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Preface
Throughout the world, agriculture is faced with an immense challenge: how to increase yields to feed a growing population from depleted natural resources such as soil, water and biodiversity etc. in the present face of climate change. The capacity of the global food system to support a rising world population while preserving healthy ecosystems is the subject of much debate. But, agriculture plays a very important role in the economy of most of the nations of the developing world. For India, agriculture is the base of nation’s economy, largely rained and dominated by smallholders. As per reports from a number of governments, non-government and intergovernmental organizations, the countries and agriculture especially practiced by smallholders are particularly vulnerable to climatic changes and they have least capacity to adapt to these changes. In most of the developing countries of the world, the agriculture is not merely a matter of cultural practice but it is the source of livelihoods of millions of smallholders and their dependents. Changing climate as predicted will not only affect the agricultural productivity but also heavily hit the lives and livelihoods of the smallholder families and ultimately lead to food insecurity to the concerned nation and the world. Business-as-usual scenarios of population growth and food consumption patterns indicate that agricultural production will need to increase by 70 percent by 2050 to meet global demand for food. The impacts of climate change will reduce productivity and lead to greater instability in production in the agricultural sector i.e.crop and livestock production, fisheries and forestry that already have high levels of food insecurity and environmental degradation and limited options for coping with adverse weather conditions. The ongoing rise in global temperatures, increasingly changeable weather patterns and greater competition for land, energy and water will affect the food system as well as the ecosystem services which now underpin agriculture and the natural environment. However, the prosperity of any country depends upon the prosperity of farmers. Presently in India, the marginal and small farmers are literally illiterate, financially handicapped, their holdings are small and scattered, not suited for high-tech agricultural machinery, work in resource poor and quite vulnerable to climate change. To fulfill the basic needs of house hold including food (cereal, pulses, oilseeds, milk, fruit, honey, fish meat etc.) for human, feed and fodder for animals and fuel & fibre for general use warrant an attention about Integrated Farming Systems.
The emergence of Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) has enabled to develop a framework for an alternate development model to improve the feasibility of small sized farming operations in relation to larger ones. Integrated Farming Systems broadly explains more integrated approach to farming as compared to monoculture approaches. This book is thus an attempt to make the readers fully realize the potential of Integrated Farming Systems. This will deliver resources for the integration of suitable farming systems in present day farming to improve the livelihoods of the farmers, without further damaging to the environment and also recruit more degraded lands to the productive system, thereby helps in food security in the eve of climate change. Further it, focuses on sustainable production from specific time and space, conservation of natural resources, improves in carbon sequestration, low emission agriculture, conservation of tillage and addresses many issues of Integrated Farming Systems in the present context of food security and climate change.
The author is extremely thankful to Dr.V.P Singh, Senior Policy Advisor, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), South-Asia, New Delhi; Dr. Dennis Garrity, Former Director General and Dry Land Ambassador, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi; Dr. S. Ayyappan, Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi; Prof. M.S.Swaminathan, Founding Director, MSSRF, Chennai; Dr. Peter Kenmore, FAO Representative in India, New Delhi; Dr. Peter Holmgren, Director General, Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR), Indonesia; Dr. Robert.S.Zeigler, Director General, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines; Dr. William. D. Dar, Director General, ICRISAT, Hyderabad, India; Prof. Eric Tollens, Former, Chairman, Board of Trustee, ICRAF and Member, Board of Trustee, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan; Dr. Anupam Joshi, Senior Environment Specialist, the World Bank in India, New Delhi and Dr. B. Gangwar, Former Project Director, Farming Systems Research, ICAR, Modipuram for their academic inputs and support. I strongly acknowledge Prof. A.K.Sahoo for his constant scientific inputs and critical assessment, which gave a strong base for developing such a publication of its kind. The author is also extremely thankful to Prof. M. Kar, Vice Chancellor, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology for his all support and moral encouragement. Further, the author also strongly acknowledges all chapter contributors for their intellectual stimulations and valuable inputs. Finally, the author acknowledges and thankful to the publisher for bringing out this edition with success.
