Some people stand for encouraging scientific collective farming to ensure food security whereas there are people who find it worthwhile promoting cottage or small scale farming practices.

·         Try to see the possibilities these two farming practices in terms of food security.

Ensuring food security demands for extensive farming which can be in two forms; either resort to collective or engage in small scale farming. Let me see how these two are going to help maintain food supply chain.

Collective farming can contribute greatly to food security. The first thing is that it enables huge production in shorter period of time. For example, extensive areas can be brought under cultivation in a single go, and production will also be as big as the farming exercise itself. Secondly, collective farming offers great possibilities for applying scientific farming practices. For example, there is enough drive, huge fund and ample scope for experimenting high yielding varieties. Thirdly, the produces shall be procured en mass, transported the same and processed or distributed to food supply chains.  

Cottage farming on the other hand offers a different set of possibilities. Here, individual farmers have their own indigenous farming practices that are geographic and climate sensitive. Naturally, they can pick and choose what crop is fit for when. Secondly, cottage farmers can keep the local market supplied with enough goods. For example, in my place, some lands are famous a particular crop, and this crop is farmed at some specific seasons, and people are able to enjoy the virtues of this farm produce from their immediate markets. This helps the impoverished farmers and low income consumers.  

It may be concluded that collective and cottage farming have their own strengths. Naturally, it is difficult to say which one is better than the other, for farming is farmer and farmland sensitive. In my opinion, we need to promote both the options as they are potential enough to ensure food security in general.

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Ajaypeesdoc. 24.2.13