What is Organic Agriculture and how to start organic agriculture?

Let us make the soil fertile together with ANANTH AGRI SERVICES

DEFINATION:

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) was established in the year 1972 which defines it as follows “Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects”. IFOAM goals of organic farming as “Organic farming is a system that sustains the health of soils.

According to 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”. In general, organic farming is cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock by using natural ways.

INTRODUCTION:

India ranks ninth in terms of area under organic farming, Sikkim is the first state in the world to become fully organic. During1905 to 1924 Organic Agriculture first stared in Central Europe & India, Sir Albert Howar is called as the father of modern organic agriculture, while he was working as adviser in Pusa, Bengal he documented traditional Indian farming practices, and realized that they are superior to their conventional agriculture. Later on, J. I. Rodale begins of United States popularized these organic methods of growing by promotion of organic gardening. Lord Northbourne was influenced by sir Albert Howar and he used the term organic farming in his book named “Look to the Land” (published in the year 1940) this was based on his concept of “the farm as organism”, Lady Eve Balfour was the first to do scientific comparison of organic and conventional farming. The demand for organic food was stimulated in the 1960’s with the publication of “Silent Spring”, by Rachel Carson, which documented the extent of environmental damage caused by insecticides.

In India M.S Swaminathan is considered as father of green revolution, this movement was started in 1967 to 1978 in order to increase food grain production to meet the growing demands of population and to alleviate hunger, malnutrition and poverty, in order to increase the food grain production there was immense use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides so in order to reduce its impact on environment, protect the soil flora and fauna, human health we need to slowly reduce the chemical usage and shift towards organic agriculture.

Principle of health :

Organic agriculture should sustain and rejuvenate the health of soil, plant, animal, human. Healthy soils produce healthy crops which will protect the environment and enhance the heath of humans to the smallest organism in the ecosystem.

Principle of ecology:

The production should be based on the ecology, organic production should be adapted to local conditions, ecology, culture and scale. Inputs should be reduced by reuse, efficient management of materials and energy without creating any harm to the environment, humans and animals in order to maintain ecological balance. Principle of fairness organic agriculture should ensure fairness at all levels and to all parties like for farmers, processors, distributors, traders and consumers. It aims to produce a sufficient supply of good quality food and other products. Natural and environmental resources that are used for organic production should be managed in such a way that they are socially and ecologically be held in trust for future generation. Production, distribution and trade should ensure that the products are of good quality and are available at social costs.

Principle of Care:

Precautions should be taken to protect the health and well being of current and future generations. This principle states that precaution, responsibility are the key concerns in management, development and technology choices in organic agriculture.

WEED MANAGEMENT:

Weeds are controlled by manual weeding, practicing of cultural methods like stale seed bed, flooding, cover crop, mulching and by adopting drip irrigation, site specific application of nutrients h reduces the weed growth  

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT:

In organic farming nutrients are supplied by organic sources such as green manures, crop rotation, biofertilizers like azospirillum, azotobacter, rhizobium, phosphorus solubilising bacteria etc, vermicompost, farm yard manure, poultry manure, sheep penning’s, bone meal, blood meal, oil cakes etc. apart from organic sources slow-release fertilizers which are not readily soluble i.e., Rock phosphate, sylvanite can also be applied to soil.

Rock phosphate

Green manuring  

PEST MANAGEMENT:

In organic farming pest are controlled to certain level but they are not completely eradicated, as in conventional farming. Insect pest are monitored by using sticky traps, light traps, pheromone traps. Pest control can be done by building up of predators i.e., zygogramma, coccinellid beetles, parasitoids like trigogramma sps whose larvae feed on the pest, use of entomopathogenic fungi i.e., green muscardine, white muscardine in their natural environment, if the pest population cannot be controlled then there is use of living organisms such as the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis, which is used to control caterpillar pests; use of natural Pyrethrin prepared  from the dried flowers of Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium, neem oil prepared from the seeds of Azadirachta indica; use of mineral-based inorganic compounds like sulfur, copper; use of natural formulations like Brahma asthra, Agni asthra; growing of trap crops to deviate the insect pest from infesting the main crop.

      1)Pheromone trap                                       

2)Sticky traps                                        

3)Neem oil

      4)Entomopathogenic fungi  

ADVANTAGES:

• Maintains soil fertility for longer period by increasing the soil organic matter without any farm to the beneficial microbes present in the soil.  Reduces erosion as organic matter is added to the soil  Improves soil physical and chemical properties.
• Conserves resources for future generation.
• It has less impact on environment then compared to conventional system.
• It promotes reuse, recycling of resources there by reducing cost of cultivation.
• Utilization of on farm outputs, by-products, wastes as inputs for cultivation and human use.
• As there is no use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, fruits and vegetables are nutritionally rich and are free from toxic residues.
• Conventionally produces fruits and vegetables have higher nitrate content then organic methods.
• Reduces leaching of toxic elements thereby prevents water pollution.
• Organically produced fruits and vegetables have longer shelf life.

DISADVANTAGES:

• According to USDA National Organic Standards it is made mandatory that raw manure must be applied not latter than 90 or 120 days before harvest.
• Organic farms cannot produce higher yield as that of conventional farming.
• Converting of conventional farms to organic farms requires a conversion period of 5-7 years or even more than 7 years based on the soil health status.
• According to Mackenzie et al spores of Bacillus thuringiensis cause fatal lung infections in mice.
• By methods conventional methods we can mimic the same yields that we get in the organic field by using only 50-75% of the land.
• Decomposition of organic material from manure in the soil releases nitrous oxide and methane, which are added on to greenhouse gases.
• Copper sulphate which is generally used in organic farming is believed to cause liver damage.
• It is more labour intensive.
• According to 16th Report on Organic Farming and the European Union” ,On continuous incorporation of green manure crops into the soil causes leaching of nitrates into the aquifers there by making the water toxic.
• According to research conducted by Katrin Woese, Dirk Lange, Christian Boess and Klaus Werner conventionally grown wheat has higher protein content then compared to organically grown one.
• The applied manures should be turned 5 times in 15 days which will increase the cost of cultivation than conventional system.
• Organic production, processing, transportation and certification is difficult for a farmer to understand and put it into practice.
• Difficulty in marketing, if marketing is there then are sold at higher price which cannot be afforded by normal people.

CONCLUTION:

We can conclude that organic agriculture has more advantage in rainfed areas, less rainfall and the areas with relatively low soil fertility levels as there is less use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in these areas.

According to P. Ramesh, Mohan Singh and A. Subba Rao

• Conversion of conventional farms to organic ones on large scale cause yield reduction by 10-15%.
• It is not possible to convert 100 % Cultivable area into purely into organic because of limitation in organic sources.
• Organic foods are superior in quality but there is no clear evidence of it.
• Incidence of pest, insects and diseases is less in organic farms then that of conventional one’s.