Sustaining productivity and livelihood of livestock farmers of the Bundelkhand region through integrated farming system

The upsurge in high input-led mono-cropping or specialized production systems post-green revolution phase has evolved Indian agriculture significantly by uplifting production remarkably. However, this evolution also generated offshoot repercussions including degradation of natural resources, agro-waste management issues, fragile agro-ecosystem health, and unstable livelihood. Hence, a livestock-based integrated farming system (LIFS) model having food + vegetables + fruits + fodder + livestock + allied components was developed and assessed for its productivity, profitability, employment generation, and energy dynamics in farmers’ participatory fashion in the Jhansi region of Uttar Pradesh, India. Results showed that the LIFS produced 35.91 t/ha/yr of wheat equivalent yield, net returns of `352.4×103/ha with a B: C of 1.84, and generated 633 man-days/ha/yr employment. LIFS was assessed as 278.0% more productive, 226.6% more profitable, and 336.6% more employment generative than the region’s traditional groundnut-wheat cropping system (GWCS). Furthermore, LIFS was 12.9% more energy productive than the traditional cropping system of GWCS. Overall results inferred that the LIFS could be recommended for improved production sustainability and livelihood stability of the marginal farmers in the Bundelkhand region of India.