Tropical Homegardens: An Archetype of Sustainable Livelihood

Roshni Thampi
2019-21-044
Department of Ag.Extension
1
“To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget
ourselves..”
- M. K. Gandhi
Ms. Roshni Thampi and Dr. Allan Thomas,
Kerala Agricultural University 2022
Dr. Allan Thomas
Professor & Chairman
Kerala Agricultural University

Homegardens
Medicine Food
Raw
materials
Nutrients
Nutrients
Income

TROPICAL HOMEGARDENS :
AN ARCHETYPE OF SUSTAINABILE LIVELIHOOD
Chairman:
Dr.AllanThomas
Members:
Dr. B. Seema
Dr. Jayalekshmy G
Dr. Aswathy Vijayan
Dr. Brigit Joseph
Dr. Usha C. Thomas
ROSHNI THAMPI
2019-21-044
Department of Ag. Extension

Content
• Introduction
• Definitions of homegardens
• Characteristics
• Components
• Structural configuration
• Sustainability
• Dimensions of sustainability
• Sustainable livelihood
• Case studies
• Conclusion

9
Relevance of Homegardens
Population, Nucleotide family
structure, Fragmented holdings
Increased number
of homegardens
Decreased land
for agriculture

Genesis of Homegarden
Homegarden
Shifting Cultivation
Kerala
(Homesteads/ Homegardens/
Backyard Garden)
Indonesia
(Pekarangan/
Kebun campuran)
13000-9000 BC
(Fishing community of SE Asia)
Cropping intensification due to
•Increased human pressure
•Decreased arable land
(Kumar and Nair, 2004)
10

Homegarden Map of World 11

Homegarden

13

DEFINITIONS
“Homestead is an operational farm unit in which a
number of crops are grown with livestock, poultry
and or fish production mainly for the purpose of
satisfying the farmer’s basicneeds”
(Nair and Sreedharan, 1986)

“Land use systems that include deliberate associations of
trees, herbaceous crops, and/or animals, in close
relationship with the household. “
(Fernandez and Nair, 1986)
15

“Agricultural production system practiced around the
home where a multi-species of annual and perennial
crops along with/without animal husbandry components
and specialized components for meeting fundamental
requirements of home and to generate additional
income”
(Thomas, 2004)

Key characteristics of homegardens
(Niñez, 1987)
Characteristics General practice
Species density High
Species type Vegetables, fruits, ornamental and medicinal plants
Production objective Home consumption
Labour source Family (women, elderly, children)
Labour requirements Part-time
Harvest frequency Daily, seasonal
Space utilization Horizontal and vertical
Location Near dwelling
Cropping pattern Irregular
Technology Simple hand tools
Input-cost Low
Distribution Rural and urban areas
Skills Gardening and horizontal skills
Assistance None or minor

Types of homegardens
• Vegetable/Kitchen
Gardens
• Flower Gardens
• Greenhouse Gardens
• Balcony Gardens
• Terrace/Rooftop Gardens
• Wall/Vertical Gardens
• Specialized homegardens

Specialized home gardens
“A special type of agricultural production system around
home, with or without extended garden with specializations
like apiculture, floriculture, sericulture, aquaculture etc…”
(Krishnan, 2013)

Classification
Tropical homegardens Temperate homegardens
(Niñez, 1987)

Contd…
Subsistence homegardens Budget homegardens
(Niñez, 1987)
21

Components of
homegardens

Food crops Tree crops Cash crops
Livestock Vegetables
Specialized
components
(Nair and Sreedharan, 1986)
23

Plant species in Kerala homegardens
Ornamentals
39%
Medicinal
32%
Edible
29%
Ornamentals
Medicinal
Edible
(George et al., 2019)

STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL
DYNAMICS OF HOMEGARDENS

Tree
layer
Intermediate layer
Herbaceous layer

(Salam et al., 1992)

Homegardens of Kerala
• Coconut as the base crop
• Multi-storey cropping pattern
• Distinct canopy stratification
• Perennial crops occupy the upper layer
(Mohan et al., 2006)

Interaction between components
Structure Function
(George et al., 2019)

Sustainability
Homegardens
It is this… Structural configuration and functional dynamics

