Organic Farming: Design, Plan, Layout, And Components

Farm Design

The first point strike about the farm design is the “location of different enterprises / components” on a piece of land so that there is no competition for the resources. In fact, to utilize the resources of a farm effectively, a farm plan is prepared and implemented. Designing an organic farm takes into consideration the grasslands [Pastures, Meadows], orchards, hedges, hedgerows, ecologically rich fallow or arable land, waterways, pools, springs, ditches, wetland, and swamps to facilitate and help build up healthy biodiversity. Access to farms, the number, and size of fields, the shape of fields, farm fences, and fitting of the crop rotation in the field enterprises are considered to enhance production efficiency. Cattle shed to house the livestock including dairy animals, poultry, goats or sheep, ponds for aquaculture, slot for apiary, compost yard, storehouse, and office are the major structures that help to improve the farm income and to run the farm profitably.

Now, Let Us Examine The Features Of An Organic Farm And Its Characteristics:

• An Organic Farm

So far we have learned, what is the purpose of designing an organic farm? However, in organic agriculture, the farm design and management should achieve sustainable farm productivity using on-farm available resources and preventing contamination. The organic farm is a system of organically raising crops and livestock in the form of a combination of enterprises. The on-farm available resources are utilized applying farm management principles. The farm management helps in the selection, organization, and operation of an individual farm business for the purpose of obtaining the greatest possible profit. The benefit could be the net income, pollution-free products, healthy resources, and agro-biodiversity.

 

Characteristics And Components Of An Organic Farm

A good farm should make efficient use of farm resources such as land, water, labor, capital, livestock, and equipment. An organic farm maintains and improves soil fertility using on-farm resources and native microflora and fauna. At the same time, farm income should also flow steadily with scope for improvement year after year. The farm should have a balanced combination of components like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, cash crops, fruit crops, vegetable crops, some spices like chilies, fodder crops, green manure crops, trees, livestock including dairy animals, poultry, goats or sheep, fish, apiary, etc., that would meet the needs of the farm, farmer and their livestock. The farm should also have cattle shed, compost yard, storehouse, and office.

 

Planning And Layout Of The Farm

As you know, to access the farm and its enterprises within a farm, we need to undertake visits. We should plan different components of a farm in a manner that should provide a uniform supply of crops for consumption, feed, or sale year after year. If a uniform size of the field is not possible, two or three small fields should be combined into one unit for the purpose of rotation. You can have a rectangular field for easy operations. Some of the fields with irregular shapes should be allotted for pastures or agroforestry. Depending on your plan, fix short-term or long-term rotations. A farm fence is necessary to care for livestock and to check intruders. The cattle shed, compost yard, storehouse, and office may be located at a higher elevation than the cropped area to prevent inundation of water inside the cattle shed, storehouse and office.

 

Farm Components In Different Agro Ecosystems

The components of a farm vary widely due to different ecosystems. The components for lowlands, irrigated uplands, and dry lands are presented in this post.

The low land farming system accommodates crops, piggery, duck, and fishery enterprises in all possible combinations with a view to recycle the residues and by products of one component to another. The recycling process reduces the cost of production per unit of grain, meat, milk, egg, biogas, etc., and enhances the net return of the system.

In irrigated upland, integration of crops, dairy, biogas, spawn and mushroom production, silkworm rearing, mulberry cultivation, and homestead garden with apiary may be practiced successfully. Border planting of trees and raising sun hemp between the trees for green manuring is also practiced. In this manner, organic farming will act as a self-regulating unit.

In dry lands, a farming system with grain crops, fodder crops, fodder trees, fruit trees, perennial grass, and goat rearing are accommodated.

Now, Let Us Examine Different Components Of An Organic Farm:

• Field Crops In Organic Farms

Field crops are an important and integral component of an organic farm. The nature of field crops of an organic farm should be determined by the needs of the farmer, technologies available, support from various agencies, demand, and price for the product in the market. The farmers can choose cereals or millets, pulses, oilseeds, cash crops, spices, plantation crops, green manure crops, fodder crops, fruit crops, and vegetable crops. In an organic farm, the crop rotation must have a legume crop.

Cover crops are planted to cover the soil surface during the fallow period of the cropping cycle. The cover crops are grown to improve soil fertility, suppress weed growth, and prevent soil erosion. It also reduces moisture loss from the soil and suppresses the weed. The cover crops help more water absorption by the soil, hence, help to conserve the water. Dolichos lablab, Crotalaria sp., Canavalia sp., Vigna sp., Tephrosia sp., Dioscorea sp., and Ipomea Batata are commonly grown as cover crops.

• Trees In Organic Farming

Trees play an important role in meeting diverse requirements. They form an integral component of an organic farm. The benefits of having trees in a suitable location at a farm are immense. Now, let us examine some of the important roles of trees at an organic farm.

