Integrated farming system for resource recycling and livelihood security for marginal farmers in three disadvantaged districts of Odisha

Un-sustainability in rice cultivation necessitates diversification of farming in Eastern India. A study was undertaken under Eastern Indian conditions to develop pond based IFS models for marginal farm holdings (0.8 ha) and compare performance of the model comprising rice-onion cropping system, pisciculture, poultry and mushroom with conventional cropping system of rice-green gram. Field experiments were conducted at five cluster of villages viz., Khajuripada of Kandhamal district, Dhenkanal Sadar and Odapada of Dhenkanal district, Golamunda and Narla of Kalahandi district of Odisha under rainfed medium land situations during 2010–11 to 2012–13. The IFS model gave rice equivalent yield (REY) of 31.92 t, net return of 1, 61, 148, B: C of 1.82 and employment generation potential of 588 man-days yr ⁻¹ as compared to REY of 3.78 t, net return of 11, 631, B: C of 1.37 and man-days yr ⁻¹ of 193 in conventional rice-green gram cropping system. The 0.8 ha IFS model provided 3.0 t grain of rice, 15.3 t of onion, 213 kg fish, 1570 kg papaya, 843 kg banana, 525 kg drumstick, 857 kg poultry meat, 901 kg paddy straw mushroom and 714 kg oyster mushroom to the farm family and recyclable by-products of 3.3 t paddy straw, 3000 kg pond silt, 2129 kg poultry excreta and 13 t mushroom spent for recycling in the system and use as inputs by other units. The 0.8 ha rainfed farm with conventional cropping provided 2.4 t grain of rice and 0.4 t of green gram for consumption by the farm family. The sustainable yield index (SYI) and sustainable value index (SVI) values were 0.84 and 0.47, respectively, in pond based IFS model as compared to 0.10 and 0.03 in conventional cropping system of rice-green gram sequence cropping under rainfed conditions.