Perspectives of Indian Agriculture with Special Reference to Organic Farming

CONTENT
Brief Introduction
Adverse effect of conventional farming Potential of organic farming Scientists view of organic farming Constraints in organic farming Conclusion

Organic Farming: An Introduction

Organic farming is a production system that largely excludes

the use of synthetically compounds fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and live stock feed additives. Organic farmers depends on crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures, green manures, off farm organic waster, mechanical cultivation, mineral bearing rocks and aspects of biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients and to control insects, pathogens and weeds (USDA, 1980). Organic farming is a holistic production management system that promotes and enhances health of agro-ecosystem, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity (FAO, 2002).

Adverse Effects of Conventional Farming

Reason for Fertilizer/Chemical use in India

Inadequacy of organic agriculture to meet demand

of agricultural commodities.
Organic sources are not sufficient to meet the requirements of micronutrients and other essential nutrients. Inadequacy of organic fertilizers.

Loss in Soil fertility due to intensive cultivation.

Green Revolution technologies included various combinations of seed- fertilizer-water- PP chemicals.

Disadvantages of Chemical /Traditional Agriculture

Harmful to human health Chemical components enter into food supply system. Chemicals penetrate into water resources Chemicals harm the livestock health Chemicals deplete the soil Chemicals devastate the natural Soil eco-system Chemicals contaminate the food. Trees stop fruit bearing as pesticides have killed the pollinators Loss of ancestral farming knowledge, ancient seed varieties. Endangered plant species, specially medicinal plants

NPK Consumption Ratio

States
Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Kerala Tamil Nadu Maharashtra Orissa West Bengal Assam

N: P: K
4.7 : 2.0 : 1 2.6 : 1.3 : 1 1.3 : 0.6 : 1 2.2 : 0.9 : 1 5.0 : 2.4 : 1 4.2 : 1.3 : 1 2.5 : 1.3 : 1 1.9 : 1.1 : 1

States
Gujarat Madhya Pr. Chhattisgarh Rajasthan Haryana Punjab Uttar Pr. Bihar Jharkhand

N:

P: K

9.4 : 3.5 : 1 11.9 : 7.1 : 1 7.8 : 3.0 : 1 3.0 : 9.3 : 1 48.2 : 14.9 : 1 30.8 : 8.8 : 1 15.5 : 5.0 : 1 24.3 : 1.8 : 1 13.8 : 8.7 : 1

Environmental Deterioration
Among attention. many The concerns, ammonia pollution going to of the surface and underground water due to fertilizer has received greater atmosphere contributes to acid rains, while N2O is involved in depletion of ozone layer. Thus, excessive and imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has not only deteriorated soil fertility but has also poisoned the soil, water, microflora, atmosphere, human beings and other animals, causing several deformities, inabilities and serious diseases.

Low Soil Organic Carbon

Indias share in overall soil organic carbon stock of the world is only about 3% although it covers 11.9% of total geographical area of the world. This is mainly for heavy deforestation and faulty landuse pattern. Additionally, the unfavorable climatic conditions in the Indian peninsula has further enhanced the rate of decomposition of soil organic carbon and consequent depletion.

Low Fertility Status

Indian soils are generally poor in fertility as they are low in organic matter and have consistently been depleted of their nutrient resource due to continuous cultivation for many centuries.

Nutrient Mining
Nearly 70% of the total gross cropped area in the country experienced a nutrient depletion of more than 50 kg /ha annually. There is wide disparity between nutrient removal and application.

Imbalanced Fertilizer Use

Imbalanced use of nutrients is reflected from the fact that N : P2O5 : K2O consumption ratio widened from 5.9 : 2.4 : 1.0. Data of nutrient uptake show that N, P and K are removed in ratio of 5 : 1 : 5 respectively. Continuous application of N fertilizer alone causes sharp reduction in soil organic matter, a key indicator of soil quality.

Potential of Organic Farming

WHY ORGANIC FARMING???

Reduces degradation of soil.

Checks environmental pollution.

