Rice (Oryza sativa)-based farming systems for livelihood improvement of Indian farmers

Abstract

Farming system research is a multi-disciplinary holistic approach to solve the problems of small and marginal farms. Small and marginal farmers are the core of the Indian rural economy constituting 80% of the total farming community but possessing only 36% of the total operational land. The declining trend of per caput land availability poses a serious challenge to the sustainability and profitability of farming. Under such conditions, it is appropriate to integrate land-based enterprises, viz. dairy, fishery, poultry, duckery, apiary, field and horticultural crops within the farm, with the objective of generating adequate income and employment for these small and marginal farmers and thereby improved livelihoods. The production system adopted during Green Revolution has been explorative and the natural resources like soil and water were subjected to immense pressure beyond carrying capacity. As a result sustainability of agricultural production system and the farming system is in crises. This suggests the urgent need of integrated farming system development where the various components of the farming system may be in- tegrated to improve productivity and profitability as well as resource conservation along with maintenance of the environment. Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) occupies a position of overwhelming importance in Asian agriculture and it constitutes the bulk of the Asian diet. For many people in the poor countries, rice is the main source of energy, and it plays an important role in providing livelihood to the Asian population. It is largely grown in Asia (90% area) under diverse conditions of soil, climate, hydrology and topography. Rice farming is the single most important source of employment and income for the majority of rural people in these regions. Among the various farming system options in rice ecologies, rice fish farming has great potential particularly in eastern India in view of the resources, food habits and other socio-economic conditions. Ricefish diversified farming system with the integra- tion of compatible components, such as improved varieties of rice, fish, prawn, pulses, oilseeds, horticultural crops, agroforestry, mushroom, poultry, duckery, goatery, floriculture, apiculture etc. can increase the farm pro- ductivity, besides farm employment over traditional rice farming. There exist chain of interactions and flow of re- sources among the different enterprises in a integrated farming system. To make farming profitable and improve resource use efficiency at the farm level, the synergy among interacting components of farming system needs to be exploited. In this paper focus is on different aspect of rice-based farming system involving methodology, deter- minants, and forms of rice-based farming systems and their impact on livelihood of farming communities.