SYSTEMS

FARMING SYSTEMS
-Farming system refers to all the different methods which are used to produce
crops and or animals’ products (eg; eggs, meats, leather, etc)
-Some farming systems in Ghana include: Shifting cultivation, land rotation,
crop rotation, mixed cropping, mixed farming, pastoral farming, monoculture,
monocropping, organic farming, etc.
-These farming systems can be grouped into two i.e subsistence and
commercial farming.

WHAT IS SUBSISTENCE FARMING?

-Subsistence farming is a farming system in which farmers primarily produce
food to meet the needs of their own families or local communities.
-The focus is on growing crops and raising livestock for personal consumption
rather than for sale in the market.
-It often involves small plots of land and traditional farming methods.
-The main objective is to ensure food security and self-sufficiency. However,
subsistence farming usually yields low productivity and limited surplus for
trade.

WHAT IS COMMERCIAL FARMING?

-Commercial farming is a farming system in which farmers produce crops and
raise livestock primarily for sale in the market.
-The main objective is profit generation.
-Commercial farmers often cultivate large areas of land and use modern
agricultural technologies, machinery, and practices to maximize yields and
meet market demands.
-They grow cash crops, and raise livestock for meat, dairy, or other products to
supply the market.
-Commercial farming is typically characterized by specialization, economies of
scale, and market-oriented production.
MIXED FARMING
-Mixed farming is a farming system that combines both crop cultivation and
livestock rearing on the same farm.
-The integration of crops and livestock allows for the efficient use of resources.
Eg; livestock can provide manure for fertilizing crops, while crop residues can
be used as animals feed.
-Mixed farming provides a diversified production system that offers stability
and reduces risks.
Types of Mixed Farming
1.On-farm mixed farming: It refers to mixed farming that occurs on the same
farm.
-Here, the farmers try to save money by using every available resource they
have on the farm. Eg; a farmer will use cattle’s manure as fertilizer for the crops
and the crop residue to feed the cattle.
2.Between-farm mixed farming:
-It is mostly seen in commercial farming and not in subsistence farming.
-It refers to exchange of resources between farms.
-Often these resources are waste products and not something that could be
sold.
3.Diverse Mixed Farming: It is one that has crops and livestock that are grown
and reared completely separately from one another.
-The resources are not shared between the livestock component of farm like
this.
-This type of system is more likely to be used by commercial farms because it is
more about a farmer waiting to guarantee an income.
4.Integrated Mixed Farming System:
-A mixed farm is integrated when the resources are shared between the
components.
-this is not only more sustainable because it reduces waste, but also more
economical.
-A disadvantage is that if one component suffers, the entire farm will suffer,
because everything is reliant on each other.
WHAT IS SPECIALIZED FARMING?
-Specialized farming also known as Monoculture or Single-crop farming,
focuses on intensive production of a single crop or specific type of livestock.
-Specialization allows farmers to exploit specific market demands or take an
advantage of favourable growing conditions for a particular crop or livestock
species.
-This farming system often involves largescale production and the adaptation of
specialized technologies and practices tailored to the specific crop or livestock.
-While specialization can lead to increased productivity and profitability, it also
poses risks, such as vulnerability to market fluctuations or the spread of
diseases that target the specialized crop or livestock.

Sustainability Of Farming Systems

-for farming system, to be sustainable means employing particular practices
now in order to have a positive, or at least neutral impact in the future.
-In farming, sustainability refers to the ability to form livestock or crops without
environment or the communities that surround the farm.
-For a farm to be sustainable it must have these 3 sustainability pillars or traits.
Economic, social and environmental impacts.

SUSTAINABLE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN LIVESTOCK AND CROPS

-There are many ways that livestock and crops can interact sustainably on a
mixed farm
1.Crop residue can be used to feed livestock.
2.Livestock manure can be used for fertilizer.
3.Livestock such as cattle can be used to pull ploughs and other heavy farm
equipment.
4.Some animals can be used as a form of pest control.eg; ducks could be used
to eat snails and other insects in the crops field.
5.Crops such as legumes fix N2 into the soil. It also helps to increase the humus
content of the soil.
Crops, Animals and Land Combinations in the Farming Systems
-Every farming system involves the cultivation of crops or rearing of farm
animals or both on a piece of Land
-The land on which the cultivation or rearing occurs is called the Farm or
Farmland.
-The component of any farming system are the land and crops; or land and
animals; or land, crops and animals.
-The available land, the crops and animals that are adapted to growing in a
locality, interact to determine the type of farming system practiced by farmers.

TYPES OF CROPS
-Crops are classified based on several criteria, including their general uses and
botany.
-The general uses are the major benefits that we obtain from the crops.eg;
food from food crops, raw materials from raw materials producing crops,
animal feeds from pasture crops, etc.
-The botanical features are lifespan and familial relationships. Based on its
lifespan, a crop could be:
i) Annuals eg; maize, cowpea, okra, pepper
ii) Biennials eg; onion, lettuce, beets, carrots.
iii) Perennials eg; Hot pepper, cocoa, pineapple plantain, cassava, mango,
cashew, oil, acacia.

FARMING SYSTEMS AND THE TYPE OF CROPS GROWN UNDER THEM.

Farming System Types Of Crops Based On Lifespan
1. Crop rotation -Annuals
2. Monocropping -Annuals
3. Land rotation -Animals and short-lived perennials
4. Multiple cropping -Annuals and perennials.
5. Monoculture -Annuals, short-lived perennials, and
permanent crops.
6. Mixed Farming -Annuals, short-lived perennials, and
permanent crops.
 7. Pastoral farming -Annuals, short-lived perennials and
permanent crops.

TYPES OF ANIMALS
-One of the criteria for classifying farm animals is whether they are herded or
not. The animals are grouped as follows:
i) Grazing livestock eg; cattle, sheep
ii) Scavenging livestock eg pigs, sheep and goats.
iii) Free-roaming animals eg; poultry.

LAND COMBINATIONS UNDER THE FARMING SYSTEMS.

- Land combinations based on land use are:
i)Farm- bushland type
ii)Farm- fallow type
iii)Cropland- fallow type
-The farm-bushland type is where the farm is located in a place that is
surrounded by virgin land.This type of land combinations favours land rotation,
mixed farming or pastoral farming systems.
-The farm-fallow type is where the farm is located by a fallow. This type of land
combination favours land rotation, mixed farming or pastoral farming systems.
-The crop-land fallow type is where the cultivated land contains the fallow,
this type of land combination is part of the crop rotation systems.

HOW THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CROPS AND ANIMALS MAKE THE VARIOUS

FARMING SYSTEM SUSTAINABLE
-Animal droppings are used to fertilize the soil, however the farmer may also
apply a little or no quantity of chemical fertilizer.
-Nevertheless, chemical fertilizers cause soil acidity, kill soil organisms and
pollute underground waters.
-The long-term effects of the continuous use of chemical fertilizers is that soil
cannot support crop production after some years.
-Conversely, the manure causes little or no harm to the soil. Hence the land on
the farm retains or even improves its value and productivity.
-That is the animals contributes their droppings which benefit the land. Also,
the manure decomposes to make nutrients available in the soil for the crops to
use.
-Similary, crop products such as grains, tubers, and their vegetative parts are
fed on by the animals.
-This cycle of production, use and reuse by the components (animals, crops and
the land) makes the farming system sustainable, even if no external inputs are
used.