1. Organic farming is a system of agriculture that uses biological fertilizers and pest control derived from animal and plant waste, in contrast to chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers used in conventional farming. It aims to maintain ecological balance and soil health. 2. Organic farming focuses on protecting the living population in the soil and using techniques like crop rotation, mulching, and green manuring to enrich the soil without harming its structure or natural microorganisms. 3. Organic farming has advantages like being more economical, nutritious, and environmentally-friendly compared to conventional farming. However, organic foods also have disadvantages like lower initial production and shorter shelf life than chemical products.

1. 1. Overview of Organic Faming
Meaning
Organic farming can be defined as an agricultural process that uses biological fertilisers and pest
control acquired from animal or plant waste. Organic farming was actually initiated as an answer to
the environmental sufferings caused by the use of chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilisers. In
other words, organic farming is a new system of farming or agriculture that repairs, maintains, and
improves the ecological balance.
Concept
Organic farming is a very native concept to India. It is based on the following principles:
• Soil is a living entity.
• Nature is the best teacher for farming since it does not use any external nutrients or
additional water.
• Organic farming is based on understanding the ways of nature. It does not mine the soil
of its nutrients nor does it degrade the soil for fulfilling the needs of the common man.
• The living population of the soil is protected and nurtures. The natural micro-organisms in
soil are not harmed in any way.
• The focus in organic farming is the soil itself. The health of the soil and its structure is
maintained as it is believed to the most important medium.
Thus organic farming is a system of farming that aims at keeping the soil alive, maintaining its good
health, cultivating the land and then raising the crops. This must be done to maintain a pollution-
free environment and in an ecological manner.
Salient Features
Some of the salient features of organic farming include:
• Protecting soil fertility
• Maintaining the level of organic matter
• Encouraging biological activity in soils
• Providing nutrients through the microbial action
• Using legumes to fulfill the nitrogen requirements of the soil.
• Recycling organic matter like crop residues and manures
• Managing diseases, pests and weeds through the use of techniques like natural predators,
organic manuring, crop rotation, maintaining diversity, growing resistant varieties, etc.
• Effective livestock management by paying special attention to their nutrient requirements,
housing, breeding, rearing, etc.
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2. 1. Types of Organic Farming
Organic farming is divided into two types, namely:
1. Integrated organic farming
2. Pure organic farming
Pure organic farming means avoiding all unnatural chemicals. In this process of farming, all the
fertilisers and pesticides are obtained from natural sources such as bone meal or blood meal.
Integrated organic farming includes the integration of pest management and nutrients
management to achieve ecological requirements and demands.
2. Methods of Organic Farming
The following are a few methods that are used in several types of Organic Farming:
• Crop Rotation: This technique means that the farms are used alternatively for crops, instead
of growing the same crop in one field every year. The rotation helps in the addition of several
nutrients to the soil and killing the cycle of insects and parasites.
• Mulching: Many Farmers practice mulching by increasing soil health by adding a layer of
organic material (straw, compost) over the soil and removal of weeds. This technique helps
in the prevention of weeds, captures moisture in the soil which enriches crop production.
• Green Manuring: Farmers practice this technique by growing cover crops by using cereal
seeds, oilseeds, etc., and then plowing them back into the soil. This penetrates the hardpans
of the soil, brings up nutrients, and increases aeration in the soil.
3. Advantages & Disadvantages of Organic Farming
Advantages
Economical: In organic farming, no expensive fertilisers, pesticides, or HYV seeds are required for
the plantation of crops. Therefore, there is no extra expense.
Good return on Investment: With the usage of cheaper and local inputs, a farmer can make a
good return on investment.
High demand: There is a huge demand for organic products in India and across the globe, which
generates more income through export.
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3. Nutritional: As compared to chemical and fertiliser-utilised products, organic products are more
nutritional, tasty, and good for health.
Environment-friendly: The farming of organic products is free of chemicals and fertilisers, so it
does not harm the environment.
Disadvantages
Incompetent: The major issue of organic farming is the lack of inadequate infrastructure and
marketing of the product.
Less production: The products obtained through organic farming are less in the initial years as
compared to that in chemical products. So, farmers find it difficult to accommodate large-scale
production.
Shorter shelf life: Organic products have more flaws and a shorter shelf life than that of chemical
products.
Limited production: Off-season crops are limited and have fewer options in organic farming.
Is Organic Farming Better than Conventional Farming?
To illustrate the difference between conventional agriculture and organic farming, let us study the
table below:
Organic Farming Conventional Farming
Impact on the soil:
Soil quality improves due to
methods such as crop rotation and
natural fertilisers.
Soil quality gets damaged due to artificial
chemicals.
GMOs:
Organic farming does not make
use of genetically modified
organisms.
Conventional farmers uses GMOs to
increase crop yield.
Fertilisers:
Only natural fertilisers such as
manure, bone meal, and compost
are used.
Artificial chemical fertilisers like urea and
sodium nitrate are used.
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4. Pesticides:
Natural insect repellents such as
clove oil and neem water are used
to repel pests.
Harmful chemical pesticides such as DDT
and boric acid are used.
Farming Method:
Sustainable farming methods such
as crop rotation, mixing crops are
used which improve soil quality.
No sustainable farming methods are
implemented as the focus is on the crop
yield and not soil quality.
Food Quality:
Food quality is a priority and
organic farmers strive to produce
nutritious food.
Food quality is not given importance and
produce is sometimes not nutritious.
Impact on the
Environment:
Organic farming has a sustainable
impact on the environment.
Conventional farming has a detrimental
effect and negatively impacts the
environment.
So, What’s the Verdict ?
As we can see above, the benefits of organic farming outweigh those of conventional farming by a
long shot. Organic farming aims to improve the overall soil quality, produce nutritious crops, and
pave the way for a sustainable means of agriculture, keeping the health of the environment and
living beings in mind.
Organic farming in India still has a long way to go and farmers need to be educated on the impact
and consequences of conventional farming. How can you contribute towards a greener environment
and organic farming? You can do so by supporting organic farmers and choosing organic produce
over conventional crops.
How does organic farming help reduce the impact of climate change?
Organic agriculture is an important lever in moving the needle on climate change. Here’s why:
An organically certified farm ensures farmers are conserving biodiversity on their farm and only
using approved substances without the use of synthetic chemicals
Organic foods create healthier soil that sequesters more carbon. It is estimated that global
croplands have the potential to store an additional 1.85 gigatons of carbon each year. This is as
much as the global transportation sector emits annually.
Buying local and organic foods is the #1 way to support the climate in our food purchasing
decisions!
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