Abstract :
This study characterizes existing farming systems adopted by small and marginal farmers in Raichur district of North-East Karnataka (16o 12' N latitude and 77o 20' E longitude at an altitude of 389 m above the mean sea level). A rapid rural appraisal was conducted via informal discussions with 125 randomly selected farmers (25 farmers each from Raichur, Manvi, Sindhnur, Lingusugur and Devdurga talukas of Raichur district) using a pre-tested, structured questionnaire. Farming was the main income-generating source for the majority of households in the area. This study distinguished farms based on various farm enterprises adopted in their respective farms viz., crop based, dairy based, small ruminants (goat/ sheep) based, vegetable based, agro-forestry based, horticulture based etc. Paddy, cotton, maize, ground nut, vegetables, cattle, sheep/goat and poultry farming were the major farming activities that were undertaken by the farmers. Socio-economic status of most of farmers is determined by farming system adopted in their farm. Proper integration among crop-livestock farming activities could be suggested as a better solution to enhance long term sustainability as well as farmers’ living standards by improving farm production. Among 125 farmers selected for characterization 98.4 per cent of the farmers adopted crop based farming system.
Keyword :
Characterization, integrated farming system (IFS), Rapid rural appraisal (RRA), SurveyÂ