Organic farming is a production system where all kinds of agricultural products are produced organically, including grains, meat, dairy, eggs, fibers such as cotton, flowers and processed food products. It avoids the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives.
Need of Organic Farming
- Increase in awareness and health consciousness
- Global consumers are increasingly looking for organic food, which is considered safe, and hazard free.
- The global prices of organic food are more lucrative and remunerative.
- The potential of organic farming is signified by the fact that the farm sector has abundant organic nutrient resources like livestock, water, crop residue, aquatic weeds, forest litter, urban, rural solid wastes and agro industries, bio-products.
- India offers tremendous scope for organic farming as it has local market potential for organic products
Principle of Organic Farming
The organic farming is based on:
- Principle of health: Organic Agriculture should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant, animal, human and planet as one and indivisible.
- Principle of ecology: Organic Agriculture should be based on living ecological systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them.
- Principle of fairness: Organic Agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common environment and life opportunities. Fairness is characterized by equity, respect, justice and stewardship of the shared world, both among people and in their relations to other living beings.
- Principle of care: Organic Agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment.
Advantages of organic farming
- Nutrition – Improved soil health makes food dramatically superior in mineral content
- Poison-free – Free of contamination with health harming chemicals like pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.
- Food tastes better
- Food keeps longer – can be stored longer
- Disease and pest resistance – because of healthy plants
- Weed competitiveness – Healthier crops able to compete
- Lower input costs – No costly chemicals used, nutrients are created in the farm
- Drought resistance
- More profitable – Due to greater food value of organic produce consumers are willing to pay premium prices
Disadvantages
- Productivity – Low productivity is often reported as the quantum nutrient used comparatively lower
- Labour intensive – Cultivation requires more labour especially for weed control
- Skill – requires considerable skill to farm organically Ex. Choice of alternatives for control of pests
- Lack of convenience in management compared to easier management like fertilizer application in conventional methods
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