PROBLEM, CONSTRAINTS AND PROSPECTS OF ORGANIC FARMING

Abstract

India’s traditional and sustainable farming practices were advocated and implied by Sir Albert Howard, British botanistwho is known as father to organic farming. Organic farming implies growing of agriculture and horticultural crops without chemical fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides.Agricultural practices followed in organic farming are governed by the principles of ecology and ecological means. Organic farming has a special significance to us in India because India is a country of fertile agriculture land. Organic farming is based on an analysis of the environment friendly farming practices. However, it is another matter that we lag behind a majority of agriculture based countries in the world in the practice of organic farming system. In last decade, several efforts have been taken by government and nongovernment agencies of India to promote organic farming. There are three categories of farmer opinions about the relevance of organic farming for India. The first one simply dismisses it as a fad or craze. The second category, which includes opinions of many farmers and scientists, that there are merits in the organic farming but we should proceed cautiously considering the national needs and conditions in which Indian agriculture functions. They are fully aware of the environmental problems created by the conventional farming. But many of them believe that yields are lower in organic cultivation during the initial period and also the cost of labour tends to increase therein. The third one is all for organic farming and advocates its adoption wholeheartedly. They think that tomorrow`s ecology is more important than today`s conventional farm benefits. Several NGOs in India are working to produce vegetables, fruits etc using vermicompost and bio-pesticides. In India Sikkim had a resolution in 2003 to shift towards Organic Farming with an aim to stop usage of chemicals and pesticides in farming. As a result  it became the first  organic state in the world and received an award from Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in Rome. Padma shri awardee SubhashPalekar popularly known as Krishika Rishi is agricultural scientist who pioneered the concept of Natural Farming in our country. The major problem in India is that these products are not directly available in market. Instead, they are available in market through different channels, therefore, the cost of product is quite high as compared to traditional products. Thus products are not affordable by medium to below medium class families of India. The objective of this work is to analyze the need for organic farming in India and to analyse the constraints, both political and social, and above all economic, in the introduction of organic farming in India.