Integrated crop-livestock-aquaculture farming systems: Synergistic approaches for balancing agriculture’s biophysical requirements and environmental supply: A systematic review

Abstract

Integrated farming systems are an alternative development strategy for increasing environmental resilience against soil degradation, environmental pollution, and climate change. These different forms of environmental degradation distort the basis of agricultural production through their multidimensional effects. Integrated agricultural systems strategy helps to enhance farmers' socio-ecological capacities to sustain their livelihoods. Therefore, farm management systems, based on the integration of key components of agriculture such as crops, livestock and aquaculture, is the most advanced paradigm of sustainable agriculture. Integrated agricultural system is essential to address the multiple needs of the producer households, such as food security, income safety, and sustainable management of production factors. Managing these major agricultural components separately results in a decline of quantity and quality of expected ecosystem services. It is widely recognized that the single-component approach is not sustainable due to unpredictable and highly dynamic environmental conditions, which, in most cases, are linked to various risk factors. Optimal functioning based on multiple interactions of integrated agricultural systems components has significant potential to contribute to the environmental resilience of smallholder farmers. The aim of this study is to strengthen the understanding on effectiveness of integrated farming systems (crop-livestock and crop-aquaculture) as key tools for balancing agriculture demand and environmental supply. Research provides substantial proof on the beneficial effects of such resilience strategies.