Beyond monoculture: How integrated farming is reviving Northeast India’s farms
Villages in Nagaon and Tamulpur districts of Assam and Namisai (Namsai) district of Arunachal Pradesh have adopted Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) that combine vegetables and cereals, fishponds, livestock (pigs, poultry, ducks), trees and horticultural crops, and natural vegetation such as taro and fiddlehead ferns on the same landholding
The shift is supported through the Joint Initiative for Village Advancement (JIVA) programme, funded by NABARD with technical guidance from the Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN) and an international development partner, along with local community organisations
Farmers reported that income now comes from multiple sources across the year rather than a single crop cycle, alongside reduced dependence on chemical fertilisers
The approach is presented as a departure from monoculture cropping patterns that had previously left farm incomes and soil health more vulnerable to a single season's outcome
Integrated Farming System (IFS) — the underlying agronomic concept
An Integrated Farming System is a resource-recycling approach that combines two or more farm enterprises — crops, livestock, fisheries, horticulture, and agroforestry — on the same farm so that the by-product or waste of one component becomes an input for another, reducing external input dependence and diversifying income sources across the year.
Key Details
- ICAR promotes IFS models calibrated to specific agro-climatic zones through its network of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and the All India Coordinated Research Project on Integrated Farming Systems
- Core principle: enterprise diversification reduces total-income risk compared to monoculture, since a shortfall in one component (e.g., a crop failure) can be offset by another (e.g., livestock or fishery income)
- Distinguished from simple "mixed farming" by its emphasis on deliberate nutrient/resource cycling between components (e.g., fish-pond silt used as crop manure, crop residue used as animal fodder)
The Assam and Arunachal Pradesh villages in this report are a field-level example of the IFS model — combining fishponds, livestock and horticulture on the same landholding to diversify income and reduce chemical input use.
Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER)
MOVCDNER is a Central Sector Scheme under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare that promotes commercial organic farming and organic value chains across the eight North Eastern states.
Key Details
- Rolled out from 2015-16 onward, covering Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura
- Supports Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for aggregation, certification, processing and marketing of organic produce — mirroring the producer-company model (e.g., NOSAAP Producer Company) used in integrated-farming villages
- Complements natural/organic farming push under schemes such as the Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP)
The reduced chemical-fertiliser dependence and diversified cropping described in the villages align with the broader organic and natural farming policy push for the North East under MOVCDNER.
NABARD's JIVA Programme and Watershed Development
JIVA (Joint Initiative for Village Advancement) is a NABARD-backed programme promoting agroecology-based, climate-resilient natural farming, built on NABARD's existing Watershed Development Fund and Wadi (orchard-based tribal livelihood) programmes.
Key Details
- Launched virtually on February 9, 2022; implemented across 25 projects in 11 states spanning five agro-ecological zones
- NABARD, established in 1982 under the NABARD Act, 1981, is the apex development bank for agriculture and rural development in India, refinancing rural credit institutions and funding watershed and livelihood programmes
- JIVA projects are implemented in partnership with civil-society and technical-resource organisations at the village level, similar to the WASSAN and international-partner collaboration described in this report
JIVA is the specific NABARD-funded vehicle cited as supporting the integrated farming transition in the featured Assam and Arunachal Pradesh villages.
Shifting (Jhum) Cultivation and Land-Use Change in the North East
Jhum, or shifting cultivation, is a traditional slash-and-burn farming practice historically widespread among hill and tribal communities in North East India, involving clearing forest patches, cropping for a few years, and then leaving the land fallow to regenerate.
Key Details
- Shortening fallow cycles due to population pressure has been linked to declining soil fertility and forest degradation in parts of the North East, prompting government promotion of settled, diversified farming alternatives such as IFS and horticulture-based livelihoods
- Government interventions to wean farmers off jhum include area-specific schemes under the North Eastern Council and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER)
- IFS and organic value-chain schemes are among the alternatives promoted to provide comparable or better returns without the ecological costs associated with shortened jhum cycles
The move toward diversified, multi-enterprise farming in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh villages reflects the broader North-East-wide policy goal of offering farmers a stable, non-shifting-cultivation livelihood alternative.
- IFS villages cited: Paschim Satgaon and Samuguri (Nagaon district, Assam), Khatarbari (Tamulpur district, Assam), and a village in Namsai district, Arunachal Pradesh
- JIVA programme launched: February 9, 2022, by NABARD; active in 25 projects across 11 states and 5 agro-ecological zones
- MOVCDNER covers all 8 North Eastern states; rolled out from 2015-16 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
- NABARD established: 1982, under the NABARD Act, 1981
- IFS components in this report: crops/vegetables, fishponds, livestock (pigs, poultry, ducks), horticulture/trees, and wild/foraged vegetation (taro, fiddlehead ferns)