Improvement in food resources

Improvement In Food ResourcesBy: Nidhi Singh

Introduction Man is an omnivore. He depends on both plants

and animals for food. We know that crops are a major source of food. In this chapter, we shall study about animal sources of food. Animal sources include eggs, meat, milk and fish.

Eggs and meat are rich in proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. Milk contains all the major food nutrients - carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins A and D, minerals like phosphorus and calcium and water. The following table gives the nutritional values of animal products.

Nutritional Values of Animal Products Milk is obtained from milk producing (milch) animals like

cows, buffaloes and goats. Eggs are obtained from egg-laying birds like fowl and duck. Meat is obtained from fowl, cow, sheep, goat and pig. Fish are either fresh water or marine and include crabs, shrimps and prawns.

To meet the ever-increasing demand of food to feed the increasing population, we need to take steps to not only increase crop production, but also improve the production of animal food. Dairy farming, poultry farming, fish farming and piggery have increased appreciably due to the combined efforts of the farmers co-operative organisations, government agencies and co-operative banks. Proper management of livestock and their breeding have also played an important role in increasing the production of animal food

What is Livestock Livestock means all domestic animals like cows, buffaloes,

sheep, goats, pigs etc. that are used to produce food. Animal husbandry deals with the breeding, feeding and caring of domestic animals i.e., their shelter, control of disease and proper utilization of their products.

The various animal food resources that provide food are livestock, poultry and fish.

Food is one of the basic needs of man. Early man lived on roots and berries of wild plants but with civilization, man learnt to cultivate plants to satisfy his food needs. With continuous increase in population and rapid urbanization, our natural resources have been over exploited. As a result of this, our natural resources are getting depleted at a very fast rate. Our major concern today is how to increase production to feed the increasing population without damaging natural resources. To achieve this we need sustainable agriculture.

Milching Animals Shelter- Shelters should be constructed in such a way that it

provides a comfortable resting place for the animals. It must contain facilities for feeding, watering and protection from rain, wind, Sun, cold and dampness. A shed measuring six square metres is ideal for Indian cows. Buffaloes require a little more space. Proper cleaning of the shelter is necessary not only for the production of clean milk but also for the health of the animal. The floor of the shed must be sloping, to facilitate cleaning and keeping their resting place dry. The shed should have cross ventilation with sufficient number of inlets and outlets.

NutritionThe food of dairy animals needs to serve two basic purposes:

Maintenance This is the food required to support the basic

functions of life of the animal. Milk Production

This is the type of food required during the lactation period.

Animal feeds on: Roughage

This includes fibres like green fodder, silage, hay and leguminous plants like berseem, lucerne and cowpea.

Fish Farming This includes inland and marine fisheries, aquaculture and pisiculture. Fish is a source of high quality animal protein and a rich source of minerals like calcium, phosphorus and iron. India abounds in fish, both fresh water and marine.

Freshwater Fisheries

There are fish that are sustained in water bodies like ponds, tanks, lakes, rivers, back waters and marshy swamps. Inland or fresh water fisheries can be divided into: Culture fishery - In culture fishery, the fish seed has to be sown, tended, nursed, reared and finally harvested when grown to table size.

Capture fishery - Capture fishery does not involve sowing fish seeds. It involves capturing fish naturally available in fresh water bodies.

Marine Fisheries

These are fish that are sustained in salt-water bodies like seas and oceans. This requires mechanisation. Fishing trawlers fitted with sophisticated electronic fish locating equipment are used for deep-sea fishing. Some marine fish are Bombay duck, Catfish, Mackerels, Red mullet, Sardine etc.

Freshwater Fisheries There are fish that are sustained in water bodies like

ponds, tanks, lakes, rivers, back waters and marshy swamps. Inland or fresh water fisheries can be divided into: Culture fishery - In culture fishery, the fish seed has to be sown, tended, nursed, reared and finally harvested when grown to table size.

Capture fishery - Capture fishery does not involve sowing fish seeds. It involves capturing fish naturally available in fresh water bodies.

Marine Fisheries

These are fish that are sustained in salt-water bodies like seas and oceans. This requires mechanisation. Fishing trawlers fitted with sophisticated electronic fish locating equipment are used for deep-sea fishing. Some marine fish are Bombay duck, Catfish, Mackerels, Red mullet, Sardine etc.

Dependence on Plants and Animals Of all the living organisms, only

plants are autotrophs i.e., they are capable of synthesizing their own food. Animals are heterotrophs i.e. they are incapable of synthesizing their own food. They depend on plants and other animals for food. Man also being a heterotroph, gets his food from plants as well as animals.

Some of the food items obtained from animals are milk, meat (goat, sheep, cow), chicken, fish and eggs. To fulfill our food requirements, India produces 360 million tonnes of plant products and 88 million tonnes of animal products annually. With increase in population there has to be an increase in food resources. Care must be taken to see that there is a good distribution system so that people in all parts of the country get a regular supply of food at reasonable prices and there is no wastage of food material. Since plants are a major source of food, we must have an efficient and successful crop management system - by crop we mean plants yielding food. Crop management includes various steps which are taken for the production storage and distribution of food materials to ensure their availability at all places at all times. An efficient management of food resources is necessary to provide adequate nutrition to all the people and to eliminate hunger and starvation in the country

Natural Fertilizers Constant use of the soil leads to the loss

of its important nutrients particularly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and thus the soil loses its fertility. For the healthy growth of the plant these deficiencies in the soil have to be replenished with the use of certain materials called fertilizers. These can be classified under two groups.

