With food security emerging as a major concern during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agriculture Department is promoting the concept of integrated farming systems (IFS) that could help small and marginal farmers in the State use their land and resources better.
In May, the State government announced the ‘Jaivagriham’ project under the Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI), envisaging an integrated system of agriculture, animal husbandry, poultry, apiculture and aquaculture for maximum utilisation of land, time and energy.
As per this, farms under the Agriculture Department in various districts will developed as model farms by adopting hi-tech and integrated farming methods. The technical support for the ₹25-lakh project will be supplied by the Integrated Farming Systems Research Station (IFSRS), a Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) station here at Karamana.
Agro-ecological unit (AEU)-specific IFS models that promise higher productivity, sustainability and profits will be validated and showcased under the project. (Kerala has 23 AEUs in five agro ecological zones.) It will explore the possibilities for developing new models and examine whether existing models could be scaled up. Optimisation of individual components in an IFS is also a part of the project, IFSRS officials say.
“As much as 97% of farmers in the State are marginal farmers who have less than one hectare, the average farm size being 33 cents. We are facing the possibility of food shortages due to COVID-19. This stresses the need for self-sufficiency, which means we cannot afford to earmark separate parcels of land for each crop any more,” Dr. Jacob John, Professor and Head, IFSRS, says.
“Instead of a piecemeal approach, we are looking at how different systems can be integrated in a single farm,” he says.
Other advantages of the IFS include sustainability, reduced dependence on fertilizers, and scope for organic recycling. The project also envisages capacity building and training programmes for stakeholders.
As part of showcasing the IFS, the IFSRS has uploaded a series of YouTube and Facebook entitled Krishi Arivukal.