Background

Rainfed agriculture is predominant in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid regions of the country. These regions are home to about 81% of rural poor in the country. Hence, rainfed agriculture has a crucial role to play in sustaining the economy and food security of India (CRIDA, 2012). At present, about 55% of the net sown area is rainfed contributing 40% of the total food production, supports 40% of human and 2/3rd of livestock population. However, aberrant behaviour of monsoon rainfall, eroded and degraded soils with multiple nutrient and water deficiencies, declining ground water table and poor resource base of the farmers are major constraints for low and unstable yields in rainfed areas. In addition, climate variability including extreme weather events resulting from global climate change poses serious threat to rainfed agriculture.

Farmers make decisions in an environment that lead to complex farming systems. A farming system adopted by a given farming household results from its members allocating the four factors of production (land, labor, capital and management), to which they have access, to three processes (crop, livestock and off-farm enterprises) in a manner which, within the knowledge they possess, will maximize the attainment of the goals for which they are striving (Norman, 1978). Traditionally, farmers in rainfed regions practice crop-livestock mixed farming systems, which provide stability during drought years, minimize their risk and help them to cope with weather aberrations. However, these traditional systems are low productive and cannot ensure immediate livelihood security. The decline in size of land holdings, eroded and degraded soils with multiple nutrient deficiencies, aberrant weather and low investments pose a challenge to the sustainability and profitability of farming. In view of the decline in per capita availability of land from 0.5 ha in 1950-51 to 0.15 ha by the turn of the century and a projected further decline to less than 0.1 ha by 2020, it is imperative to develop strategies and agricultural technologies that enable adequate employment and income generation, especially for small and marginal farmers who constitute more than 80% of the farming community (Jha, 2003).