IFS ( Integrated Farming system)
An Integrated Farming System (IFS) is a sustainable agricultural approach that combines different farming components like crops, livestock, fish, poultry, and forestry to maximize resource utilization and minimize waste.
Why we should go for IFS
At present, the farmers concentrate mainly on crop production which is subjected to a high degree of uncertainty in income and employment to the farmers. In this contest, it is imperative to evolve suitable strategy for augmenting the income of a farm.
Advantages of Integrated Farming System
- Higher food production
- Increased farm income
- Sustainable soil fertility & productivity
- availability of nutritious food
- Reduced production cost
- Regular stable income
- availability of adequate nutritious fodder
- availability Firewood & construction wood
- Avoidance of soil loss through erosion
- Generation of regular employment
Components of Integrated Farming System
- Crops, livestock, birds and trees are the major components of any IFS.
- Crop may have subsystem like mono crop, mixed/intercrop, multi-tier crops of cereals, legumes (pulses), oilseeds, forage etc.
- Livestock components may be milch cow, goat, sheep, poultry, bees.
- Tree components may include timer, fuel, fodder and fruit trees.
STAC IFS (Wetland IFS Model – Fish + Country chicken + Azolla)
- In STAC, we maintain Wetland IFS Model. The farming components includes Fish, Country chicken and Azolla.
- On the top of the fish pond tank, poultry shed was built. Chicken wastes automatically fall into the pond to fish as feed. This is called double layer method. Fish is in the lower layer and country chicken in the upper layer.
STAC Fish pond
- STAC Fish pond is created with a size of 25×15×1.5 m length, breadth and depth respectively. The fish pond is around 9 cents. The inner fish pond size is 280 m2. The details of fish we rearing are follows.
| Common name | Scientific name | Feeding habit | Feeds | Ratio | Released number |
| Catla | Catla catla | surface feeders | plankton and other organisms (zooplanktivorous) | 4 | 160 |
| Rohu | Labeo rohita | middle water column feeders | Phytoplankton & decaying vegetation | 2 | 80 |
| Mrigal | Cirrhinus mrigala | bottom feeders | organisms & decaying matter | 3 | 120 |
| Common Carp | Cyprinus carpio | bottom feeders | aquatic vegetation & decaying matter | 1 | 40 |
- Catla, Rohu, and Mrigal are three Indian major carps, each with distinct feeding habits that allow them to coexist in polyculture systems without competing for food.
- We only provide natural wastes which we receive from free of cost as feed for fishes viz. cow dung, azolla, banana leaves, sedges, moringa leaves and agathi etc. We starts harvest the fishes 6 months after release of the fingerlings. At harvest stage a fish will be about minimum of 0.5 to 1 kg. In market a fish is sold at the price of Rs. 150/kg. So within 6 months we were getting income of Rs. 50,000 to 1,00,000.
- Fish pond bund comprises 2 m breadth on all the sides. In bunds we raised many trees and plants especially fish preferred feeds such as banana, moringa, agathi and other tree species such as amla (Indian gooseberry) small amla & herbal amla, papaya, coconut. To avoid soil erosion on the bunds we raised lemon grass all around the bunds.
| Common name | Scientific name | Numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Banana | Musa species | 10 |
| Moringa | Moringa oleifera | 2 |
| Agathi | Sesbania grandiflora | 20 |
| Small amla | Phyllanthus acidus | 8 |
| Herbal amla | Emblica officinalis | 3 |
| Papaya | Carica papaya | 13 |
| Coconut | Cocos nucifera | 5 |
| Lemon grass | Cymbopogan citratus | All around the bunds |
STAC Poultry shed
- On the top of the fish pond tank, poultry shed was built at a size of 2.5×2×2 m length, breadth and height respectively. Chicken wastes automatically fall into the pond and the fishes consume it as feed. Hence it reduces the feed cost incurred for fishes.
- In poultry shed we were maintaining 25 Kadaknath or Karunkozhi breed country chicken. Among them 3 rooster (male chicken) and 22 hens (female chicken) is there. We provide vegetable wastes, greens, rice bran, broken rice, bajra as feed.
- Averagely a hen can lays 20 eggs in a month. From 22 hens we were getting 350 eggs per month. Egg cost of karunkozhi country chicken is Rs.20 per egg. So averagely we can get Rs. 7000 as monthly income. Meat cost of 1 kg karunkozhi country chicken is Rs.400. After 6 months of raising, averagely 1 karunkozhi country chicken can attain 1 to 1.5 kg body weight. So from 25 karunkozhi country chicken we can get Rs. 10000 income per 6 months.
STAC Azolla pit
In STAC farm, we have an azolla pit at a size of 2×1.5×1 m length, breadth and depth respectively. From these we were getting 1 kg azolla everyday. We use this as feed for chickens and fishes. Azolla reduces feed cost in huge way.
