Status and key determinants of integrated farming systems in coastal regions of eastern India: a comparative assessment.
Pattanaik S, Priyadarshini A, Sarangi KK, Dash A, Udgata AR
Food Forest
Smallholder farmers growing rice, vegetables, and fish together on the same plot are quietly building a model that backyard food-forest gardeners have been rediscovering—stacking yields across drought years without chemical inputs.
Researchers surveyed farmers along India's eastern coast to understand who adopts mixed farming—where crops, animals, and fish ponds share the same small plot—and what pushes people toward it. They found that education, land size, and access to markets were the biggest factors in whether a farmer made the switch. Farmers using these blended systems were better able to weather bad weather years and had more diverse sources of income.
Key Findings
208 farmers across 3 coastal Odisha districts were surveyed (2020–2023); five socio-economic components explained 86.67% of the variance in farming system choices.
Probit regression identified education, land holding size, and market access as primary determinants of integrated farming system adoption.
Integrated farming systems improved resource-use efficiency and income diversification compared to single-commodity farming under climate variability.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A study of 208 farmers in coastal Odisha, India found that integrated farming systems—combining crops, livestock, fish, and trees on the same land—are shaped by five key socio-economic factors. Farmers who adopted these diversified systems showed greater resilience to climate swings and more stable incomes than those relying on single crops.
Abstract Preview
Coastal agriculture in India, where it serves as an important economic pillar, operates under escalating climate variability, fragmented landholdings, and risks in marketing and socio-economic cond...
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