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.