Integrated Farming: Growing of Fruit Trees and Rearing of Ruminants

Abstract

A large number of people in the tropics have trees and shrubs growing around their compounds mostly to provide shade from the sun in most sunny afternoons as well as providing sustainable supply of fresh fruits. A less number of house occupants or house owners keep livestock as well. Ensuring constant good harvest from the fruit trees is a challenge because the soil fertility starts dwindling after much harvest of fruits without replenishing the plant nutrients extracted from the soil. In addition, feeding of those ruminants kept in the homestead is big challenge.  Purchase of concentrate feeds to boost the production of ruminants is mostly beyond the financial capability of the livestock keeper. The use of inorganic fertilizers to replenish the plant nutrients that have been removed from the environment along with the fruits is associated with a number of environmental hazards such as soil acidity, depending on the type of fertilizer used. The physical and chemical properties of the soil are sometimes adversely affected. It is also to be noted that most of the people involved in this integrated farming are resource poor peasant farmers. This paper looked at the existing practice and possible adjustments that can be put in place and considered some of the ways forward.

Keywords: Integrated farming, raising fruit trees, mulching, rearing ruminants