A comparative study of productivity and economic profitability of integrated farming systems in Punjab, India and northern part of Bangladesh

Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) is a set of interrelated agro-economic activities where the components interact with each other in a particular agrarian setting. The present cross-country study was conducted with the objectives to compare the productivity and economic profitability of integrated farming systems between the locations. The findings of the study indicated that Agriculture (crops) + Dairy farming system having the highest net returns ($ 6136.34) per hectare is the most profitable farming system in Punjab's study area, which produced the second highest net returns of $ 4585.31 per hectare in Bangladesh part. The Agriculture (crops) + Fisheries + Poultry system is most promising in Bangladesh location yielding maximum net returns ($ 4714.73) per hectare, which had second highest net return of $ 5038.47 in Punjab part. Agriculture (crops) + Mushroom + Bee-keeping model was another productive IFS model in Punjab survey areas, which was not profitable in Bangladesh in terms of net returns gained per hectare. The percentage increase in net returns under Agriculture + Fisheries system was 50.18 and 60.31 among the sampled farmers on both locations, respectively. The component yielded more returns in study area of Bangladesh than the Punjab part. The combination of Agriculture (crops) + Horticulture (flower, fruits) had the lowest net returns per hectare both in the study areas of Punjab and Bangladesh.