Farming system types Advantages and Disadvantages
Farming systems are the different methods or techniques used by farmers on the farm for the production of crops and the rearing of animals.
Farming systems include the following;
Shifting cultivation or Bush fallowing
Is a system of farming in which a farmer cultivate a piece of land for 2 to 4 years before the land is abandoned for 4 to 5 years and then go to another farm.
What are the Advantages of shift cultivation
- It enables the abandoned land to gain it's a lost strength
- it's prevent soil erosion
- A low amount of capital is required for investment
- it prevent pest and diseases attack
What are the Disadvantages of shifting cultivation
- The system is subsistence in nature when the fallowing period is not long the soil loses its fertility and becomes useless for the farmer
- The system is only good where population is very low with plenty land
- it leads to destruction of valuable trees during recultivation
Arable farming system
This deals with the production of food for feeding livestock and man, and this includes cereals, roots and tubers, legumes, pasture grasses.
What are the Advantages of Arable farming system
- It's a source of income to farmers
- it provide food for man e.g rice, maize, beans etc
- it provides gainful employment
What are the Disadvantages of Arable farming system
- There may be problems of pest and disease attack
- it leads to fall in market price
Pastoral farming system
This is a system of raising livestock as a permanent work. pastoral farmers valued their livestock. pastoral farming is of three types; which are
- nomadic pastoral farming
- ranching pastoral farming
- lay farming
Nomadic pastoral farming
This deals with the movement of animal and the farmer from one place to another in search of fresh grasses or pasture to feed the animals, examples of these type of animal is the cow, cattle, sheep, goat etc
Ranching pastoral farming
This is a system whereby livestock are kept in an enclosed place of land. All the animals are free to graze on the grasses planted in this ranch, and they are free to roam about in the ranch.
 |
| Ranching |
Lay pastoral farming
it deals with the cultivation of pasture crops on a large piece of land, and then left to grow for some years and it then harvested before any other crop is cultivated on such a land.
What are the advantages of pastoral farming
- livestock raised on pastured land produce more than those kept indoor
- it reduces expenses and labour
- the feces dropped into the pasture when animal roams about increases soil fertility
What are the disadvantages of pastoral farming
- It requires a very large of land
- it takes longer time for the animals to reach slaughter weight
Mixed farming system
it is a system of farming in which farmer combine animal production with crop production on the same piece of land.
What are the advantages of mixed farming system
- animal feces which serve as manure add more nutrients to the soil
- it increases farmers income
- There is an alternative source of income for the farmer in terms of crop failure from the sale of animals
- it reduces the wastage of farm produce which includes groundnut cassava peels etc which are eaten by animal
- legumes planted help in fixing nitrogen to the soil.
What are the disadvantages of mixed farming
- if the animals are not properly managed they can totally destroy the crops
- soil texture may be destroyed since that the animal matches and graze on the soil
- some land has to be taken out of crop production to house the animal.