INTEGRATED FARMING:

Integrated farming or integrated production is a commonly and broadly used word to explain a more integrated approach to farming as compared to existing monoculture approaches. It refers to agricultural systems that integrate livestock and crop production and may sometimes be known as Integrated Bio systems.

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Submitted by: Githin Thomas 12sdp705 PGDM SDP

1. Summary of Case Study

The land of raju is situated 15 km from Thrissur district of Kerala in area of 2.2 acre with rain fall of 860 mm during mid June to September. Soil is fairly healthy due to non application of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Currently raju and family doing the cultivation only for 6 months and rest of the period land of raju is kept as fallow. The family also owned a cow five years ago but they could not able to sustain it. The land is 5 km away from KVK and 15 km from district head quarter market. This all shows the need of developing an integrated farming system for raju which is environmentally, financially and socially sustainable.

2. Thrissur: Overview
Thrissur is situated in south western India 10.52N 76.21E and is in the central part of Kerala, India. Thrissur is at sea level and spans an area of about 3032 km.The Periyar, the Chalakudy, the Karuvannur, the Kurumali River (main tributary of the Karuvannur river) and the Ponnani (Bharatha Puzha) are the main river systems in the district. The most important crop of the district is rice cultivation. Next to rice cultivation, tapioca farms the chief food crop. The coconut palm dominates the garden crops of the district. Among the condiments and spices grow in the district the areca nut is the most important. A large variety of fruit trees are also grown in the district.

3. Approach: Integrated Farming Integrated farming is the approach I am going to suggest to raju to make his land sustainable in all manners. To make land as integrated I will suggest him to cultivate and farm rice, tapioca, banana tree,pineapple, azolla, goat and poultry.

Tapioca Paddy Banana tree

Pineapple

Integrated farming

Goat

Azolla Poultry

Cow pea

3. Allocation of land Out of this 2.2 acre land, I will suggest him to allocate one acre for paddy cultivation, 25 cent for tapioca cultivation, 25 cent for banana tree cultivation, and rest for others.

paddy Banna tree Tappioca others

4. Nature of Integration 4.1 Paddy cultivation

From one acre we can produce up to 2.5 tonne paddy with an initial investment of R.S 30000.since his land is fairly healthy there is no need use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers .Pokkali (pronounced Pokkaalli) is the paddy variety which I am going to use in his land since it is a unique saline tolerant rice variety that is cultivated in an organic way in the water-logged coastal regions. The rice is going to cultivate from June to early November because rice is a kharrif crop. Water for cultivating the rice can be obtained the Bharatha Puzha River surrounded by it with help of irrigation set. The waste after the rice cultivation can be used to feed goats. 4.2 Cow pea cultivation Cowpea belongs to the family Leguminoseae. It is a twining annual herbaceous plant. The stem is slightly ridged and glabrous. The leaves are trifoliate and alternate. Pods are long and cylindrical.

Cow pea can be grown throughout the year under Kerala condition. It is mainly grown during summer season where paddy cannot be raised due to water scarcity. The cowpea plant can adapt to a wide range of soil types. However rich well-drained soil is considered to be ideal for this plant. It is recommended to avoid moisture laden soil or any type of soil that tends to retain too much moisture for the growth of this plant. Attributed with the quality of being moderately drought tolerant, this plant can thrive in areas with an average rainfall of below 500mm. However it grows best in areas that have an annual rainfall between 750-1100 mm. Since all this conditions are suited in raju land I will suggest him to grow cow pea when he is not cultivating rise in rabi season. Production costs (2012) for hand-harvested fresh market cowpeas are estimated at 17500per acre, with harvest and marketing costs at 45000 per acre. This assumes a 15 percent charge of gross returns to the producer for cooling and marketing the beans. 4.3 Tapioca Cultivation Tapioca is one of the most used and traditional food item of Kerala in South India. Kerala has been popular for its tapioca cultivation since decades ago. Any well drained soil preferably red lateritic loam with a pH range of 5.5 -7.0 is best suited for tapioca cultivation. It thrives best in tropical, warm humid climate with well distributed rainfall of over 100 cm per annum. Planting can be taken throughout the year under irrigated condition and during April for rain fed crop. So raju can allocate some portion of his land to tapioca cultivation since his land follow all this condition for tapioca cultivation.

