Organic farming

1. Submitted by – SAHIL SINGH RATHORE
Roll no. -10AG32014

2. 1. Introduction
2. Objectives
3.Work plan
4.Results
5.Discussion and Suggestion

3. As we all know, food security & human health
has became a topic of major concern in today’s
time. Through this project, my aim is to determine
& emphasise that how organic farming &
sustainable agriculture can be used in a better
way to boost farmer’s income along with
promoting better health for both the human & the
environment.


4. What is Organic Farming?
Organic farming is a production system that sustains the health of
soils, ecosystems and people by reducing or eliminating external agricultural
inputs, especially synthetic ones.
Organic farming relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green
manure, compost and biological pest control. Organic farming excludes or
strictly limits the use of Chemical fertilizers, insecticides & pesticides.
With organic farming, farmers:

Can sell their produces in a higher price

Need not to spend on synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides

Environment could be healthier from not being harmed by pesticides and
insecticides.

5. Why Organic farming?
Organic farming is preferred over
conventional(inorganic) farming because it :
 Uses less energy
 Employs Multiple cropping
 Do not create pollution
 Balance soil nutrients & replenishes soil fertility
 Increases soil productivity
 Improves the quality of the product.

6. Worldwide production of organic farming
•
More than 120 countries has been practicing organic farming.
•
33 million hectares (mio ha) of organic land with 633,891
farms.
23 %
38 %
1%
Global organic land by continent
6

7. 7

8. Case study: Organic Farming in Cambodia
• For examining the feasibility of project, we have gone through a case
study of Revolution of organic farming in Cambodia.
•
Cambodia is a country located in Southeast Asia with tropical climate
& soil condition similar to that exists in India. In recent times
Cambodia displayed a revolution in rice production system with the
use of organic farming.
•
Presently rice occupies 90% of the total cultivated (3.9 million ha) and
shares 50.4 percent of total farmers’ income in Cambodia.
8

9. Revolution of rice farming system in Cambodia
•
No agrochemicals
•
Low costs of
production
•
Low productivities
•
Unstable food security
•
Agrochemical used
•
Higher productivities
•
More stable food security
Conventional farming
Traditional farming
1980 -1989
1990 -2003
•
Alternative farming
system ?
•
Balancing goals of
productivity, costs, and
environment?
Organic farming
2004 - Present
Impact of Conventional System
•
Higher production costs
•
Health impacts
•
Environmental impacts
Source: Author, 2008
9

10. Trend of organic rice farming in Cambodia
•
Organic rice production has been increasing steadily in Cambodia
from 10 tons in 2005 to 1450 tons in 2011.
500
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
farms
400
300
200
100
0
2005
2007
Organic rice farms
2009
tons
Number of organic farms and organic rice production
2011
Organic rice production
Source: CEDAC, 2007 (Unpublished data)
10
•
CEDAC: Cambodian Center for Agricultural Studies and Development

11. Key differences in organic and conventional farms
Organic
farm (OF)
Average yield (ton per ha)
Conventional
farm (CF)
OF-CF
Percentage
2,59
2,46
0,13
5%
950
850
100
12%
Gross revenue (riel)
2 460 059
2 087 214
372 845
18%
Cost of fertilizers (riel)
0 - 78 002
124 794
-46 792
-37%
87,4
65,1
22,30
34%
8,5
1,2
7,30
608%
19,2
3,8
15,40
405%
price per kg (riel)
Labour used (man-day)
- Nutrient management (md)
- Manual weeding (md)
Source: Author, 2008
11

12. Cultivation practices of organic rice
Land preparation
- Plough at least 2 or 3 times
- Apply compost and residue of previous crop
Transplanting
Threshing and storage
- Storage with 12-13 % of
moisture contained inside
the grains
- Pulling of seedling in 12-15 days
from the nursery bed
- Transplanting 1 seedling per hole
- 20x30 cm between each line and
row
- Separately from the
conventional rice
Harvesting
Weed control
- 25-35 days after the flowering
stage
- Two weeks after the transplantation
- Tools: hand with the sickle
- Application of farm yard manure
- Tools: hoe and hand
Source: Author, 2008 12

13. 1) To analyse Carbon and Nitrogen dynamics in soil
under organic and inorganic nutrient management.
2) To optimize Nitrogen uptake and use efficiency
of rice through best suitable combination of organic
and inorganic nutrient management.

14. 

Four treatments of different fertilizer input were
taken with 3 replica of each, where paddy was
grown. Soil sample from these plots were taken at
different stages of crop growth for chemical
analysis.
The chemical analysis of soil sample includes
finding out soil pH, electrical conductivity,
availability of nitrogen and organic carbon content
in soil due to various combination of organic and
inorganic fertilization at different crop growth
stages.

15. 
By doing plant chemical analysis we will estimate the plant
nitrogen uptake due to organic and inorganic fertilizers at
different stages & will try to figure out their optimum
combination for developing synchrony between the
nutrients released in soil & their crop uptake.
Treatments :
T1 – Control
 T2 - 100% RDF through Chemical fertilizers
 T3 - 100% RDF through Vermicompost
 T4 - 50% RDF through Vermicompost+ 50% through
chemical fertilizers
(RDF- Recommended dosage of fertilizer)


16. Sampling for soil samples:


Soil samples were collected at 20 cm and 40 cm
depth using soil auger at centre and towards
four corners of each plot.
Soil sampling is being done at intervals of
0, 30, 60, 90 days.

