Integrated farming systems (IFS): A comparative status in Punjab, India and Northern part of Bangladesh

This research approach was attempted to compare the status of integrated farming systems in Punjab state in India and the Rangpur division of Bangladesh. Data were acquired using the personal interview approach and focus group discussions through a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. The study’s location and participants were chosen using a purposive sampling technique. In Punjab, 75 per cent of respondents reported cultivating paddy during the Kharif season, compared to 70 per cent in Bangladesh. In the Rabi season, most respondents (87.5%) reported growing wheat in Punjab, while 85 per cent of farmers in Bangladesh were growing vegetables. In the Punjab and Bangladesh parts, the sampled respondents’ gross cropped areas were 10.52 hectares and 4.40 hectares per farm, respectively. The major crops grown in Bangladesh were paddy, vegetables, wheat, and fruits, while in Punjab, were wheat, paddy, vegetables and basmati. There was zero cultivation of basmati rice and cotton in the study area of Bangladesh. In Punjab, the dominant cropping pattern is rice-wheat (65.2%), while the leading cropping pattern in Bangladesh is rice-vegetables + wheat (64.54%). In Punjab and Bangladesh, the cropping intensity was observed 206 and 230 per cent, respectively. Punjab had an average of 3.33 cows and 5.11 buffaloes per farm, while Bangladesh had an average of 4.67 cows per farm that was used for dairy production. In the Punjab region, each sample farm had an average of 16.12 chicken birds, compared to 9.11 on the Bangladesh side. In comparison to Bangladeshi farmers, who had an average of 5.00 goats per sample farm, Punjabi farmers had an average of 6.55 goats per farm. In Punjab, each sample farm had an average of 0.50 acres dedicated to fisheries, compared to 0.34 acres in Bangladesh. The mushroom had an average of 400 s. ft area in Punjab and 225 s. ft. in Bangladesh. Each sample farm kept bees in an average of 14 boxes in Punjab and 04 boxes in Bangladesh. The majority of respondents (55.0%) farmed with Crops + Dairy model in Punjab, and a maximum of 42.50 per cent of Bangladeshi farmers used the Crops + Fisheries model.