In adapting cropping patterns and farming practices to local conditions and farmers’ objectives, distinct types of farm organization have developed. No farm is organized precisely like another.
This article explains the classification of farming systems according to their farm-management characteristics to support sustainable agricultural production and policy development.
Overview of Farming System Classification in Agriculture
For agricultural development, classifying farming systems is necessary to devise meaningful measures in agricultural policy and ensure sustainability.
A generalized classification (Fig. 8) divides tropical agricultural farming systems into animal-based (dry tropics) and crop-based (wet tropics), encompassing nomadic herding, ranching, mixed farming, mixed cropping, sole crops, agroforestry, and plantation crops, including seasonal food crops (shifting cultivation) and perennial cash crops.
Main Classes of Farming Systems in Tropical Agriculture
Farming systems are classified into two main classes: collection and cultivation farming systems. Collection farming systems involve the direct harvesting of uncultivated plants, often irregular, alongside hunting and fishing.
In prehistoric times, these activities were a major food source. In some regions, they still supplement subsistence from organized arable farming and animal husbandry, though rarely as a major cash-earning activity. Cultivation farming systems, far more significant, are classified by specific features, as outlined below.
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Classification by Type of Crop Rotation in Farming Systems
Fallow systems alternate cultivation with long-term uncultivated fallow, regenerating wild vegetation like trees, bushes, or grasses, often using fire-farming to clear vegetation before planting. Ley systems involve grass planted or naturally established on previously cropped land, used for grazing over several years.
In savannas, unregulated ley farming occurs, with fields turning to grass and shrubs after cultivation, serving as rough pasture. Regulated ley farming, with established swards, is rare in the tropics but exists in highlands (e.g., Kenya) and Latin America.
Field systems feature successive arable crops with clearly separated fields, where associated grassland is treated as permanent, whether rough or maintained.
Systems with perennial crops, such as sugarcane, sisal, tea, coffee, oil palm, and rubber, involve long-term land cover, with rotations alternating with fallow, arable farming, grazing, or other perennial crops.
Classification by Intensity of Crop Rotation in Agriculture
Fallow and ley systems vary in intensity, particularly in field-bush rotations and unregulated ley systems in African savannas. A simple criterion is the ratio of crop cultivation years to fallow years within one land utilization cycle, defined as the total years of arable farming plus fallow.
Classification by Water Supply in Farming Practices
Classifying land utilization begins with whether farming uses irrigation. Irrigation farming directs water into fields or dams rainwater to maintain higher soil moisture than natural levels.
Farming without irrigation is often called dry farming, but for precision, dry farming refers to semi-arid climates where grains and legumes alternate with one- or two-year fallows. A distinction between irrigated and rainfed farming is preferred.
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Classification by Cropping Patterns and Livestock in Farming Systems
The primary classification of farming systems is based on main crops and livestock activities, each with distinct climate, soil, market, and input requirements.
Farms are grouped by similar gross returns (sales, household consumption, and stock changes), such as coffee-banana or rice-jute holdings.
Classification by Implements Used in Agricultural Cultivation
Farms are sometimes classified by cultivation implements. In some regions, land is cultivated without tools or with simple ones. For example, Sahara nomads sow millet without soil preparation, shifting cultivators sow in ashes, and rice growers in Madagascar, Ceylon, and Thailand use cattle treading to prepare moist fields.
Planting and digging sticks persist in some areas, but main divisions are hoe or spade farming, plough and animal traction farming, and plough and tractor farming.
Classification by Degree of Commercialization in Farming
Farming systems are classified by the percentage of sales relative to gross returns. Subsistence farms prioritize household needs, with sales below 25% of gross returns.
Partly commercialized farms cultivate cash crops alongside household production, with sales below 50%. Semi-commercialized farms balance household and cash cropping, with sales at 50-75%. Highly commercialized farms have less than 25% of output consumed by the household.
This article explained the main classes of farming systems and their classification based on farm-management characteristics to support sustainable agricultural development.
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