Farms are actually places where different activities take place. These activities include the growing of crops and or the rearing of animals. Sometimes, the crops are grown in one portion of the farm while the animals are reared in another portion.
The crops grown could be of only one type (mono cropping farming) or different types (mixed cropping farming). In some cases, the crops being grown is used as food by man, while on the other hand, they could be grown for the purpose of feeding animals.
Important to mention that whether it is crops that are grown or animals that are reared, the production process takes the forms or styles as wanted by the farmer. Important to note that any form or style adopted by the farmer, it usually has its own name with associated advantages and disadvantages.
It is of interest to note that the analysis of the farm will depend on the type or style of production process and this will affect the type of policy that it would attract for assistance or development.
Concept and Definition of Farming System
A Farm is actually an area of land that is used to grow crops, shrubs and or trees and for the rearing of animals.
A farm can be defined as a system that has inputs that are used for the production process and the produce either eaten in that form or processed into products that are either consumed or sold to the public. Farming utilizes land or water areas as facilities for food production, mainly for agricultural practice or for aquaculture.
A farming system on a larger note is an area of land that has one enterprise or different related enterprises with different resources available within his/her reach to grow crops and rear the animals for the purpose of food and profitability.
According to FAO, the crops being grown and animals reared are used to meet the food needs and standard of living of the populace on one hand and lifting the economy Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the other hand.
The farm enterprises include crop, livestock, aquaculture, agro-forestry, agri-horticulture, fruit crops etc. it is of note that the different enterprises yield different levels of income to the farmer.
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By definition, farming system is a resource management strategy to achieve economic and sustained agricultural production to meet different requirements of farm livelihood while preserving resource base and maintaining a high level of environmental quality.
In brief, farming system can also be defined as the organization of the farm and all the enterprises in relationship to each other.
From the aforementioned, farming system as advanced by a Report on Farming System is a set of inter-related agronomic activities that interact with themselves in the farm or a particular agrarian setting.
Farming system is actually a mix of different farm enterprises to which the farmers allocate the farm resources in a way to efficiently utilize the interrelated enterprises for the purpose of increasing farm productivity and profitability.
Farming system can in brief be said to be a decision making unit comprising the farm household, cropping and livestock system that transform land, capital and labour into useful products that can be consumed or sold.
The framework of a farming system is made up of a complex process with the farmers at the center who takes decisions on how to meet up with his/her aspirations, goals and desired objectives within the limits of technologies available to him/her.
Within the context of the farming system, the farmer uses the farm inputs to get or produce his outputs or products. All of these the farmer does within the limits of available technology.
Objectives of Farming System
There are various for which farmers engage in different farming systems. Some of them according to FAO (2017) are;
Increased productivity: Farming systems help to provide the farmer with the opportunity of increasing their farm yields per unit of area and per unit of time. This is possible as a result of the intensification and proper of use of available resources.
Improved potentiality: Farming systems make it possible for organic supplementation of the soil brought about by the effective use of manure and waste re-cycling. This result in the improvement of soil nutrients and later translate to increase in crop productivity.
Increase in profitability: Farming systems generally help the farmer to make use of waste material of one enterprise as an input in another at free or low cost (which ordinarily would have been paid for by the farmer). Through this method, the cost of production is reduced while profitability and benefit now becomes high.
Provision of balanced food: Farming systems provide diverse enterprises which produce different types of food and the food provides different types of nutrients to the household of the farmer. As far as farming systems are concerned, the problem of malnutrition of households is brought under check.
Environmental safety: Farming systems involve the use of by-products from other enterprises within the system. This usage has to do with the recycling of waste products from other enterprises.
By this act, the use of waste product from one enterprise helps to control pests and diseases that would have emanated from the waste if they were not recycled for use. Also, the recycling of the waste product does not only make the environment a friendly one but also prevents the use of chemical fertilizers for soil fertility.
Cash flow all-round the year: Quite unlike where only one type of enterprise is the practice, and owing to the fact that different crops are produced and harvested at different times of the year, farming systems help to make produce or products available throughout the year. These when sold makes money available to the farmer all year round.
Saving energy: Farming systems involves the growing of different types of plants otherwise known as bio-gas plants that are used as organic materials which are recycled as organic waste to generate energy. This helps to mitigate the energy crisis.
Meeting fodder crisis: The growing of fodder legume (animal feed for silage) helps to produce the required fodder and this greatly relieve the problem of non-availability of fodder to feed livestock in the farming system.
Employment provision: Farming systems as it implies involves the combination of enterprises and this combinations make it possible for different works or jobs to be provided. People need to be employed for the work to be done. So, through farming systems employment opportunities are generated.
Enhancement of input use efficiency: Farming systems go to the extent of providing the farm of efficient utilization of the resources of the farm. This efficient utilization of the resources results in greater input use efficiency and benefit-cost ratio.
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Scope of Farming System
The scope of the farming system is very much all-encompassing as far as activities are concerned. A report on framing systems and methods stated that the scope of farming enterprises do include production, processing and sale of crops, livestock, fish, poultry, sericulture etc. greater dividends are expected when the entrepreneur (farmer) correctly and carefully combines one or more enterprises with cropping than when he produces a single enterprise.
It is the duty of the farmer to plan the farm for effective integrating of the enterprises to be combined with crop production activity.
In conclusion, a farm is any piece of land where crops, shrubs and or trees are grown. Different resources within the farmers reach are exploited by the farmers for his/her farm production process.
The objectives of farming systems are numerous and they underscore the basic reasons why farming systems are practiced. The benefits include the tendency of the system to help the farmer increase his/her farm productivity, profitability, potentialities, cash flow all year round, employment provision for people and enhancement of input efficiency use.
Farming system is actually a decision making unit that comprise of household, cropping and livestock system that transforms land, capital and labour into useful products to the farmer. Farming system is more profitable to the farmer when different related enterprises are combined within the farming system.
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