Prospects of organic farming towards sustainable agriculture in India
S. Alagappan
Dept. of Agronomy, The Indian Agriculture College (Affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University), Raja Nagar, Radhapuram, Tamil Nadu (627 111), India
DOI: NIL
Keywords: Climate change, Indian farmers, Organic farming, Organic food industry
Abstract
The prime principle of organic farming results in response to health, environment and sustainability in agriculture towards food security to the growing population despite the climate change issues in India. Organic farming emerged as a potential alternative for meeting food demand, maintaining soil fertility and increasing soil carbon pool. However, Indian organic farming industry is almost entirely export oriented, running as contract farming under financial agreement with contracting firms. Additionally, limitations regarding bulk availability of organic supplements further constrain organic farming in India. Despite these issues, the increasing market demand and institutional support coupled with growing inclination of farmers to go organic have resulted in rapid growth in certified organic area during last 2-3 years. Farmers apprehension towards OF in India is rooted in non-availability of sufficient organic supplements, bio fertilizers and local market for organic produce and poor access to guidelines, certification and input costs.
Downloads
not found
Reference
Rajendran S., 1998. An Exploratory Study on Organic Farming System in India, In Living Resources for the Millennium, J William, Ed, Loyola College, Chennai.
Rajendran, S., 2002. Paper presented at the “International conference on organic Rice cultivation. 12-15 November, Korea.
Surekha. K, V. Jhansilakshmi, N. Somasekhar, P.C. Latha, R. M. Kumar, N. Shobha Rani, K.V. Rao and B.C. Viraktamath, 2010. Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad- 500 030 Andhra Pradesh, Journal of Rice Research, Vol. 3 No.1, pp. 23-35.