“The ultimate goal of farming isnot the
growing of crops, but the cultivation and
perfection of human beings.”
Masanobu Fukuoka, The One-StrawRevolution
“Eat and drink from the
provision of Allah, and donot
commit abuse on the earth,
spreading corruption."
Qur'an, 2:60
“When one’s food is pure,
one’s being becomes pure”
Chāndogya Upaniṣad 7.26.2
“Do not pollute the land where you
are…Do not defile the land where you live
and where I dwell”
Numbers 35: 33-34
Sustainability

DEFINITIONS
(Brundtlant,1989)
“Sustainable development is the development that
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the needs of future generations to
meet their own needs.“

(Harwood, 1990)
Sustainable agriculture is a system that can evolve
indefinitely toward greater human utility, greater
efficiency of resource use and a balance with the
environment which is favourable to humans and most
other species.
33

Livelihood
• Means of securing the basic necessities (food, water,
shelter and clothing) of life
• A set of activities essential to everyday life that are
conducted over one's life span
Such activities include securing:
• Water
• Food
• Fodder
• Medicine
• Shelter
• Clothing

Sustainable livelihood
• A livelihood that can cope with and recover from
stresses and shocks, maintain or enhance its
capabilities and assets both now and in the future,
while not undermining the natural resource base
• Sustainable livelihood has been defined as
“livelihood options that are ecologically secure,
economically efficient and socially equitable”
(Biswas and Suresh Kumar, 2014)
35

Cropping
components
Livestock
components
68 cents
Family labour
Irrigation System
Meets home demands and educational
demands of family with 7 members.
(Salam and Sreekumar, 1990)
A typical example of
home gardens in
relation to livelihood
security
36

“Socioeconomic sustainability should not only be related to the
homegardens’ functon in the present livelihood conditons, but also
to their ability to adjust to socioeconomic changes “
(Peyre et al., 2006)

Sustainable
Homegardening
Protect
water
quality
Conserve
water
Nurture soil
Conserve
energy
IPDM
Protect and
encourage
flora and
fauna
Right plant,
right place
38
(Peyre et al., 2006)

Attributes of sustainability
• Conservation of soil fertility and erosion control
• Modification of microclimate
• Uniform and diversified production throughout the
year
• Use of endogenous inputs
• Management flexibility
• Diverse social roles
• Limited impact on other systems
(Torquebiau , 1992)
39

Dimensions of Sustainability
• Participation
• Aesthetics
• Belief
• Health & wellbeing
• Family farming
• Policy, rules
&regulation
• Extension
services
• Ethics &
accountability
• Habitat and food
• Natural resources
• Biodiversity
Emissionsand
waste
• Technology
• Productivity
• Profit &
Motivation
• Labour &
Welfare
Ecology
Culture
Politics
40
Economics

Economic
sustainability
Crop
Diversification
Genetic
Diversity
Sustainable
Nutrient
Management
(SNM)
Sustainable
Pest
Management
(SPM)
Sustainable
Water
Management
(SWM)
Technology
Extension
Programmes
41

Crop Rotation
Biological
Nitrogen
Fixation
Soil Microbes
on crops
Mixed
Cropping
Crop
Diversification
42

Genetic diversity
Geneticdiversityandlocationspecific
varietiesareessential
Diversityof cropvarietieswillresult from
plant breeding efforts jointly with rural
families
‘Homegardens arereservoirs of
wildvarieties’
43

44

Sustainable Pest Management 45

Sustainable Water Management
1) Water budgeting
2) Water harvesting in command area
3) Tube well legislations
4) Design and management of irrigation system
5) Ground water recharging
6) Environmentally sound low cost and
medium scale dam
46

Technology
Terrace farming
47

Home aquaponics sytem
48

Annapoorna aquaponics 49

Fertigation
50

Vertical farming
51

Toenhance income and assure good nutritional
and consumer acceptance priorities
Post Harvest technology
42
52

Zero energy cool chambers
53

Innovative
back yards
44
54
Upcycling plastic
waste

Non commodity crops to commodity crops
Non commodity crops:
• Teak
• Mahagony
• Glyrecedia
etc.
Can be trailed with
commodity crops
For economic
sustainability
45
55

Animal husbandry
46
56

4
7
Cultivating Mushroom in home
Mushroom cultivation yields
good profits, marketing done
locally and raw material
available from paddy cultivation
57

Pisciculture
58

Apiculture
59

Extension Programmes
• Homegarden suited technologies
• Homegarden credit system and supply services
• Decreasing purchase of external inputs
• On home demonstrations
• Direct home subsidies and incentives
• Assured homegarden extension services
60

