|Vermicompost area||: 2.26 cu.m.|
|Earthworm species||: Eisenia foetida|
|Requirement of earthworm||: 3531 nos. / cu.m. [1kg/ 10cu.ft. (1kg/ 3cu.m.)]|
|Total requirement for 2.26 cu.m.area||: 7981 nos.|
|Production per year||: 4 times|
Incorporation of 7981 nos. of earthworms were carried out which was expected to multiply up to 15,000 nos. in the cycle; so in the second cycle along with vermicompost say 7000 nos. of earthworm can be sold which will also follow in 3rd and 4th cycle. Therefore, all together 7000 × 3 = 21000 nos. of earthworms can be sold along with vermicompost which will give added return 21000 × 2.50 (cost of each earthworm is Rs. 2.50) = Rs. 52, 500.00
From 120 kg cow dung and 180 kg crop residue (bio-waste) i.e. from 300kg bio-waste from IFS model itself 136 kg vermicompost was produced (i.e. recovery was around 45%).
Nutrient content of Vermicompost produced are 2.04%N, 1.22%P and 2.58%K.
Size of the bio-gas plant was 2 cu.m where 2000kg Cow dung was initially used. 45 days was the fermentation period required for the evolution of gas. 55kg Cow dung/ day was used to produce 1.4 cu.m bio-gas daily.
Liquid manure production:
Every day output of cow dung and urine mixture were channelized to a 4 chambered tank where through the process of sedimentation in the three chambers finally complete liquid manure was collected in the 4th chamber. The collection of liquid manure was quantified as 40 litres/ three days. Liquid manure was used in case of horticultural crops particularly fruits crops other than banana; Banana was avoided anticipating probable earthworm infestation after application. Sedimented solid portion were also utilized in field as well as in horticultural crops.
Chemical analysis of liquid manure revealed 0.66%N, 0.32%P and 0.50%K as constituents.
Economics of the IFS Model:
One hectare IFS model developed for the small and marginal farmers provides round the year production with 20.87t Rice Equivalent Yield, Net profit of Rs. 1.62 lakh/year with an employment generation of 412 man days/ year. The highest net returns of Rs. 56477 was realised from animal unit followed by field crops (Rs.40643), horticultural crops (Rs.38990), fishery (Rs.20152) and apiary (Rs. 6000), respectively (Table 6). The maximum production and profit was realized in the month of January (Table 7) while highest employment was in July and October signifying the employment generation even during the lean period.
Table 6. component wise expenditure, gross income and net profit (2015-16)
|Component||Net Area (ha)||Gross Return (Rs)||Total Cost (Rs/ ha)||Net Return (Rs)|
|Cereals, pulses & oil seeds||0.64||60652||21979||38673|
|Fodder crops (in the cropping systems & on the bunds Hybrid Napier, Setaria etc.)||0.01||3980||2010||1970|
Dairy animals including Vermicompost, Liquid manure and biogas unit
|Apiary unit (03 boxes)||–||12000||6000||6000|
|The profit is quite comparable to existing farming system of the State, where it was 0.80-0.90 lakh/ ha|
Table 7- Month wise cost of production, gross return, net return and employment generation under IFS model (1.0 ha)
|Month||Total cost involved (Rs)||Gross return (Rs)||Net return (Rs)||Employment generated (Man days)|
IFS model as a zero waste model
Integrated Farming System (IFS) model designed can be considered as a zero waste model on account of utilization of all crop and animal wastes as raw materials and resources for each other through efficient recycling (Figure 1).
Use of Bio-pesticides/ Botanicals:
Pumello fruit (after making pieces) was applied @ 30kg/ ha as it prevents the crop from the insect pests. Pest controlling capacity of Pumello fruit may be attributed to the presence of essential oil in particular and other secondary metabolites in abundance. Before using Pumello fruit, a bio-pesticide ‘ Kamdhenu’ was used @ 1: 250 litre of water, which is a mixture of cow urine and neem leaf extract developed by Gaushala, Guwahati, Assam, [maintaining microbial cfu (105) Trichoderma: 8, Aztobacter: 204 and P solubulizer: 267] applied to the Winter Rice.
Thus, it can be concluded that Integrated Farming System (IFS), besides playing a significant role in securing sustainable production of quality food and other products, it also help in sustaining farm income by reducing the cost of production in one hand and eliminating environmental degradation in other. Due to efficient recycling of agricultural waste as manure, animal feed etc. cost of production decreases and soil fertility also improves to a greater extent. Such a system fulfils basic food and feed requirements of the household, cattle and fishes as well as act as an important approach or strategy for waste management. Therefore, inferences may be drawn that the IFS model developed can provide an excellent opportunity for bio-waste management through recycling besides reducing farmer’s dependency on external market purchased inputs leading to improved farm income in one way and also improving environmental quality in other by reducing the pollution from the bio-waste accumulation.