17. 


Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the seat of
nitrogen in soil & its determination is often
carried out as an index of nitrogen availability.
Estimation: Method used for estimating SOC
was Titration method (Walkey & Black
method).
Reagants used : Pottassium dichromate, Conc.
Sulphuric acid, Ferrous ammonium
sulphate, Diphenylamine
indicator, Orthophoshoric acid or sodium
flouride.

18. 

More than 90% of soil N exists as a constituent of
complex organic compounds, which the plants
cannot use directly. Only a minute fraction,
usually 2% gets mineralised due to microbial
activity in a growing season. Plants uptake it in the
form of nitrate & ammonium ions.
Estimation Method: We used permanganate
method of Subbiah and Asija for available nitrogen
estimation using kjheldal apparatus. Reagents
used in kjheldahl’s apparatus were KMno4,
NaOH, Mixed Indicator, Boric acid, HCl.

19. Organic carbon (%) in
soil = (10*(B-S)/B) * 0.003 * 100/wt. of
sample(gm)

Where B & S stand for the titre values(mL) of
blank & sample respectively.

20. Available N (%) in soil = {(0.00014* normality of
acid* 100* titre (sample-blank)}/{mass of soil
(gm.)* 0.01}

22. Treatment
Soil pH
Electrical
Conductivity
(mmho/cm)
Soil organic carbon
(%)
Available nitrogen
(%)
T1(Control)
4.58
0.025
0.23
0.0065
T2(100% RDF by
chemical fertilisers)
4.62
0.038
0.31
0.0074
T3(100% RDF by
Vermicompost)
4.85
0.037
0.34
0.0074
T4(50% C.F + 50%
Vermicompost)
4.76
0.042
0.33
0.0069

23. Treatment
Soil pH
Electrical
Conductivity
(mmho/cm)
Soil organic carbon
(%)
Available nitrogen
(%)
T1(Control)
4.56
0.027
0.19
0.0063
T2(100% RDF by
chemical fertilisers)
4.59
0.042
0.30
0.0108
T3(100% RDF by
Vermicompost)
4.86
0.036
0.37
0.0089
T4(50% C.F + 50%
Vermicompost)
4.75
0.041
0.34
0.0099

24. 4.9
4.85
4.8
4.75
4.7
4.65
4.6
4.55
4.5
4.45
4.4
Day 0
Day 30

25. 0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Day 0
Day 30

26. 120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Day 0
Day 30

27. DISCUSSION & SUGGESTION:
1. How to improve weaknesses of organic farming?
2. How to cope with threats in organic farming?
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28. Improve the weaknesses of organic farming
Weaknesses
•
Strategies
Require more • Adopt the preventive methods for weed
labours (in weed
control)
management
– crop rotation (rice –soybean),
– selected variety which is competitive
against weeds
– biological control (e.g. ducks)
•
Conflicts with
conventional
farms.
• Try to convince farmers to convert conventional
farms into organic farms.
• Leave some buffer space between their farms
and conventional farms (security space).
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29. Improve the threats of organic farming
Threats
•
Small market
opportunities
Strategies
•
Develop organic market by the investment
in the agro-industry sector and certificating
institutes
•
•
Poor infrastructure •
promoting for consumers’ awareness
Build more canals, road and bridges
in the rural area
•
Unsustainable
fund of NGOs
Collaboration with international agencies for
more sustainable technical and financial aids.
projects
29

30. Outcomes :
30

31. Outcomes:

Introducing organic practices to farmers in the study site has
been evidenced as improving farmers’ income and leads to a
more stable and balanced ecosystem without water pollution
and soil degradation

Organic rice farming has high potentials to be pushed as the
key development strategy for smallholder rice farmers (less
than 0.75 ha) occupying a significant percentage of the farms
in this country

The action plans need to be created by all stakeholders to
overcome the constraints.
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32. 









SP. Palaniappan, K.Annadurai; Organic Farming, Theory & Practice.
Perera, Andrea. 2008. Food on the table and savings on hand. Oxfam America website.
October 20.
Alam, Anwar and Wani Shafiq, A. (2003) Status of organic agriculture worldwide–An
overview, In: Proceedings of National Seminar on Organic Products and their Future
Prospects, Sher-e-Kashmir, University of Agricultural Sciences and
Technology, Srinagar, pp. 95-103.
J. Anthofer et al. 2005. Evaluation of the System of Rice Intensification in
Cambodia. Available: http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/
Badgley, C. et al. 2006. Organic Agriculture and the Global Food Supply.
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-24.
DEFRA. May, 2003.
An Assessment of the Environmental Impacts of Organic Farming. Elm Farm
Research Centre and IGER. Available at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/organic/policy/research/pdf/env-impacts2.pdf
Dufey, A. 2006.
Agricultural Economics Research Review Vol. 23 July-December 2010 pp 343358 ,seminar on 12 June 2009.Organic Farming: Status, Issues and
Prospects – A Review; B. Suresh Reddy ;Research Unit for Livelihoods and
Natural Resources (RULNR).
Subbiah B.V and C.L. Asija 1956. A rapid procedure for the estimation of
available nitrogen in soils. Current Sci.25:259-260.

33. Thanks for your attention !
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