Organic farming in India or Sustainable farming in India :---
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Organic farming in India :---
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It is defined as the production of crops, animals and other products without the use of synthetic chemicals fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, transgenic species, or antibiotics and growth enhancing steroids or other chemicals.
It uses environmental friendly methods of weed, pest, insect, and disease control. The principles and practices if organic farming have been expressed in the standard of international federation of organic agriculture movement (IFOAM).
Four principles for organic farming are :-
1) Organic Agriculture should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant, animal, human and planet as one and indivisible.
2) Organic Agriculture should be based on living ecological systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them.
3) Organic Agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common environment and life opportunities.
4) Organic Agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment.
Requirements for organic production system are :--
When choosing land on which to grow organic crops, there's much more to consider than simply National Organic Program (NOP) organic land policy, such as taxes, soil quality, ease of access, water availability, and more. Still, NOP standards offer a good place to start, because what NOP requires of land can make the difference between a quicker or slower certification process.
Any field or farm parcel on which harvested crops are grown with the intention of selling, labeling, or representing as organic, must adhere to the land requirements below.
The land must be free from all prohibited substances on the National List for at least three years before the harvest of a crop.
All land must have distinct, defined boundaries and buffer zones in order to prevent any unintended applications of prohibited substances.
Soil Fertility and Crop Nutrient Management Rules
Your tillage and cultivation practices must maintain or improve the physical, chemical, and biological condition of the soil.
Soil erosion must be minimized.
Non-chemical methods of soil management, such as crop rotation, cover crops, and the application of plant and animal materials should be implemented.
When using plant and animal materials such as raw manure to improve soil conditions, you must do so in such a way that there is no crop, soil, or water contamination.
Any composted plant and animal materials used must be produced via the process set forth by NOP in their composting section .
To maintain or improve soil organic matter, producers may use crop nutrient or soil amendment allowed by the National List of synthetic substances, a mined substance of low solubility, a mined substance of high solubility if the substance is in compliance with the National List of nonsynthetic materials, ash from the burning of a plant or animal material so long as the ash has not been treated or combined with a prohibited substance on the National List or plant or animal material that has been chemically altered so long as it's good to go on the National List.
Producers may not use sewage sludge on the land.
Seeds and Planting Stock Standards
When it comes to planting stock used for organic crops, the organic stock is recommended by NOP, but like an organic seed, you don't absolutely have to use organic stock if none is available and if you've made a good faith effort to locate organic stock. If you cannot find commercially available plant stock you're allowed to use nonorganically produced planting stock to produce a perennial organic crop, but only after the stock has been maintained under a system of organic management for a period of one year or more.
One of the most important rules to pay attention to here is that only organically produced seeds can be used if you're producing edible sprouts.
NOP Crop Rotation Rules
As an organic producer, you need to implement a crop rotation plan including but not limited to sod, cover crops, green manure crops, and catch crops. Crop rotation on the organic farm must apply to the operation for maintaining or improving soil organic matter content, pest management, management of deficient or excess plant nutrients, and help to control erosion.
Pest and Disease Management Standards
A proper integrated pest management (IPM) system is important on the organic farm and is another NOP land requirement. Producers need a good IPM in order to control and help prevent crop pests, weeds, and diseases. NOP allows the following pest and disease practices:
Crop rotation and soil and crop nutrient management practices.
Sanitation measures that remove disease vectors, weed seeds, and habitat for pest organisms.
Cultural practices that enhance crop health. This may include choosing the right selection of plant species for your area and choosing plant varieties with built-in resistance to prevalent pests, weeds, and diseases.
Mechanical or physical pest control such as the introduction of predators or parasites of the pest species, proper development of the habitat for natural enemies of pests and nonsynthetic controls such as lures, traps, and repellents.
Mulching with fully biodegradable materials, mowing, synthetic mulches, livestock grazing, hand weeding and mechanical cultivation such as flame, heat, or electrical means are all allowed for weed control.
