Economic evaluation of different farming system in Udaipur district of Rajasthan

The present study was carried out during 2024-25 in Udaipur district of Rajasthan, which was purposively selected as the AICRP on integrated farming systems (OFR) project was implemented there in 2011 to 2016. Two tehsils, Sarada and Salumber and three villages from each tehsil were chosen for the study. From each village, 10 households were selected, making a total sample of 60 households which were small and marginal farmers. Primary data were collected from the selected farmers using a pre-structured schedule. The study identified six distinct farming systems: FS-I (C + D), FS-II (C + D + G), FS-III (C + H + D), FS-IV (C + H + G + P), FS-V (C + D + G + P), and FS-VI (C + H + D + G + P), representing a progression from basic two-component systems to highly diversified, multi-enterprise models. The findings revealed that both total variable costs and total fixed costs increased with the degree of diversification and inclusion of additional farm enterprises. Consequently, the total cost (TC) was lowest in FS-I (₹1,48,778.18) and highest in the most diversified system, FS-VI (₹3,57,673.89). In terms of returns, gross returns were highest in FS-VI (₹8,34,100.65), followed by FS-III (₹5,17,901.59) and FS-V (₹4,80,131.97), highlighting the income-enhancing contribution of horticulture and integrated livestock components. A similar trend was observed in net returns (NR), where FS-VI recorded the highest net income (₹4,76,424.76), followed by FS-III (₹2,65,823.60) and FS-IV (₹2,15,759.02). The return per rupee of investment varied considerably among the farming systems and was highest in FS-VI (2.33), indicating superior investment efficiency of the crop, vegetable, dairy, goat, and poultry-based system. This was closely followed by FS-IV (2.32) and FS-III (2.05)