COMPONENTS INTEGRATION IN SMALL HOLDER FARMS

Sustaining food supply to burgeoning global population especially under changing climate is a challenge for mankind. Though several options are available to address this challenge, many of them are constrained while considering the conservation of resource base. In this context, farm diversification offers good scope and dominance of small farms in developing nations is an advantage to practice spatial or temporal integration of farming enterprises. This integration could offer leads for solving many issues such as enhancing livelihoods of resource poor farmers, ensuring nutritional security, conserving soil health and agro- biodiversity. Methodologies and results of the research undertaken to evolve suitable Integrated Farming System Designs for varying agro-ecological zones in Southern India comprising laboratory, green house, institutional and on-farm participatory experiments are discussed. This could be of use to researchers and designers of farming systems and planners and executives of rural development and extension programmes.