42(2) Analysis of integrated farming systems 1 A Comparative Economic Analysis of the Identified Integrated Farming Systems in the Coastal West Bengal S. BARMAN 1* , R. MALHOTRA 2 , U. CHAUDHARY 2 B. SEN 2 and I. MONDAL 1 1 Division of Agricultural Economics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute Pusa, New Delhi - 110012 2 Division of Dairy Economics, Statistics and Management ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana - 132001 Received: 07.05.2024 Accepted: 18.06.2024 Climate change presents a significant danger to the way of life and livelihoods of the farmers in coastal regions. One effective approach to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on farmers’ income is to diversify their farm income through the adoption of Integrated Farming Systems (IFS). This research aimed to evaluate the economic feasibility of integrated farming systems, considering various economic indicators, such as productivity, net farm income, the elasticity of substitution between labor and capital, and returns per rupee of expenses. The analysis was conducted based on data collected through a stratified random sampling method for the 2023 production year, involving 200 farmers who had implemented Integrated Farming Systems in coastal West Bengal. Six different integrated farming systems were identified.Among these, the Dairy + Fishery system demonstrated the highest net farm income (INR 311244 ha -1 yr -1 ), returns per rupee of expenses (1.74), and elasticity of substitution between labor and capital (0.83).Although all farming systems in this study exhibited returns per rupee of expensesgreater than one, the Dairy + Crop and Dairy + Fishery systems had higher returns per rupee of expenses, which likely contributed to their greater adoption by farmers. Furthermore, this study provides valuable insights into the economic aspects of integrated farming systems in the coastal West Bengal. (Key words: Constant Elasticity of Substitution, Coastal West Bengal, Integrated Farming System, Production function) J. Indian Soc. Coastal Agric. Res. 42(2):151326(2024) https://doi.org/10.54894/JISCAR.42.1.2024.151326 West Bengal had just 0.77 hectares of average operational holding in 2015-16, while across India it decreased from 2.28 hectares in 1970-71 to 1.08 hectares in 2015-16 (GoI, 2019). This fragmentation of land and a higher percentage of small and marginal farms pose a serious threat to the sustainability and profitability of agriculture in the future. As a result, there is no more room for agriculture to expand horizontally. Consequently, there is an urgent need for the vertical integration of numerous farmenterprises. While the terms “integrated farming” and “mixed farming” are often used interchangeably, there are distinctions between them. Integrated farming systems (IFSs) emphasize the interaction among different components within the system in a linked manner, including the recycling of waste and by-products within the system. However, this feature may be absent in mixed farming (Behera et al., 2018). In the coastal region of West Bengal, integrated farming systems (IFS) have gained popularity as a sustainable and climate-resilient approach to agriculture. The coastal region of West Bengal possesses abundant agricultural resources, but it is also prone to cyclones, water salinity, and floods, which are major environmental anomalies. Therefore, in this region, people prefer diversifying different farming enterprises rather than specializing in any one farming enterprise. So, the objective of the study was to estimate the profitability and elasticity of substitution between labor and capital of various integrated farming systems in coastal West Bengal. This is a research question of great importance to farmers and policymakers, as it will help them adjust current farming practices, leading to increased long- term farm revenue and employment opportunities. MATERIALS AND METHODS Multistage stratified random sampling technique was used in the study where population was divided into subgroups or strata based on some common characteristic and then randomly selected the sample *Corresponding author: E-mail: subratabarman25111999@gmail.com