8.Crop livestock
9.Mechanical cultivation
10. Naturally occurring
Goals of Sustainable Agriculture:
 Sustainable agriculture, therefore, is any system of food or fiber production that
systematically pursues the following goals:
 More thorough incorporation of natural processes such as nutrient cycling nitrogen
fixation and pest-predator relationships into agricultural production processes
 The fullparticipation of farmersandruralpeople in all processesofproblemanalysisand
technology development, adoption, and extension.
 More equitable access to predictive resources and opportunities, and progress towards
more socially just forms of agriculture.
 Greater productive use of local knowledge and practices, including innovation in
approaches not yet fully understood by scientists or widely adopted by farmers.
 An increase in self-reliance among farmers and rural people
 Profitable and efficient production with an emphasis on integrated farm management
and conservation of soil, water, energy, and biological resources.
Major components of sustainable agriculture:

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a) Soil conservation
b) Crop diversity
c)Nutrient management
d)Integrated pest management
e) Cover crops
f) Rotational grazing
g) Water quality & water conservation
h) Agroforestry
i)Marketing
THREE PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY:
Economic: The people in the western world are heavy consumers. In fact, we consume far
more than our fair share. meanwhile, the people in developing countries are exploding in
population and some are aspiring to have high consumption lifestyles too. We need a
sustainable economic model that ensures fair distribution and efficient allocation of our
resourcesthis pillar ensuresthat oureconomic growthmaintains a healthy balancewith our
system.
Environmental: We take our natural resources for granted and sometimes we forget that
those resources are not unlimited. This pillar supports initiatives like renewable energy,
reducing fossil fuel consumption and emission, sustainable agriculture and fishing, organic
farming, tree planting, and reducing deforestation recycling and better wastemanagement.
Social: As a global citizen, wemust never turn a blind eyeto social disruptions thatthreaten
the well-being of people and our environment. We have an ethical responsibility to do
something about human inequality, social injustice, and poverty. this pillar supports
initiatives like peace, social justice, reducing poverty, and other grass rootmovements that
promote social equity.
Benefits of Sustainable Agriculture:
 It does not advocate for the use of chemicals and commercial fertilizers.

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 This reduces certain harmful effects on the environment that can pollute it.
 It promotes the culture of raising animals through feeding on natural feeds.
 These can fetch the best prices in the market.
 Biodiversity is yet another advantage of sustainable agriculture.
 It advocates for the production of various kinds of plant and animal species.
 Plants are cultivated in rotations.