Enhancing Farm Productivity and Income through Farmers’ Participatory Livestock Based Farming System in Arid Regions of Rajasthan

The study was conducted by ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur at Harsolav village in Nagaur district from 2016 to 2018 to increase farm productivity and income through improved crop technologies together with the integration of crops and livestock in participatory mode. The grass species Cenchrus ciliaris and C. setigerus were selected for pasture development under different land use systems. Intervention related to dual purpose crops viz., pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), mung bean (Vigna radiata) and barley (Hordeum vulgare); and fodder crops viz., lucerne (Medicago sativa), oat (Avena sativa) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) were undertaken both under rainfed and irrigated condition. For livestock feed supplementation, low-cost concentrate mixtures containing non-conventional feed resources, multi-nutrient blocks (MNB), and multi-nutrient mixtures (MNM) were provided to the small and large ruminants owned by selected farmers. The results showed that improved cultivation practices for dual-purpose crops increased yield and economic returns by 12 to 18% compared with the farmers’ traditional practices. Improved fodder crop cultivation enhanced green fodder availability, increased milk yield and farmers’ income. The fodder crops like lucerne, oat and pearlmillet provided net returns ranging from Rs. 26652 to Rs. 121924 ha-1. Perennial pasture grasses increased fodder availability and provided benefit to the tune of Rs. 5000 to 6000 ha-1 under rainfed condition. Supplementation of multi-nutrient blocks (MNB) at 250 g animal-¹ day-¹ increased daily milk yield by 9.14% in cattle, with a benefit–cost (B:C) ratio of 1.53, and by 8.32% in buffaloes, with a B:C ratio of 2.22. Similarly, supplementation of multi-nutrient mixture (MNM) at 100 g animal-¹ day-¹ in goats enhanced daily milk yield by 11.38%, with a B:C ratio of 1.12. Feeding a low-cost concentrate mixture fortified with Prosopis juliflora pod powder to cattle increased milk yield by 8.35% and reduced concentrate feed costs by Rs. 2.75 kg- ¹, resulting in a B:C ratio of 2.20. Overall, the adoption of improved livestock management practices enhanced farm income by Rs. 13,998 (12.2%) over the existing farmers’ practices (Rs. 114,293), demonstrating the economic viability of integrated crop–livestock farming systems under arid-zone conditions.