Organic foods are a matter of choice of an individual or enterprises. If somebody wants to go in for organic farming, primarily on commercial consideration/profits motive, to take advantage of the unusually higher prices of organic food, they are free to do so.
Organic farming is essentially a marking tool, and cannot replace conventional farming for food security, quality and quantity of crop outputs. With a growing population and precarious food situation, the country cannot afford to take a risk with organic farming alone.
“Organic farming is not feasible as an alternative to conventional farming under all circumstances in the Indian context. The shortfall in inorganic nutrient supply, uneconomic returns to inorganic inputs under dryland and rainfed farming systems, inherent better response to organic farming in crops like vegetables, legumes and millets under traditional farming systems paves way for integration of conventional farming with organic farming,” BG Shivakumar, eminent scientist, division of agronomy, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi said.
“There will be scope for practicing organic farming on a case-to-case basis in traditional strongholds like hilly areas, rainfed and dryland farming systems to cater to the demands of organic produces in urban areas that would pay premium prices for such commodities,” he said.
A transition period of 3-4 years is generally required to convert a conventional farm into an organic farm. In this period, the produce is not considered as organically produced. The reduced yields and lack of benefits of premium for the produce is a double blow for farmers, leading to financial losses, which are substantial for small- to medium-farmers.
Organic farming should be considered for lesser endowed regions of the country. It should be started with low volume high value crops like spices and medicinal aromatic crops. A holistic approach involving integrated nutrient management, integrated pest management, enhanced input use efficiency and adoption of region-specific promising cropping systems would be the best farming strategy for India, he added.
“State governments like Karnataka and Uttaranchal are taking special efforts to increase the area under organic farming. But there is reluctance on the part of farmers, due to the very high cost of conversion from conventional to organic farming, to make the land free from chemical residues,” S Kumarasamy, Chairman of Agrochemicals Policy Group (APG) said.
“The certification system is yet to be fully functional. Some of the certification agencies do not strictly adhere to the standards of organic farming operations to protect their commercial interest. This has come to light recently, when a consignment of organic Basmati rice from India was held up in Finland, as it was found to contain pesticide residues. Given these constraints, the growth of area under organic farming is minimal,” he said.