Ensures sustainability of agricultural production. Reduces cost of agriculture production. Easy to prepare and use

 Reduces input costs & cash outlay.

Diversifies

production & improves local nutrition

security.
Better

resource

management

and

more

labour

opportunities.
Meets the increasing demands for improved food

safety methods and traceability.

Reduces improper use of chemical inputs and the

possibility of environmental contamination & public

health costs.

Why do People Choose Organic Food..???

BETTER TASTE - Organic food tastes better; this is the simple

message given by many people who eat organic.

HEALTHIER -Organic foods have far less residues of pesticides,

growth promoters and antibiotics. It has been shown in a number of studies that organic food contains more vitamins, nutrients and cancer-fighting antioxidants than non-organic food.
ANIMAL FRIENDLY - Organic farming places great emphasis on

animal welfare and is more animal friendly, where animals are not treated with synthetic growth hormones or drugs.
GMO FREE - Genetically Modified Organisms are not allowed in

organic agriculture.

Indias Strength for Organic Farming

(i) (ii) Endowed with different types of organic forms of nutrient. Diverse agro-eco systems like hill area, desert area, coastal area, etc. (iii) Traditional areas for farming systems evolving crop-tree-animals (iv) Vast dry land (about two third of agricultural land which is not fit for excessive use of chemical fertilizers). (v) Default areas of organic farming, specially Rainfed areas, tribal areas, N-E hilly regions, forest area, etc

(vi) Large potentials for supply of organic nutritional inputs for NPK through crop residues, animal dung, green manure and bio fertilizers. (vii) Elastic supply of human labour input for such activities which have scope for some level of return to work force. (viii) Institutional net work to provide scientific support for production, processing, distribution, marketing, export and other services.

Principles of Organic Farming

To maintain long-term fertility of soils To avoid all environmental hazards that result from agricultural techniques. To produce food stuffs of high nutritional quality(vitamins, minerals, enzymes, trace elements, etc.) To minimize the use of chemical substances in agricultural practices. To develop congenial atmosphere for livestock life that confirm their physiological needs. To make available more household income as return to family labor.

Fig 1: Total area under organic cultivation in the Continents in 2008

www.organicall.files.worldpress.com

Table No. 2: Total Area Under Organic Farming in 2005-06 (Rank wise)
Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 31 Country Australia China Argentina Italy USA Brazil Germany Uruguay Spain UK India Total area (Hectare) 1,21,26,333 34,66,570 28,00,000 9,54,361 8,89,048 8,87,637 7,67,891 7,59,000 7,33,182 6,90,270 1,14,037 www.fibl.org

POTENTIAL OF ORGANIC FARMING

India Organic An Overview: Advantage in climate 100-10000 mm rain, hilly, desert diversive Blessed with vast natural resources. Area under certified organic farming = 2.5 million ha. Total certified product = 1,15,238 metric ton Projects certified = 332 No. of processing units = 158 Total organic quantity exported = 11,925 MT (2006) No. of products exported = 35

Table No. 3 : Major products produced in India by organic farmin g

Type of Product Commodity Spices Products Tea, Coffee, Rice, Wheat Cardamom, Black Pepper, White pepper, Ginger, Turmeric, Vanilla, Tamarind, Clove, Chili Red gram, Black gram Mango, Banana, Pineapple, Orange, Cashew nut, Walnut Okra, Brinjal, Garlic, Onion, Tomato, Potato Mustard, Sesame, Castor, Sunflower Cotton, Herbal extracts
Source: Garibay S. V. and Jyoti K.(2003)

Pulses Fruits Vegetables Oil seeds Other

Organic Manure & Their Comparative Analysis

Table : 5 No. 7 : Nutrient content of different organic manures. Table Nutrient Content of Different Organic Manures
Sources
FYM Farm compost Town compost Night soil Poultry manure Neem cake Linseed cake Groundnut cake Fish manure Row bone meal Steamed bone meal

