Farm Design - Is it REALLY necessary to have Crops Design?

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we will see when Crops Design makes sense and when it does not make sense.  We will be using a very simple example for showcasing when Crops Design makes sense.


When is Crops Design not necessary?

The Crops Design will not be necessary if you go for a mono-crop for the entire farm and hence there is no design requirement (for crops) at all.


When is Crops Design necessary?

The Crops Design is necessary if you go for a diversified crop activity.

Lets take 2 Farms (hypothetical example) each having 10 acres and the crops grown are Teak, Mango, Coconut & Vegetables.  Both the farms has 2.5 acres allocated to the individual crops.

Please note that the author does not recommend monoculture design and has taken the example for the sake of simplicity.

The 1st Farm has the following design and the crops placement in it are given below.

First 2.5 Acres - Teak (followed by)
Next 2.5 Acres - Mango (followed by)
Next 2.5 Acres - Coconut (followed by)
Next 2.5 Acres - Vegetables

The 2nd Farm has the following design and the crops placement in it are given below.

First 2.5 Acres - Vegetables (followed by)
Next 2.5 Acres - Coconut (followed by)
Next 2.5 Acres - Mango (followed by)
Next 2.5 Acres - Teak

We will discuss why the 2nd Farm has a better design than the 1st Farm?

In the 1st Farm, the Crops Design is absurd.

• Because, Teak is a long term crop and should have been placed at the tail end of the farm for the simple reason that we may not need to attend to it daily.
• Similarly, Mango's harvest happens once in a year and we may not need to attend to it on a daily basis.
• Coconut's harvest comes in every 45 days or so and hence we need to attend to it on a regular basis.
• Vegetables harvest comes through the year starting from 15 days for greens and extending upto 2 years as well and hence we need to attend to it on a daily basis.
• Calculate the amount of time wasted for getting to the Vegetable Crops every day if this design is implemented.
• Calculate the amount of load that we have to carry from the Vegetable Crops to the farm entrance.

In the 2nd Farm, the Crops Design is somewhat perfect.

• The Vegetables Crops are at the front and hence any activity is done quickly and it is accessible as it is very near to the entrance of the farm.
• The Coconuts are harvested and transported quickly as the distance to cover is less.
• Same goes for the Mangoes as well.
• The Teak is harvested only after 15-20 years and hence only monitoring is done at regular intervals.

In Conclusion, if we choose the right Crops Design, it will benefit us in the long run and also save us time and money.

 

Farm Design - An Overview

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we will try to understand the basic requirements of the Farm Design and how to approach the detailed design using the basic requirements.

Keeping it very simple, we need to understand the basic requirements of the Farm in the first place and jot them down.  Please note that it is not required that each and every basic requirements needs to be made available immediately.  What we are trying to achieve is to provide the spacing in terms of land parcel and the placing of the requirement in the right place in the farm keeping in mind our overall design.

Please note that all the requirements mentioned below may or may not be required for each and every farm except for the Crops.

1. Crops
2. Fences
3. Roads
4. LiveStock
5. Living Quarters

Once we have decided on the basic requirements, we can create a detailed design using the basic information as the basis.

The following detailed questionnaire will help us to finetune the detailed design.

1. What type of Fencing is required for our farm?
2. How much space needs to be allocated for Fencing?
3. What model are we going to follow in creating the Fences?
4. What type of crops will be grown? (Short Term, Medium Term, Long Term)
5. How many crops will be grown?
6. Where the Crops will be placed in the farm?
7. Whether the Crops spacing will follow Generic Spacing or Specific Spacing?
8. Whether the Crops will be planted Mono Planting or Poly Planting?
9. How many Roads are required?
10. Where the Roads will be constructed?
11. How much space for Roads need to be allocated?
12. Are we planning to have LiveStock?  If Yes, how much space needs to be allocated to them? (Cattle, Poultry etc)
13. Where the LiveStock shed need to be constructed in the farm?
14. Are we planning to have Ponds? If Yes, how much space needs to be allocated to them?
15. Where the Pond needs to be constructed in the farm?
16. Are we planning to have Living Quarters? If Yes, how much space needs to be allocated to them? (Owner Quarters, Labour Quarters, Storage & Drying Quarters, Eco Tourism Quarters etc)
17. Where the Living Quarters shed need to be constructed in the farm?

Manures - Ghana Jeevamrutha

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see Ghana Jeevamrutha popularised by Subhash Palekar.

Required Ingredients

S.No.	Ingredient Name	Qty in Litres/Kgs
1	Cow Dung	100 Kgs
2	Jaggery	2 Kgs
3	Flour of any Pulse	2 Kgs
4	Soil from same land	1 Handful
5	Cow's Urine	As required

Note:

• If Jaggery is not available, use Palm Jaggery.
• If Jaggery or Palm Jaggery is not available, add 4 Litres of ripened Tender Coconut.
• Use Greengram or Blackgram or CowPea flour.
• Living Soil should be used.

Method of Preparation

1. Mix the first 4 ingredients well and keep adding Cow's urine as required to get a good solid form.
2. Spread the solid form in a shaded place during the day and allow it to dry well.

Method of Storage

1. The manure should be kept in the shade.

How long can we store the Manure?

1. The manure can be stored for longer periods.

How to use the Manure?

1. The solid manure need to be made into a powdery form before mixing it with FYM.
2. Apply the manure in the ratio of 100 Kgs of FYM & 10 Kgs of Ghana Jeevamrutha.

When to use the Manure?

1. The manure can be used frequently.

Manures - Jeevamrutha

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see Jeevamrutha popularised by Subhash Palekar.  The data provided below is for ONE acre only.


Required Ingredients

S.No.	Ingredient Name	Qty in Litres/Kgs
1	Water	200 Litres
2	Fresh Cow Dung	10 Kgs
3	Cow's Urine	5-10 Litres
4	Jaggery	2 Kgs
5	Flour of any Pulse	2 Kgs
6	Soil from same land	1 Handful

Note:

• If Jaggery is not available, use Palm Jaggery.
• If Jaggery or Palm Jaggery is not available, add 4 Litres of ripened Tender Coconut.
• Use Greengram or Blackgram or CowPea flour.
• Living Soil should be used.
• Please note that the stick (neem stick is better or any pole) used for mixing the ingredients should be cleaned before & after the usage so as to avoid maggots formations in the manure.

Method of Preparation

1. Mix all of them and keep them in a shaded place for 48 hours.

Method of Storage

1. The manure should be kept in the shade and covered with a wire mesh or plastic mosquito net to prevent houseflies from laying eggs and the formation of maggots (worms) in the solution. This is applicable during the preparation as well as during the shelf life of the manure as well.

How long can we store the Manure?

1. The manure can be stored for only 1 week due to unbearable overpowering stench.

How to use the Manure?

1. The manure can be mixed with irrigation water.
2. The manure can also be used with Drip Irrigation.
3. Also, can spray 10% filtered manure on the crops.

When to use the Manure?

1. The manure should be mixed thoroughly twice daily (in the morning & evening) for 2 days before usage
2. The manure should be applied when the land is wet for the plants.
3. Generally, it is accepted that every 15 days the manure can be applied.
4. For even better results, the manure can also be used thrice in a month.