Constraints perceived by small and marginal farm families in practicing conventional and integrated farming system

Small and marginal farmers are the core of the Indian economy comprising 85 per cent of the farming community but owning only 44 per cent of the operational land. Small and marginal farm families dominate on agrarian based economy, their small operational base makes it unfeasible to enhance the incomes of these households only by raising the existing crop yields and furthermore it is difficult for the farmers to acquire inadequate resources to sustain themselves and their livelihoods. The emergence of IFS has enabled us to develop a framework for an alternative development model to improve the feasibility of small sized farming operations in relation to larger ones. IFS refer to agricultural systems that integrate livestock and crop production or integrate fish and livestock and may sometimes be known as integrated bio systems. Integrated farming system approach, is a valuable approach to address the problems of sustainable economic growth for farming communities in India. In this regard, the present study entitled “Constraints Perceived by Small and Marginal Farm Families in Practicing Conventional and Integrated Farming System” carried out in the two states of India, namely Haryana and Uttar Pradesh with the sample size of two hundred small and marginal farm families. The perceived constraints face by farm families in the study area were inability in integrated pest management (IPM) and integrated nutrient management (INM), poor access to animal care and health services, difficulty in procuring machineries for crop production, high cost of insecticide and weedicide and lack of proper marketing facilities infrastructure facilities. Certain other constraints do exist like high investment is needed at initial stage in multidisciplinary enterprise involved in dairying, horticulture, apiary, and market opportunities at village level.