25 cent of raju land will be allocated for tapioca cultivation with an investment of RS 4000.In 25 cent land he can cultivate about 300 tapioca plants. From one tapioca plant he will normally get 5 kg of tapioca tubers. So in the market raju will get an amount of 15000 at the rate of 10 rupees per kg.

4.4 Banana tree Cultivation Banana is essentially tropical plant requiring a warm and humid climate. It can be cultivated in a temperature range of 10C and 40C with high humidity but growth is retarded at temperatures of 20C and less and more than 35C. Yields are higher when temperatures are above 24C for a considerable period. Fertility of soil is very important for successful cultivation, as banana is a heavy feeder. I will allocate 25 cent of raju land for banana cultivation with an initial investment of rupees 10000.In 25 cent we can grow about 70 banana trees and from one banana tree will get rupees 240.

4.5 Goat Farming

Goats are among the main meat-producing animals in India, whose meat is one of the choicest meats and has huge domestic demand. So I will suggest raju to start this with an investment of rupees 12000(6 goats).Goat will grow so fast and in one pregnancy it will produce up to 4 babies. The market price of a grown up goat is about 8000 rupees. Goat can be feed with help of azolla and grass. 4.6 Azolla cultivation
Azolla is a floating fern which resembles algae. Normally azolla is grown in paddy fields or shallow water bodies. Azolla can be mixed with concentrates or can be given directly to livestock.

Azolla can be produced in 2 meter pit with plastic paper, 2kg cow dung, 30 gm of super phosphate and 10 liters of water. Since the initial investment for azolla is less raju can adopt this cultivation to feed goat and poultry. 4.7 Poultry farming In poultry farm I will suggest raju to grow chickens and quail (kada). Raju can grow up to 20 chicks which he will get from the market at rate of rupees 20.With 6 months this chicks will produce eggs and that he can use for his domestic usage. In the case of quail (kada) raju can grow up to 20 birds with an initial investment of 500 rupees. Within 4 months this bird will grew up and he can sell to the market at a rate of RS 50 per bird.

4.8 Pineapple cultivation I will suggest raju to cultivate pineapple at the fences of his land. He can cultivate up to 50 pineapples with an investment of 200 rupees .Pine apple will grow in 4 months and he can sell it to the market at a rate 40 rupees.

6. Help through KVIK: Thrissur KVIK Thrissur is providing following crops and livestock materials to farmers now:

KVIK also provides training to the farmers through workshops. So I will suggest raju to buy the crops and attend the workshops .Since my friend is working in KVIK, I will connect raju and my friend to get the crops and fertilizer at subsidized rate.

6. Financial Analysis Initial Investment for cultivation and farming: 76000 Irrigation Finance: (Drilling charges+ plain pipe (100mm) +strainer (100 mm) + pipe accessories + contingency @5%+ diesel pumping system + RCC pit for installation of centrifugal pump + Belt, shaft and pully arrangement) = (5000+3300+1800+400+525+18000+5200+2000) =36200 Operating charges (fertilizer, worker expense, transportation, electricity bill etc): 20000

Loan To run all this operation raju should take a loan amounted to 1.5 lakh from bank. Since it is an agricultural loan he should pay interest at rate of 7% per annum. Interest paid per year: 10500 Total Investment per year: 142700 Gross Profit per year: 157500 (Rice: 32500+Cowpea: 45000 + Tapioca: 15000+Banana tree: 16800+ goat farming: 48000+poultry farming: 1000+ pineapple cultivation: 2000) Net profit per year: (Gross profit per year-Total investment) =14800

7. Marketing Since the raju land is 15 km away from the Thrissur district he can connect to the market very easily. More ever KVIK of Thrissur district also arranges facility to raju to sell his product at a profitable rate. 8. Conclusion Through this integrated farming approach I suggested raju can develop a renewed sustainable approach as he wished in three ways: environmentally, socially and economically. However at this point we can say that it is possible to manage agricultural productions with fewer inputs especially agrichemicals while obtaining economically viable results. We can drastically reduce the input of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and energy in agricultural production systems strongly suggests a decidedly lower risk to environment. Moreover it should be emphasized that potential success of integrated farming systems for more sustainable agriculture depends largely upon skilled management approach by farmer and particularly the application of production inputs with proper timing and precision.