Border Trees

Border trees are grown on the boundary of the farm or cropping areas. Multipurpose trees like Neem, Pongamia [Karanj] or Erythrina [Madar], or any other local trees of importance should be chosen as border trees. They are planted with recommended spacing. They should be tall, fast, and erect growing, and have less branching.

The border trees serve as a wind brake and provide biomass for green leaf manuring and composting. They also serve as a live fence to the farm. The border trees serve as perches for birds that help in management of insect pests. Further, trees like Neem help in preparation of Neem seed kernel extract, which is useful in insect pest management under organic farming.

Smaller trees/shrubs like Glyricidia sp, Leucaena leucocephala, Erythrijna, Vitex Nugundo, and Sesbania [Daincha], fodder plants, and other leguminous plants can also be planted at a distance of one meter in between the border trees. These trees add to the biological diversity and improve the overall ecological balance. They also add economic value to the organic farm and enrich the soil.

The border trees and shrubs may take at least 2-3 years for yielding adequate biomass. If on farm biomass is not available, we may procure biomass for composting from certified organic farms to avoid contamination.

Agroforestry

We know, agroforestry is a “Sustainable Land Management System“. “Agroforestry is a collective name for the land-use system and practice in which woody perennials are deliberately integrated with crops and/or animals on the same land management unit. The integration can be either in a spatial mixture or in a temporal sequence. There are normally both ecological and economic interactions between woody and non-woody components in agroforestry” [ World Agroforestry Centre 1993 ]. Agroforestry is the management of agriculture, tree, and livestock on the same unit of land, to make the system self-regulating. Trees form an important component in the agroforestry. Trees provide insurance in the event of crop failure. Trees are the sources of food, fuel, and fodder.

The Following Are The Major Land-Use Systems In Relation To Agroforestry:

Silvi Pastoral – Tree and grasses in combination.
Agri-Silvi-Horticulture – Agricultural crop + trees + fruit trees.
Silvi-Pastoral-Horticulture – Trees + grasses [fodder] + fruit trees.

Some of the multi-purpose trees are recommended for different agro-climatic zones. Acacia Albida and Ailanthus Excelsa are recommended for semi-arid tropical and subtropical climatic conditions. The multi-purpose trees like Acacia Auriculaeformis, Acacia Catechu, and Acacia Nilotica are recommended for tropical and subtropical climatic conditions. Prosopis cineraria is one of the best examples of multipurpose tree species recommended for arid areas.

Farm Forestry

It would be feasible if we define farm forestry first. The farm forestry is a practice of raising trees for timber, fuel, or fruit within the farmstead on the land which is generally not useful for crop cultivation. Farm forestry, besides providing timber, fuel wood, or fruits to farmers, also conserves soil and water. Planting trees improves the fertility status of the farmlands and ameliorates the surrounding environment. As per the national recommendation, we should have at least 33% area under forest. The fodder trees and manuring trees being pruned every year cannot provide required amount of tree cover for a longer period. Hence, the fire wood trees, timber trees, and non-commercial wild fruit trees should be used for farm forestry. At least five to eight years of continued tree cover is required to be called as Farm Forestry.

In a land use system of degraded soils unsuitable for agriculture, a farmer can grow suitable trees in the site that would ameliorate the soil and heal the environment. Such a practice is also called the farm forestry. The farm forestry described above, makes available of its products directly to the farmers.

Benefits Of Trees In Organic Farm

The trees under agroforestry and farm forestry help in maintaining the soil health. They reduce the rate of soil erosion, build up long-term soil fertility and reduce the soil moisture depletion [ dropped leaves act as mulch ] thus, maintaining a healthier moisture regime for crops underneath. They add organic matter to the soil and hence improve the water holding capacity and biological activities in the soil. The leaf litter provided by the trees help in harvesting the run-off water. Above all, trees provide additional income to the farmers by providing fuel, timber fodder, and other economic commodities [ such as gum, resin, etc. ]. As a live fence, it provides protection against any intrusion in the field.

• Farm Biodiversity

We know, an organic farm will ensure healthy biodiversity. In an organic farm, biodiversity is achieved by adopting crop rotation with legumes as well as by coverage of the soil with diverse plant species all through the year. It would ease the pressure from insects, weeds, diseases, and other pests and also improve soil health. Maintenance of healthy biodiversity at a farm is essential to make production sustainable.

• Field Bunds

Normally, bunds acquire about 1 to 2 percent of the total cultivation area. Usually, bunds are of two types: temporary and permanent. The temporary bunds are made for seasonal work and when the crop is harvested and the field is ploughed, they get dismantled. On the bunds, seasonal vegetables and fodder crops may be planted. It helps in preventing the breaching of bunds. It also helps the farmer to get an additional income. Permanent bunds are made to delineate some areas to another.

• Compost Yard

In any organic farm, compost must be made available in abundance. The compost yard must be located close to the cattle shed to make the transportation and handling of dung from the cattle shed easier. The yard will also make use of the biomass available from the border trees, field bunds, and other agro wastes available at the farm. The compost should be made within the farm to avoid any form of contamination from outside.