Ecological Sustainability
To create a world where the
environmnet doesn’t neet protection
61

Soil and water
conservation
Don’t Burn….but bury
What can we do?
Don’t Burn….but bury
62

HUSK BURIAL
Sustainable soil and water
management
Unique for homegardens
Restoring
Sustainability
63

Husk-pitched bunds 64

SUSTAINABLE WATER
HARVESTING AND
CONSERVATION
65

Horizontal and Vertical Integration
Addition of more crops to the existing cropping
system - Horizontal diversification
(Thomas and Ravikishore, 2017)
Vertical integration occurs when family combines
activities unlike those it currently performs which are
related to them in the sequence of marketing and
production activities.
(Kilmer , 1986)
66

“I feel proud, and at the same
time my duty, to share with you
that the V-Guard Corporate
office doesn't have a bore well
or public water connection. We
have managed to keep the
building green around the
seasons with the rainwater
harvested in a proper way. A
little effort has paid off to much
joy...!!”
-Kochouseph Chittilappalli
67

Cultural Sustainability 68

Cultural
Sustainability
Aesthetics
Belief
Health
Participation
Family
farming
69

Political sustainability
Acts
Policies
Rules and regulations
Extension services
Ethics and accountability
70

• Support private participation in the form of farmer participatory
home garden producer cooperatives
• Vertical farming, terrace farming, precision farming and protected
cultivation shall be fostered
• Integrated agro industrial plants
• Reinforce the Research-Extension complimentarity
• Prevention of further fragmentation of agriculture holdings
Policy prescriptions
71

Case Studies
72

Study of homegardens in Nhema
communal area, Zimbabwe
• Contribution of homegardens to the livelihoods
• Homefields and garden plots
• Sources of income
• Reduces the risk
• Improves family financial status
(Maroyi, 2009)
73

69 plant species
Labour investment
48 hr per family per month
Tubers
Vegetables
Fruit
trees
74
(Maroyi, 2009)

Homegardens in Sri lanka: the status,
importance and future perspective
• Profits superior to monoculture systems
• Minimization of risk and maximization of leisure
• Income from homegardens varies from a very low
value to almost the total income for some families
(Pushpakumara et al., 2012)
75
95%
Increase in income

species , family labour,
capital, land and tree density
Income
Percentage contribution to the total household income within
the range of 30-50%
76

(Okigbo, 1990 )
77
Nepal,
Cambodia,
Papua New
Guinea
Home garden fruits,
vegetables, and
livestock products
Food items,
savings,
education, other
services
(Vasey, 1885 and Iannotti et al., 2009 )
Vietnam > 22%
cash income (Trinh et al., 2003)
Southeastern
Nigeria
tree crops
and livestock
60% of
household
income

Financial analysis of homegardens: A case study
from Kerala state
• Resilient to 10% shifts in the prices
• Profit increase with holding size and years of
cultivation
• Labour hours and gender of the decision-maker were
not suitable predictors of profit.
• Intensity of profit generation was highest in the
smaller gardens
(Mohan et al., 2006)
78

An assessment of the ecological and socioeconomic
benefits provided by homegardens: A case study of Kerala
• 80% farmers reported that more than 75% of their
household needs were met by their gardens.
(Mohan, 2004)

Techno socio-economic characterization of
specialized homegardens: A dominance-
diversity approach
• 80% specialized homegardens had more than four tier
horizontal diversification
• No significance between the benefit-cost ratios of the
different specialized components.
• 70 % felt that middlemen were useful
• Constraint : low price of the homegarden produce
(Krishnan, 2013)
80

Contribution of Home Gardens to Household
Income in Kerala
(Paul, 2015)
81

Contd…
(Paul, 2015)
82

Technology need assessment on horizontal and vertical
diversifications for the economically dominant crops in
homegardens
• Maximum economic dominance for coconut
• Diversification to cater the family needs
• Majority of the respondents (55%) perceived less need
for technologies on horizontal diversification and in
case of vertical diversification 67 per cent perceived
that they require more technology
(Sebastian, 2015)
83

62%
38%
Horizontal diversification
Four tier and above
Less than four tier
58%
42%
Vertical diversification
Three or less
Four or more

(Nair & Sreedharan, 1986)
Conclusion

Everything can wait
but not agriculture…
86

Tropical Homegardens: An Archetype of Sustainable Livelihood

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