TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding farming systems and their economic performance in Telangana, India
T2 - Not all that glitters is gold
AU - Kuchimanchi, Bhavana Rao
AU - Bosch, Raimon Ripoll
AU - De Boer, Imke J.M.
AU - Oosting, Simon J.
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Farming systems are transitioning from a subsistence orientation to market orientation in response to changing food demands, technologies, and policies. In India's dryland regions, watershed development, among several other initiatives, has been a critical driver of these transitions, but their outcomes are poorly understood. The present paper investigates the characteristics and economic performance of current farming systems in a region in Telangana, India, that has undergone a rapid transition from subsistence orientation to market orientation. We surveyed 3006 farms, followed by a farm-economics study involving 75 households belonging to the three major farming systems. The gross margin was low for all systems but most inadequate for the crop-without-livestock system, highest for the crop-with-small-ruminants system, and intermediate for the crop-with-dairy system. Economic risks and natural-resource scarcity threaten the sustainability of current farming systems, and the reassessment of watershed development policies is recommended.
AB - Farming systems are transitioning from a subsistence orientation to market orientation in response to changing food demands, technologies, and policies. In India's dryland regions, watershed development, among several other initiatives, has been a critical driver of these transitions, but their outcomes are poorly understood. The present paper investigates the characteristics and economic performance of current farming systems in a region in Telangana, India, that has undergone a rapid transition from subsistence orientation to market orientation. We surveyed 3006 farms, followed by a farm-economics study involving 75 households belonging to the three major farming systems. The gross margin was low for all systems but most inadequate for the crop-without-livestock system, highest for the crop-with-small-ruminants system, and intermediate for the crop-with-dairy system. Economic risks and natural-resource scarcity threaten the sustainability of current farming systems, and the reassessment of watershed development policies is recommended.
KW - Farm economics
KW - Farming system characterization
KW - India
KW - Rural livelihoods
KW - Watershed development
U2 - 10.1016/j.crsust.2021.100120
DO - 10.1016/j.crsust.2021.100120
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85124491427
SN - 2666-0490
VL - 4
JO - Current Research in Environmental Sustainability
JF - Current Research in Environmental Sustainability
M1 - 100120
ER -