ORGANIC FARMING

PRACTICES IN INDIA:
PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS 
WHAT IS MEANT BY ORGANIC?

• The term ‘organic farming’ was coined by Walter James (Lord Northbourne), who had studied Biodynamic
Agriculture, in his work ‘Look to the Land’ in 1940. In his book he wrote: “…the farm itself should have
biological completeness; it must be a living entity; it must be a unit which has within itself a balanced organic
life… organic farming is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity,
biological cycles and soil biological activity.”
• Winter and Davis ; Niels Halberg and Adrian Muller; 

Organic farming works on four

principles, according to the
International Federation of
Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM):
WHY DO PEOPLE GO ORGANIC
& • Agriculture without chemical fertilizers,
THE GREEN LIFESTYLE. synthetic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides or
organisms, growth hormones and antibiotics
that have been genetically modified.
• Nutritional benefits and health safety
• Environmental Impact
• Socioeconomic Impact (N. Halberg’s 2008
study)
• Social sustainability (a process or
framework that promotes the wellbeing of
members of an organization and at the same
time support the ability of future generations
to maintain a healthy community)
• In 2017, organic land area increased on all continents where
data is collected. At the end of the year, a total of 69.8
million hectares of land were organically farmed. This figure
represents a twenty percent growth – the largest ever
recorded
• Australia comes in at number one with 35.6 million hectares
of organic agricultural land, followed by Argentina with 3.4 The 20th edition of the study “The World
million hectares, and China with 3 million hectares. of Organic Agriculture” published by the
• total of 2.9 million organic producers; India tops this list, as
it did in 2016, with nearly 835,000 organic producers. India Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
is followed by Uganda with 210,352 producers, Mexico with (FiBL) and IFOAM
210,000 producers, and Ethiopia with 203,602 producers.
• In 2017, many of the world’s major organic markets showed
double-digit growth and the global organic market was The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2019 was produced
estimated to be worth approximately 90 billion Euros. At 40 with the support of the International Trade Centre (ITC), the Swiss State Secretariat for
billion and 10 billion Euros, respectively, the United States Economic Affairs (SECO), the Sustainability Fund of Coop, and NürnbergMesse.
of America and Germany had the largest markets for organic
food in 2017.
THE INDIAN PROSPECTS
• India has the largest number of organic producers, which is
835,000. The demand for agriculture is likely to rise:
1. as the digital literacy rate in India increases,
2. as the government shifts focus towards it with the
Paramparagat Krishi VikasYojana (PKVY), under which
2 lakh hectares has been made suitable for organic
farming thereby benefitting 5 lakh farmers,
3. as the exports increase [India exported organic products
worth $515 million in the financial year 2017-18
according to Agricultural and Processed Food Products
Export Development Authority (APEDA)]
4. if the spending capacity of the middle class population of
India increases
5. if the supply chain management is made more efficient
LEVEL OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT:
• newer technologies such as integration of
mycorrhizal fungi and nano-biostimulants (to
increase the agricultural productivity in an
environmentally friendly manner), mapping
cultivation areas more consciously through sensor
technology and spatial geodata, 3D printers (to help
the country’s smallholder)
• sustainable agriculture through innovation in drip
irrigation, precision agriculture, and agro-
ecological practices
• BeeScanning App to fight against Varroa
destructor parasite mite, etc.
THE DISCREPANCIES & WHY MIGHT INDIA SUFFER

• PROBLEM OF BIASED VIEWS- the articles do not align in their calculations of the pros and cons of organic farming. For
example some studies show that organically raised cattle is more benefits in that they have more lean meat while some show that
the methane released is more in the organic raising of them.
• PROBLEM OF AIR MILES- imported organic materials may leave more footprints which goes against the SDG aims.
• PROBLEM OF LABOUR- while Halberg’s study implicated that the increase in the requirement of labour is necessarily a good
thing because of the higher cost of the organic produce but India already suffers from a high rate of disguised unemployment.
The study by J. Pandey and A. Singh titled “Opportunities and constraints in organic farming: an Indian perspective” stated that
organic farming provides for 30% more employment.
• THE CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHICS (A LUXURY CASE): the statistics show that the more advanced nations and in particular
the younger consumers are more likely to take to this form of consumerism. Indian population which represents almost 20% of
the world’s population consumes less than 1% of world’s total organic produce, despite having the largest organic farmland.
• CASE FOR PESTICIDES: agriculture will suffer produce yield too low to sustain the agriculture due to uncontrolled pests if
pesticides (both synthetic and natural) are done away with. Therefore, rules have flexibility.
ANDHRA PRADESH AND ZBNF

ZBNF practices are built on four core principles:

• Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a method of
farming where the cost of growing and harvesting
plants is zero as it reduces costs through eliminating
external inputs and using local resources to rejuvenate
soils and restore ecosystem health through diverse,
multi-layered cropping systems.
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana since 2015–16 and
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana are the schemes taken
by the Government of India under the ZBNF policy.
In the union budget 2020–21, Rs 687.5 crore has been
allocated for the organic and natural farming sector
( it was Rs 461.36 crore in the 2019-2020 budget).
• ZBNF is pioneered by Shri. Subhash Palekar, a Padma
Shri Awardee, who is regarded as the “Father of zero
budget natural farming” all over the country.
CONTINUED.
The report of assessment of the program of 2018-19 found:
• The Andhra Pradesh Government plans to cover 6
million farmers in 12,924 Gram Panchayats by
1. cost of cultivation per acre is lower for ZBNF and the yield of biological inputs was comparatively
year 2024 and cover the entire cultivable area of 8
higher
million hectares by 2026. 2. no significant difference in the yield
• The programme had been initiated in 2015-16 with 3. the shift to 5-layer models of growing crops under ZBNF has ensured continuous flow of incomes
multiple objectives of enhancing farmers’ welfare,
to farmers throughout the agricultural year
4. variation in regard to the performance parameters of ZBNF across geographical regions and crops
consumer welfare and for the conservation of the
5. soil fertility has gone up due to ZBNF
environment. 6. 42% of the farmers have reported that the crops grown under ZBNF have more resilience to
• The actual implementation is through the state withstand against dry spells and wind
7. occupation status of agriculture has gone up
Department of Agriculture, with the JDA at the
district level and ADA and the field level being the
main functionaries. In addition to funds assigned CHALLENGES FOUND:
by GoAP, support from Azim Premji Philanthropic
Initiatives (APPI) has been crucial to the rollout of 8. Scarcity of local cows and scarcity of human labour, knowledge required to prepare Kashayams and
ZBNF to 163,000 farmers across all districts of AP. Asthrams to control pest is not imparted to many of the farmers and unavailability of inputs.
9. Lack of efficient marketing
To ensure that the programme reaches every farmer
10. The principle of 5-Layer cropping pattern with a different combination of suitable crops for each
in the state, the GoAP and RySS have used a layer is recommended for cultivation under ZBNF keeping in mind the agro climatic conditions of
decentralised cluster model to identify, mobilise, the regions to ensure regular flow of income throughout the agricultural year. The replication of these
and train forthcoming and early-adopting farmers models on wider scale wherever suitable across the farmers needs government support.
to institute a unique community-based
dissemination methodology for ZBNF. The
programme, in its expansion phase, also aims to
leverage the social capital of the state by engaging
women’s self-help groups for the promotion of
natural farming principles and practices.
THANK YOU.