Overview of Organic Farming

Overview of Organic Farming

Organic Farming

Organic farming is a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It emphasizes, the use of management practices in preference to the use of off –farm inputs, taking into account that regional conditions require locally adapted systems. This is accomplished by using, where possible, agronomic, biological, and mechanical methods, as opposed to using synthetic materials, to fulfil any specific function within the system.

Advent of Organic farming

Organic farming has grown out of the conscious efforts by inspired people to create the best possible relationship between the earth and men. Since its beginning the sphere surrounding organic agriculture has become considerably more complex.

A major challenge today is certainly its entry into the policy making arena, its entry into anonymous global market and the transformation of organic products into commodities. During the last two decades, there has also been a significant sensitization of the global community towards environmental preservation and assuring of food quality. Ardent promoters of organic farming consider that it can meet both these demands and become the mean for complete development of rural areas. After almost a century of development organic agriculture is now being embraced by the mainstream and shows great promise commercially, socially and environmentally. While there is continuum of thought from earlier days to the present, the modern organic movement is radically different from its original form. It now has environmental sustainability at its core in addition to the founders concerns for healthy soil, healthy food and healthy people.

Concept of organic farming

Organic farming is very much native to this land. Whosoever tries to write a history of organic farming will have to refer India and China. The farmers of these two countries are farmers of 40 centuries and it is organic farming that sustained them. This concept of organic farming is based on following principles:

Ø  Nature is the best role model for farming, since it does not use any inputs nor demand unreasonable quantities of water.

Ø  The entire system is based on intimate understanding of nature's ways. The system does not believe in mining of the soil of its nutrients and do not degrade it in any way for today's needs.

Ø  The soil in this system is a living entity

Ø  The soil's living population of microbes and other organisms are significant contributors to its fertility on a sustained basis and must be protected and nurtured at all cost.

Ø  The total environment of the soil, from soil structure to soil cover is more important.

Definitions

Ø  In today's terminology it is a method of farming system which primarily aims at cultivating the land and raising crops in such a way, as to keep the soil alive and in good health by use of organic wastes (crop, animal and farm wastes, aquatic wastes) and other biological materials along with beneficial microbes (biofertilizers) to release nutrients to crops for increased sustainable production in an eco-friendly pollution free environment.

Ø  As per the definition of the USDA study team on organic farming “organic farming is a system which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic inputs (such as fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, feed additives etc) and to the maximum extent feasible rely upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, off-farm organic waste, mineral grade rock additives and biological system of nutrient mobilization and plant protection”.

Ø  In another definition FAO suggested that “Organic agriculture is a unique production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity, and this is accomplished by using on-farm agronomic, biological and mechanical methods in exclusion of all synthetic off-farm inputs”.

Ø  In philosophical terms organic farming means "farming in spirits of organic relationship. In this system every thing is connected with every thing else. Since organic farming means placing farming on integral relationship, we should be well aware about the relationship between the soil, water and plants, between soil-soil microbes and waste products, between the vegetable kingdom and the animal

Yogendra Kumar Meena 

Ph.D. Research Scholar (Vegetable Science)

Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, Punjab

Chief Executive Officer (Hadoti organic Farmer Society, Baran, Rajasthan)

Rajesh Kumar

Ph.D. Research Scholar (Agronomy)

SKN Agriculture University, Jobner, Jaipur, Rajasthan