Preface
Throughout the world, agriculture is faced with an immense challenge: how to increase yields to feed a growing population from depleted natural resources such as soil, water and biodiversity etc. in the present face of climate change. The capacity of the global food system to support a rising world population while preserving healthy ecosystems is the subject of much debate. But, agriculture plays a very important role in the economy of most of the nations of the developing world. For India, agriculture is the base of nation’s economy, largely rained and dominated by smallholders. As per reports from a number of governments, non-government and intergovernmental organizations, the countries and agriculture especially practiced by smallholders are particularly vulnerable to climatic changes and they have least capacity to adapt to these changes. In most of the developing countries of the world, the agriculture is not merely a matter of cultural practice but it is the source of livelihoods of millions of smallholders and their dependents. Changing climate as predicted will not only affect the agricultural productivity but also heavily hit the lives and livelihoods of the smallholder families and ultimately lead to food insecurity to the concerned nation and the world. Business-as-usual scenarios of population growth and food consumption patterns indicate that agricultural production will need to increase by 70 percent by 2050 to meet global demand for food. The impacts of climate change will reduce productivity and lead to greater instability in production in the agricultural sector i.e.crop and livestock production, fisheries and forestry that already have high levels of food insecurity and environmental degradation and limited options for coping with adverse weather conditions. The ongoing rise in global temperatures, increasingly changeable weather patterns and greater competition for land, energy and water will affect the food system as well as the ecosystem services which now underpin agriculture and the natural environment. However, the prosperity of any country depends upon the prosperity of farmers. Presently in India, the marginal and small farmers are literally illiterate, financially handicapped, their holdings are small and scattered, not suited for high-tech agricultural machinery, work in resource poor and quite vulnerable to climate change. To fulfill the basic needs of house hold including food (cereal, pulses, oilseeds, milk, fruit, honey, fish meat etc.) for human, feed and fodder for animals and fuel & fibre for general use warrant an attention about Integrated Farming Systems.
The emergence of Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) has enabled to develop a framework for an alternate development model to improve the feasibility of small sized farming operations in relation to larger ones. Integrated Farming Systems broadly explains more integrated approach to farming as compared to monoculture approaches. This book is thus an attempt to make the readers fully realize the potential of Integrated Farming Systems. This will deliver resources for the integration of suitable farming systems in present day farming to improve the livelihoods of the farmers, without further damaging to the environment and also recruit more degraded lands to the productive system, thereby helps in food security in the eve of climate change. Further it, focuses on sustainable production from specific time and space, conservation of natural resources, improves in carbon sequestration, low emission agriculture, conservation of tillage and addresses many issues of Integrated Farming Systems in the present context of food security and climate change.
The author is extremely thankful to Dr.V.P Singh, Senior Policy Advisor, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), South-Asia, New Delhi; Dr. Dennis Garrity, Former Director General and Dry Land Ambassador, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi; Dr. S. Ayyappan, Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi; Prof. M.S.Swaminathan, Founding Director, MSSRF, Chennai; Dr. Peter Kenmore, FAO Representative in India, New Delhi; Dr. Peter Holmgren, Director General, Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR), Indonesia; Dr. Robert.S.Zeigler, Director General, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines; Dr. William. D. Dar, Director General, ICRISAT, Hyderabad, India; Prof. Eric Tollens, Former, Chairman, Board of Trustee, ICRAF and Member, Board of Trustee, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan; Dr. Anupam Joshi, Senior Environment Specialist, the World Bank in India, New Delhi and Dr. B. Gangwar, Former Project Director, Farming Systems Research, ICAR, Modipuram for their academic inputs and support. I strongly acknowledge Prof. A.K.Sahoo for his constant scientific inputs and critical assessment, which gave a strong base for developing such a publication of its kind. The author is also extremely thankful to Prof. M. Kar, Vice Chancellor, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology for his all support and moral encouragement. Further, the author also strongly acknowledges all chapter contributors for their intellectual stimulations and valuable inputs. Finally, the author acknowledges and thankful to the publisher for bringing out this edition with success.