Enhancement in productivity and income sustainability through Integrated farming system approaches for small and marginal farmers of Eastern India

Integrated farming system approaches for small and marginal farmers of Eastern India

Abstract

Indian economy is mainly agriculture oriented where small and marginal farmers are the core of the Indian rural economy constituting 85% of the total farming community but possessing only 44% of the total operational land (GOI, 2014). The average size of operational land holdings has reduced by half from 2.28 ha in 1970-71 to 1.16 ha in 2010-11. The operational farm holding in India is still declining. In Bihar and Kerala, the average size of holding fell by more than three times during the last four decades, whereas in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, it has reduced by more than two times. This is reflective of the immense population pressure on the limited land resource available for cultivation (NABARD, 2014). The declining trend of per capita land availability poses a serious challenge to the sustainability and profitability of farming (Siddeswaran et al., 2012). I