Nutrient content(%) on air dry basis N%

0.5 0.5 1.4 5.5 3.03 5.22 5.56 7.29 4-10 3 -4 1 -2

P2O5 %
0.20 0.15 1.0 4.0 2.63 1.08 1.4 1.53 3 -9 20-25 25-30

K2O %
0.5 0.5 1.4 2.0 1.4 1.48 1.28 1.33 1.3-1.5 -

Biradar D. P.(2003)

Table : 6 Comparative account of nutrient present in Table No. 8 : Comparative account of Nutrient present in Vermicompost
and FYM

Vermicompost and FYM

Parameters
N(%) P(%) K(%) Zn (ppm) Cu (ppm) Mn (ppm) Fe (ppm)

Farm Yard Manure

0.3-0.6 0.1-0.4 0.3-0.5 14.5 42.8 69.0 1465.0

Vermicompost
1.8-2.0 0.6-0.9 1.0-1.6 84.0 61.5 509.7 1247.3 Das et al. (2005)

Table : 7 Yield data of frontline demonstration of Table No. 9 : Yield data of frontline demonstration of Vermicompost vermicompost application in crops application in crops
Treatments Cucumber (Kg/ha) Amaranth (Kg/ha) Cowpea yield (Kg/ha)

Vermicompost (10 tonne/ha) Farmyard Manure (20 tonne/ha) Control

26497

19111

380

18926

11111

310

10000

2767

200 Anitha S. et al.(2003)

Malappuram (Kerala)

Table No. 10 : Effect of different organic N sources on grain yield of

Table : 7 Effect of different organic N sources on grain organic rice yield of Organic Rice
Sources*
FYM Vermicompost Rabbit-shed wash Mushroom compost Sesbaina (as intercrop) Sesbania, (as pure crop before rice) CRRI Cuttack (Orissa)

Grain yield (t/ha)

5.53 4.25 3.55 4.12 3.50 3.20

Ghosh (2006)

* Applied at equivalent N dose.

Table : 8 Benefit cost (BC) ratios of different crops Table No. 12 : Benefit Cost (BC) Ratios of different crops under Organic under Organic Farming in India
Farming in India Crops Paddy and Ragi Sugarcane Fruits Areca nut Coconut Spices Simla BC ratios 1:4.5 1:3.0 1:7.5 1:5.0 1:4.0 1:4.0 Sharma (2004)

Table : 9 Plant protection through Organic Products

Table No. 13 : Plant protection through organic products

Sr. no.
1

Plant species
Neem

Alkaloids
Azadiractin

Active against
Rice white backed plant hopper, Helicoverpa armigers, Spodoptera, Mustard aphid, Cutworm. Lepidoptera pest Anti-feedent Antibacterial Property Inhibits spore germination
Anandha Krishnaveni (2003)

2 3

Ryania speciosa

Ryanodine

Solanaceae plants (Dhatura, Withania, Withaforin physalia) Garlic extract Calleolaria anadina Mushrooms Allicin Strobllurin

4 5 6

Nephoquinones White fly, aphids, mites

Fig 4 : Distribution of respondents based on their knowledge about organic farming practices

Per cent

100 80 60 40 20 0 19

71

10

Low

Medium

High

Level of Knowledge
Junagadh Patel C. (2005)

Table No. 21: Features for Conventional and Organic farming systems Issues
Productivity Sustainability Farm Complexity Environment Orientation Production Orientation Inputs-Seeds Synthetic inputs

Table : 10 Features for conventional and organic farming systems

Conventional farming system
High Low Simple Uniform Easy Marketing HYVs High

Organic farming system

Low at initial stage High Complex Diverse Subsistence marketing Improved/Local Nil

Salem (TN)

Siddaraju and Rajendran (2006)

Average yields of some crops under Organic Farming

Crop type
Check (no input) Grain Faba bean 1,544 Straw 7,199 Grain 3,535

Average yield (kg/ha)

