Record Details

CIMMYT Institutional Multimedia Publications Repository

View Archive Info
 

Metadata

 
Field Value
 
Title Analytics of barani farming systems of northern punjab: cropping intensity, crop-livestock interactions and food self-sufficiency
 
Names Sheikh, A.D.
Byerlee, D.
Azeem, M.
Date Issued 1988 (iso8601)
Abstract The rainfed areas of Pothwar plateau cover about one quarter of total cropped area of the Punjab. Farming in the area is characterised by a complex and diversified set of activities. Farm productivity in the region is relatively low and this contributes to the significant food deficit of the area. Livestock are an important part of the farming system and interactions with crops and implications for technology are not well understood. This study is based on a survey conducted in barani areas of Pothwar plateau in 1984 to analyse the main determinants of farming systems (such as cropping intensity, crop livestock interactions and food selfsufficiency) and to assist researchers in designing appropriate technological interventions for farmers. On the basis of rainfall distribution patterns, the barani Pothwar was stratified into three zones: -low rainfall zone - receiving < 500 mm rainfall - medium rainfall zone - receiving 500-750 mm rainfall - high rainfall zone - receiving> 750 mm rainfall. Most farmers in the area sampled were small farmers. Average farm size in the sample was 4 ha and nearly half of the farmers cultivated less than 2 ha of land. Owner operation was the norm of the area, but shar~ tenancy prevailed over the other tenancy systems. Almost 90% of the farmers depended on tractors for ploughing for land preparation and the remainder used bullocks. Farmers recognized two major land types in the area. 'Lepara' fields are located close to the village and receive farm yard manure (FYM) regularly while 'Mera' fields are located away from the village and do not received FYM on a regular basis. Ninety five percent of lepara fields received FYM on an annual basis compared to 22% of mera fields. Wheat, the staple food crop, was dominant in both lepara and mera lands, in all rainfall zones. Most other crops were specific to a particular land type or rainfall zone. Mustard, maize and kharif pulses were more important in the higher rainfall areas, and groundnut, sorghum/millet and rabi pulses in the lower rainfall areas. Maize was mainly grown on lepara lands while pulses, groundnuts and sorghum/millet crops were grown on mera lands. Thus farmers adopted very pertinent strategies in allocating land according to the fertility and moisture requirements of individual crops. Crop rotations differed widely between lepara and mera lands. Two crops per year on a continuous basis was the. most common rotation on lepara lands. On mera lands, the "dofasla dosala" rotation prevailed, typically wheat: kharif crop: full year's fallow. Cropping intensities were greatly influenced by rainfall, land type, farm size, power constraints and livestock ownership. Overall cropping intensity was 118%, but it was 50% higher on lepara lands than mera. Cropping intensity increased from 108 to 129 in low and high rainfall areas respectively. It increased with rainfall mainly due to more intensive use of lepara lands, whereas mera cropping intensity was uniform across rainfall zones. Rabi season cropping intensity was significantly higher than that of the kharif season in all rainfall zones. Across all rainfall zones, cattle were an important component of livestock systems. In the wet zone, thehigher percentage of milk animals, particularly buffaloes, was mainly due to proximity of urban markets as well as an ensured availability of green fodder. In drier areas, draught animals, sheep and goats were more prevalent. Farmers managed fodder requi rements from two major sources: (1) intercropping of fodder with grain and (2) production of sole fodder crops. Fodder was managed from scarce land resources through intercropping mustard in wheat and maize fodder (from thinning) in maize grain crops. Sor-ghum and millet, and to some extent barley and oats, were the main sole fodder crops grown by the farmers. Farmers supplemented home-produced feed by purchasing concentrates in lean fodder periods. Barani farmers produced a small surplus over subsistence requirements in grain. They were near to se1fsufficiency in pulses but were in deficit with fodder. Small farmers, especially in the dry zone, were in deficit in all three subsistence products, with the largest deficit occurring for fodder. The majority of farmers ranked livestock products as their main source of cash income from the farm in each zone. Generally, sales of cash crops exceeded cash sales of food crops. Off-farm income was very important for farmers in the survey area, especially small farmers. The analysis conducted in the paper has emphasised that crop and livestock interact in important ways in barani farming. This suggests three major implications for research for the barani tract - the importance of land type, the importance of fodder production and the opportunity that exists for increasing productivity Iiy higher cropping intensity. Two distinct land types exist in the barani tract, lepara land and mera. These should be treated as different recommendation domains for research on crop management (fertility and tillage), as well as on crop rotations. Stratification by land type is equally as important as stratification by rainfall zone. Because of the importance of fodder in barani areas, it should receive high priority for research in the future. This should include research on ways of more efficiently producing and conserving fodder. A high payoff is likely for research on specialty fodder crops. There is also a need to better understand the tradeoffs between fodder and grain in barani crop production. Finally, research needs to be undertaken on the potential long-term sustainability of more intensive cropping, especially of mera land. There is a dearth of long-term experiments exploring different crop rotations and intensities, using representative moisture and fertility conditions. Socio-economic research needs to be undertaken on key criteria affecting barani cropping and fallowing practices, including risk and communal decisions on land use.
Genre Report
Access Condition Open Access
Identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10883/3821