ABSTRACT

A growing demand for land and water in North-west India has resulted in the development of integrated farming systems. Integrated farming is premised on the principle that farm returns can be maximized when two or more production technologies are used together. This synergistic approach to agriculture, combining livestock farming and fish farming, results in the production of more diversified farm products, an increase in cash incomes, improvement in the quality and quantity of farm products, a reduction in pollution and more efficient exploitation of otherwise unutilized resources. Approximately 60% of the costs of fish culture are related to fish feed and pond fertilizers. These costs can sharply be reduced by the judicious integration of fish culture with other appropriate farming systems. The bulk of India’s agriculture production occurs on small and fragmented land holdings, and the integration of livestock and crop farming has for centuries been a common farming practice in the North-west plains of India.