Application of nonsynthetic biological, botanical, or mineral inputs.
Important: Biological or botanical substance or a substance included on the National List of synthetic substances allowed for use in organic crop production can be used if all methods above fail to control pests, weeds or disease so long as you document why such methods are needed in your organic system plan .
Need for organic farming :--
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1) organic food is rich in nutrients such as vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and others compared to conventional farms.
2) it keep us away from GMO which is adversely contaminating ecology, health and food.
3) improve the taste, decrease the chemicals and toxins ,
4) improve health of soil , water, etc..
5) to conserve the crop diversity
6) organic farming helps to reduce the subsidy and tax cuts given by government in conventional farming system.
7) organic farmers get the advantage of growing markets and increase their remuneration
8) cost effective agricultural system in a long run. Since after 4 years natural and organic farming become zero budget (ZBNF).
9) ecofriendly, carbon emissions reduction, biodiversity conservation, soil and water conservation,
10) better adaptations to climate change and global warming to agricultural system.
Advantages of organic farming :--
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It helps to maintain environment health by reducing the level of pollution.
It reduces human and animal health hazards by reducing the level of residues in the product.
It helps in keeping agricultural production at a sustainable level.
It reduces the cost of agricultural production and also improves the soil health.
It ensures optimum utilization of natural resources for short-term benefit and helps in conserving them for future generation.
It not only saves energy for both animal and machine, but also reduces risk of crop failure.
It improves the soil physical properties such as granulation, good tilth, good aeration, easy root penetration and improves water-holding capacity and reduces erosion.
It improves the soil’s chemical properties such as supply and retention of soil nutrients, reduces nutrient loss into water bodies and environment and promotes favourable chemical reactions.
How organic farming can be done???
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Better nutrient, weed, insect/pest management along with water and soil management. Adoption of zero budget natural farming , Bio-fertilisers, Bio-pesticides, mulching, watershed management in dry soils, use species according to agroclimatic and agroecological zones of India...details see below
Nutrient management in organic farming
In organic farming, it is important to constantly work to build a healthy soil that is rich in organic matter and has all the nutrients that the plants need. Several methods viz. green manuring, addition of manures and biofertilizers etc can be used to build up soil fertility. These organic sources not only add different nutrients to the soil but also help to prevent weeds and increase soil organic matter to feed soil microorganisms. Soil with high organic matter resists soil erosion, holds water better and thus requires less irrigation. Some natural minerals that are needed by the plants to grow and to improve the soil’s consistency can also be added. Soil amendments like lime are added to adjust the soil’s pH balance. However soil amendment and water should contain minimum heavy metals. Most of the organic fertilizers used are recycled by-products from other industries that would otherwise go to waste. Farmers also make compost from animal manures and mushroom compost. Before compost can be applied to the fields, it is heated and aged for at least two months, reaching and maintaining an internal temperature of 130°-140°F to kill unwanted bacteria and weed seeds. A number of organic fertilizers / amendments and bacterial and fungal biofertilizers can be used in organic farming depending upon availability and their suitability to crop. Different available organic inputs are described below:
1. Organic manures
Commonly available and applied farm yard manure (FYM) and vermicompost etc. are generally low in nutrient content, so high application rates are needed to meet crop nutrient requirements. However, in many developing countries including India, the availability of organic manures is not sufficient for crop requirements; partly due to its extensive use of cattle dung in energy production. Green manuring with Sesbania, cowpea, green gram etc are quiet effective to improve the organic matter content of soil. However, use of green manuring has declined in last few decades due to intensive cropping and socioeconomic reasons. Considering these constraints International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) and Codex Alimentarius have approved the use of some inorganic sources of plant nutrients like rock phosphate, basic slag, rock potash etc. in organic farming systems. These substances can supply essential nutrients and may be from plant, animal, microbial or mineral origin and may undergo physical, enzymatic or microbial processes and their use does not result in unacceptable effects on produce and the environment including soil organisms.