Manures Manures are organic materials added to the soil to

increase crop production. They are biological in origin. The organic matter content is bulky and large and the nutrient content is small. They have the following effect on the soil: They supply nutrients to the soil. Since the manures contain nutrients in small quantities they have to be used in bulk

Since the manure contains a lot of organic matter, it increases the water holding capacity in sandy soils and drainage in clayey soils

Organic manures provide food for soil organisms like earthworms which are responsible for improving soil quality

Organic manures include (i) Farmyard manure (FYM), (ii) Compost, (iii) Green manure, (iv) Vermi compost

Compost This consists of a variety of farm wastes such as farm

weeds, straw, sugarcane refuse, rotting vegetables, kitchen wastes, crop stubble, ground nut and rice husk. Composting is a biological process in which aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms decompose organic matter. A trench of suitable size 4-5 m long, 1.5 to 1.8 m broad and 1.0 to 1.8 m deep is dug. A layer of well mixed refuse of about 30 cm thickness is spread in the pit. A slurry of cow dung, earth and water is poured over this layer to keep it moist. Another layer of the mixed refuse is spread in the pit till the heap rises to a height of 45 to 60 cm above ground level. Finally the top is covered with a thin layer of mud. After three months of decomposition the layers are well mixed and covered again. Three months later the compost is ready to be used in the fields.

Green Manure Green manuring is the practice of

growing and ploughing in, the green crops, into the soil. It is a cheap and effective method that increases soil fertility as it can supplement farmyard and other organic manures and is more cost effective. Green manures add nitrogen and organic matter to the soil for improving crop productivity. They also improve soil aeration and drainage conditions. Both leguminous and non-leguminous plants are grown for making green manure.

Vermicompost Vermicompost is a type of soil made by

earthworms and microorganisms as they eat through organic wastes. The soil thus produced is mainly worm excreta and finely ground soil. Organic wastes can be collected and fed on by worms so that the end product is the broken down version of the original organic wastes. Worm castings (excreta) in the vermicompost have nutrients that are 97% utilizable by plants. Besides providing nutrients to plants, worms also upturn the soil thus making the soil lighter.

Sustainable Agriculture Sustainability means keeping an effort

going continuously, or the ability to last out and keep from falling. So sustainable agriculture means successful management of resources for agriculture to satisfy the changing human needs, while maintaining or enhancing the quality of environment and conserving natural resources

Importance of Sustainable Agriculture Sustainable agriculture is an agricultural production

and distribution system that Achieves the integration of natural biological cycles and controls

Protects and renews soil fertility and the natural resource base

Optimizes the management and use of on-farm resources

Reduces the use of non-renewable resources and purchased production inputs

Provides an adequate and dependable form of income

Promotes opportunity in family farming and farm communities

Sustainable agriculture can be achieved by adapting:

Mixed farming

Mixed cropping

Crop rotation

Crop selection

Varietal improvement

Mixed Farming While modern day farmers specialize in one agricultural sector,

either dairy or growing potatoes, their predecessors kept a wide array of farm animals and planted many different kinds of field crops. Their farms were remarkably self sufficient, producing eggs, meat, milk, vegetables and grains for the family and all the fodder and hay for the farm animals. The manure piled up in manure pits was sufficient for fertilizing the fields. The oxen were used to draw water from the well and help plough the fields. In this system of farming there is a natural cycle where products and even waste from one sphere of activity is put to good use in another sphere. Hence, mixed farming can be defined as a system of farming on a particular farm to sustain and satisfy the essential needs of the farmers. Several farmers still practice mixed farming, which includes crop production, raising of livestock, poultry, fish and bee keeping and piggery.

The sustainability of mixed farming system depends largely on quality of soil and livestock, location, topography, water facilities, available technology and economic considerations.

A sustainable system ensures continued fertility and efficient utilization of all resources in relation to farming system. Some of the important farming systems are:

Food-fodder Farming SystemGrowing food grains like rice, maize, wheat

and fodder crops like sorghum, oat and berseem

Agro-forestry SystemRaising crops along with trees like silver oak

with pepper, silver oak with coffee etc.

Horti-pastoral SystemGrowing fodder grasses with fruit trees

Salient Features of Mixed Cropping Mixed cropping is growing of two or

more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land. It is also known as multiple cropping. This type of cropping leads to an improvement in the fertility of the soil and hence, increase in crop yield because when the two crops are properly chosen the products and refuse from one crop plant help in the growth of the other crop plant and vice-versa. Mixed cropping is an insurance against crop failure due to abnormal weather conditions.

Patterns of Different Types Of CropSome successful mixed cropping practices are:Soyabean + Pigeon peaMaize + udad dal (Black gram)Pigeon pea + Mung dal (Green gram)Groundnut + SunflowerSorghum + Pigeon peaWheat + ChickpeaBarley + ChickpeaWheat + MustardCotton + GroundnutMixed cropping has proved successful because of

the right selection of crops.