Effects of integrated farming system and rainwater harvesting on livelihood improvement in North-Eastern region of India compared to traditional shifting cultivation: evidence from an action research

Shifting cultivation is the primary source of livelihood for farmers in the hilly tracts of North East India. The jhumias’ (farmers involved in shifting cultivation) livelihoods are at stake due to low productivity and low profit due to detrimental effects of soil erosion, loss of soil nutrients and biodiversity. An action research was planned and executed in Wokha, Nagaland for agricultural intensification and diversification through integrated farming system (IFS) models, rainwater harvesting (RWH) structures and secondary agricultural options. Purposively the research work was carried out in three distinct altitudes at Yanthamo (26°3.753′N, 94°18.195′E, 973 m), Longsa (26°04.029′N, 94°14.936′E, 1174 m) and Riphyim (26°12.282′N, 94°15.748′E, 563 m). The overall impacts of the interventions were quantified in terms of crop productivity, farm-based livelihood diversity, improvement in soil health and jhumias’ livelihood conditions. The results were quite encouraging as it clearly indicated yield enhancement in IFS for cereals (29%), oilseeds (40.7%), pulses (15%), fruits (9.9%), vegetables (298%) and spices (53.6%). On-farm fodder cultivation supplemented respectively 39.3% and 28.6% feed requirements for piggery and poultry avenues. The RWH and IFS increased average cropping intensity from 100 to 168%. Introduction of vermicompost technology in IFS made it possible to recycle about 3.17 t of biomass to produce about 1.24 t mature compost annually. Inclusion of livestock components in model contributed to as high as 56.59% enhancement of net income. Integration of different components in IFS increased employment opportunities also up to 506 man-days/ha/year over the traditional system (72 man-days/ha/year). It can be concluded that water harvesting and IFS could be propagated as a sustainable and economically viable model for livelihood improvement of jhumias .