2. Bacterial and fungal biofertilizers
Contribution of biological fixation of nitrogen on surface of earth is the highest (67.3%) among all the sources of N fixation. Following bacterial and fungal biofertilizers can be used as a component of organic farming in different crops.
Rhizobium : The effectiveness of symbiotic N2 fixing bacteria viz. Rhizobia for legume crops eg. Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Azorhizobium, and Mesorhizobium etc have been well recognized. These bacteria infecting legumes have a global distribution. These rhizobia have a N2-fixing capability up to 450 kg N ha–1 depending on host- plant species and bacterial strains. Carrier based inoculants can be coated on seeds for the introduction of bacterial strains into soil.
Azotobacter: N2 fixing free-living bacteria can fix atmospheric nitrogen in cereal crops without any symbiosis. Such free living bacterias are: Azotobacter sp. for different cereal crops; Acetobacter diazotrophicus and Herbaspirillum spp. for sugarcane, sorghum and maize crop. Beside fixing nitrogen, they also increase germination and vigour in young plants leading to an improved crop stand. They can fix 15-20 kg/ha nitrogen per year. Azotobacter sp. also has ability to produce anti fungal compounds against many plant pathogens. Azotobacter can biologically control the nematode diseases of plants also.
Azospirillum: The genus Azospirillum colonizes in a variety of annual and perennial plants. Studies indicate that Azospirillum can increase the growth of crops like sunflower, carrot, oak, sugarbeet, tomato, pepper, cotton, wheat and rice. The crop yield can increase from 5-30%. Inoculum of Azotobacter and Azospirillum can be produced and applied as in peat formulation through seed coating. The peat formulation can also be directly utilized in field applications.
Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria : Various bacteria that promote plant growth are collectively called plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). PGPR are thought to improve plant growth by colonizing the root system and pre empting the establishment of suppressing deleterious rhizosphere microorganisms on the roots. Large populations of bacteria established in planting material and roots become a partial sink for nutrients in the rhizosphere thus reducing the amount of C and N available to stimulate spores of fungal pathogens or for subsequent colonization of the root. PGPR belong to several genera viz.Actinoplanes, Azotobacter, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, Streptomyces, Xanthomonas etc. Bacillus spp. act as biocontrol agent because their endospores are tolerant to heat and desiccation. Seed treatment with B.subtilis is reported to increase yield of carrot by 48%, oats by 33% and groundnut upto 37%.
Phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB): Phosphorus is the vital nutrient next to nitrogen for plants and microorganisms. This element is necessary for the nodulation by Rhizobium and even to nitrogen fixers, Azolla and BGA. The phospho microorganism mainly bacteria and fungi make available insoluble phosphorus to the plants. It can increase crop yield up to 200-500 kg/ha and thus 30 to 50 kg Super Phosphate can be saved. Most predominant phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) belong to the genera Bacillus and Pseudomonas. At present PSB is most widely used biofertilizer in India. PSB can reduce the P requirement of crop up to 25%.
Mycorrhizal fungi: Root-colonizing mycorrhizal fungi increase tolerance of heavy metal contamination and drought. Mycorrhizal fungi improve soil quality also by having a direct influence on soil aggregation and therefore aeration and water dynamics. An interesting potential of this fungi is its ability to allow plant access to nutrient sources which are generally unavailable to the host plants and thus plants may be able to use insoluble sources of P when inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi but not in the absence of inoculation.