Compost Straw 13,998 Chemical fertilizer Grain 2,696 Straw 11,350

Barley
Wheat (durum) Maize

1,161
1,313 1,843

6,927
6,464 13,545

3,535
2,374 2,401

13,670
10,740 17,840

1,832
1,760 3,031

8,269
8,453 14,363

Finger millet

898

4,177

2,496

12,148

1,297

6,665

A Case Study on Economics of Organic Farming

Year Status Yield q/ha Gross Premium Total income 20% (Rs.) Total Cost (Rs.) Net Income (Rs.) Surplus/ deficit over conventional 0 -8250

Conventional Organic First year

10 Year of 5 Conversion

20000 10000

0 0

20000 11000 9000 10000 9250 750

Second year Year of 5.75 Conversion Third year Fourth year Fifth year Sixth year Organic Organic Organic Organic 6.25 7.50 8.75 10.00

11250

11250

7500 3750

-5250

12500 15000 17500 20000

2500 3000 3500 4000

15000 18000 21000 24000

8000 7000 7500 10500 7500 13500 7500 16500

-2000 +1500 +4500 +7500

Some Milestones of Organic Farming in India

1. The Steering Group on Agriculture constituted by the Planning Commission identified organic agriculture as a thrust area for the country, specially for NE Region, rainfed areas and in areas of low chemical fertilizer use.

2. National Agricultural Policy (2000) suggested scientific upgradation of traditional knowledge on organic farming.
3. The MoA, GoI appointed a Task Force on organic farming. 4. The MoC, GoI, launched a national organic programme and APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) implemented the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP). Under NPOP documents like National Standards, Accreditation criteria for inspection and certification agencies, Accreditation procedures, inspection and certification produces have been prepared.

Accredited Certifying and Inspection Agencies

Association for promotion of Organic Farming (APOF), Bangalore Indian Society for Certification of organic products (ISCOP), Coimbatore Skal Inspection and Certification Agency, Bangalore IMO Control Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore Ecocert International, Aurangabad Bioinspectra, Cochin International Resources for Fair Trade (IRFD), Mumbai One Cert Asia, Jaipur National Organic Certification Association (NOCA), Pune

CHALLENGE AHEAD:

Indias grocery list for 2030 is daunting. 260 264 million

tonnes (mt) of food grains, 130 152 mt of milk, 151 193 mt
of vegetables, 84 106 mt of fruits, 10 14 mt of meat, 4 5 mt of eggs, 10 14 mt of fish and 12 mt of edible oil. It will be

It simply means that we have to produce food at an accelerated It wont be very easy when population is growing at the rate. Arable land is shrinking and natural resources are getting
depleted.
pace, adding 4 5 mt food grains every year.

needed to feed 1.3 billion people.

 Low yields of organic systems need further research Population pressure and biofuels development add

pressure to existing systems

Conversion of natural grasslands and forests is occurring

at a rapid rate to meet food needs

Increased organic yields will help mitigate this pressure Attention to breeding programs also necessary

Challenges and Recommendations:

1. OA-impact on food availability is still limited
2. Production: build-up of organic matter in the soil 3. Difficult access to information about OA practices for

farmers in developing countries

4. Domestic markets develop slowly in developing countries 5. Multiply OA impact on food availability through public

and private sector investments on all levels:

research & development

training & extension markets, certification and & policy

Questions for future studies of food security impacts of organic agriculture:

Availability: What are the challenges for OA in developing countries?
Knowledge, adoption, labour availability Organic matter, soil nutrient mining, pest control,

Access and distribution: Under which conditions does OA in reality

lead to improved local access to food - and for who?

Crop selection: How may organic cash crops be combined with

improved management and diversity of food crops in organic systems?

What are the relative impacts on rural vs. Urban populations?

Utilisation: To which degree does OA lead to more diverse food and

improved nutrition?

Conclusions:
1. Real beneficiaries of OA: farmers and ecosystem

2. Intelligent management needs fewer inputs

3. Developing

countries: OA offers employment opportunities and production costs are lower socially from OA

4. Market opportunities benefit farmers financially and

5. OA contributes to self-reliance of local food systems

and thus to food availability

6. OA improves viability of rural economies, increases

food self-sufficiency and national food supply

EAT ORGANIC

DREAM ORGANIC

LIVE ORGANIC