Blue green algae (BGA): BGA are the pioneer colonizers both in hydrosphere and xerosphere. These organisms have been found to synthesize 0.8 x 1011 tonnes of organic matter, constituting about 40 percent of the total organic matter synthesized annually on this planet. BGA constitute the largest, most diverse and widely distributed group of prokaryotic microscopic organisms that perform oxygenic photosynthesis. These are also known as cyanophyceae and cyanobacteria. These are widely distributed in tropics; and are able to withstand extremes of temperature and drought. The significance of the abundance of BGA in Indian rice soils has been well recognized. Multi-location trials conducted under varying agro climatic conditions have indicated that the algal inoculation could save 30 kg N /ha, however, it depends upon the agro ecological conditions. BGA has been reported to reduce the pH of soil and improve upon exchangeable calcium and water holding capacity. The recommended method of application of the algal inoculum is broadcasting on standing water about 3 to 4 days after transplantation. After the application of algal inoculum the field should be kept water logged for about a week’s time. Establishment of the algal inoculum can be observed within a week of inoculation in the form of floating algal mats, more prominently seen in the afternoon.
Azolla: A floating water fern 'Azolla’ hosts nitrogen fixing BGA Anabaena azollae. Azolla contains 3.4% nitrogen (on dry wt. basis) and add organic matter in soil. This biofertilizer is used for rice cultivation. There are six species of Azolla viz. A. caroliniana, A. nilotica, A. mexicana, A.filiculoides, A. microphylla and A. pinnata. Azolla plant has a floating, branched stem, deeply bilobed leaves and true roots which penetrate the body of water .The leaves are arranged alternately on the stem. Each leaf has a dorsal and ventral lobe. The dorsal fleshy lobe is exposed to air and contains chlorophyll. It grows well in ditches and stagnant water. Azolla can be easily grown throughout the year in India if water is not a limiting factor and climatic conditions are favourable for its growth. This fern usually forms a green mat over water. Azolla is readily decomposed to NH4 which is available to the rice plants. Field trial have shown that rice yields increased by 0.5-2t/ha due to Azolla application. In India and China, about 20 and 18% increase in rice yield, respectively has been reported due to Azolla application.
Weed management in organic farming
In organic farming, chemical herbicides cannot be used. So weeding can be done only manually. Different cultural practices like tillage, flooding, mulching can be used to manage the weeds. Besides, biological (pathogen) method can be used to manage the loss due to weeds. When the ground is fallow, a cover crop can be planted to suppress weeds and build soil quality. Weeds growth can also be limited by using drip irrigation whenever possible, which restricts the distribution of water to the plant line.
Insect pest management
In organic farming, the presence of pests (where and when) is anticipated in advance and accordingly the planting schedules and locations are adjusted as much as possible to avoid serious pest problems. The main strategy to combat harmful pests is to build up a population of beneficial insects, whose larvae feed off the eggs of pests. The key to building a population of beneficial insects is to establish borders (host crops) around fields planted with blends of flowering plants that the beneficial insects particularly like. Then periodically beneficial insects are released into the fields, where the host crops serve as their home base and attract more beneficial insects over time. When faced with a pest outbreak that cannot be handled by beneficial insects, the used of natural or other organically approved insecticides like neem pesticides is done. The two most important criteria for allowed organic pesticides are low toxicity to people and other animals and low persistence in the environment. These criteria are determined by the National Organic Standards.
Diseases management in organic farming
Plant diseases are major constraints for reductions in crop yield and quality in organic and low input production systems. Proper fertility management to crops through balanced supply of macro and micronutrients and adoption of crop rotation have shown to improve the resistance of crops to certain diseases. Thus one of the biggest rewards of organic farming is healthy soil that is alive with beneficial organisms. These healthy microbes, fungi and bacteria keep the harmful bacteria and fungi that cause disease in check.
Limitation of organic farming in India :---
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There are a few limitations with organic farming such as
Organic manure is not abundantly available and on plant nutrient basis it may be more expensive than chemical fertilizers if organic inputs are purchased.
Production in organic farming declines especially during first few years, so the farmer should be given premium prices for organic produce.
The guidelines for organic production, processing, transportation and certification etc are beyond the understanding of ordinary Indian farmer.
Marketing of organic produce is also not properly streamlined. There are a number of farms in India which have either never been chemically managed / cultivated or have converted back to organic farming because of farmers’ beliefs or purely for reason of economics. These thousands of farmers cultivating million acres of land are not classified as organic though they are. Their produce either sells in the open market along with conventionally grown produce at the same price or sells purely on goodwill and trust as organic through select outlets and regular specialized markets. These farmers may never opt for certification because of the costs involved as well as the extensive documentation that is required by certifiers.
The report on Doubling of Farmers’ Income by Ashok Dalwai committee, too, echoes the concern of the farmers who claim up to 30 per cent drop in yields when embracing organic.
But a new ICRIER study found the supply chain to be underdeveloped. As a result, the small and mid-sized farmers located in hilly regions and tribal belts find it extremely difficult to access the market.
consumers find them expensive and discouraging. Rs 1,200–1,500 per month is the additional expenditure if a consumer switches to organic food, says ASSOCHAM study.
The certification systems are not only cumbersome and time-consuming, but also expensive. It is important to eliminate confusion over multiple certification systems and multiple ministries regulating organic production and sales.
The government, meanwhile, has not done enough to address the hurdles. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)—the Centre’s free certification programme for organic farmers—is an example. A 2018 report on the implementation of PKVY highlights that all states, except Tripura, Odisha and Karnataka, have failed to utilise even 50 per cent of their funds under the scheme. While the Centre has increased allocation for the scheme by 44 per cent for the current year, corrective measures are needed to ensure that the states become responsible and contribute toward “organic India”.
Government schemes and programme to promote organic farming in India :---
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The Government of India is promoting organic farming through various schemes like
National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF)
National Horticulture Mission (NHM),
Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH)
National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility (NPMSH&F)
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
Network Project on Organic Farming of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY)
"Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)” a sub- component of Soil Health Management (SHM) scheme under National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) aims at development of models of excellence in organic farming through a mix of traditional wisdom and modern science in value chain mode to install sustainability, ensure long term soil fertility buildup, resource conservation and to offer safe and healthy food grown through organic practices without the use of agro- chemicals. PKVY also aims at empowering farmers through institutional development through clusters for not only in farm practices management, input production, quality assurance but also in value addition and direct marketing through innovative means. Participatory Guarantee System under PGS-India programme will be the key approach for quality assurance under the PKVY.
Organic Area Selection Criteria
Organic farming under PKVY will be promoted preferably in hilly, tribal and rain-fed areas where utilization of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is less and the area has good accessibility for developing market linkages.
Cluster approach will be adopted in large patches of up to 1000 ha area.
Cluster chosen shall be in contiguous patch, as far as possible, may be extending over few adjacent villages (but not over large areas in sparsely distributed villages).
Formation of Gram Panchayat based Farmer Producer Organizations will be encouraged or already existing FPOs will be promoted under the scheme
The ceiling of subsidy a farmer is eligible will be for a maximum of one hectare. In a cluster, there should be at least 65% of small and marginal farmers. Women farmers/ SHGs should be given preference
What to do?
Promote Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) for different crop/cropping system suitable to agroclimatic conditions.
In organic farming use more bio-chemicals, bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers The total area under organic farming in the country has gone up by 20 per cent to 27.7 lakh hectares (lh) till date from 23.02 lh brought under chemicals-free cultivation last year, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
This includes 10.97 lh already declared organic under the National Programme for Organic Produce (NPOP), 8.41 lh under conversion, 5.98 lh under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana ad 0.639 lh covered under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Madhya Pradesh with 7.55 lh under organic farming, or in the process of becoming organic, tops the list among the States.
Interestingly, the area considered organic in the central Indian State came down from 8.12 lh in 2018-19, even though no reason was given why.
The second place is occupied by Rajasthan with 4.11 lh under organic farming or conversion.
In Maharashtra, the organic area is 2.84 lh, the Minister said. Another State showing significant progress in organic farming is Odisha.
The MOVCDNER scheme, launched with the specific aim of increasing organic farming area in the North-East States, has helped convert an additional 63,860 hectares into organic farming till date. In 2018-19, the organic farming area under the scheme was 45,918 hectares, Tomar said.
