Organic Farming

Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system that promotes the health of the agro-ecosystem related to biodiversity, nutrient biological cycles, soil microbial and biochemical activity.

Biodynamic farming(File referring to external site opens in a new window)  is a principal of organic farming where chemical fertilizers are replaced by microbial nutrient givers like algae, fungi, bacteria, micorhiza and actinomycetes. Biological pest management is the process of using the natural predators of pests like birds and parasites instead of chemical pesticides. Composting, green manuring, crop rotation, mixed cropping, bird perches and trap crops are other principles of organic farming. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research(External website that opens in a new window) and the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation(External website that opens in a new window) are involved in promoting organic farming in India

Organic manure covers manure made from cattle dung, excreta of other animals, rural and urban composts, other animal wastes, crop residues and green manures. This is how these wastes are useful in improving the fertility and productivity of soils:

• Cattle dung leads to soil porosity, excreta from other animals betters the water stable aggregates.
• Rural and urban compost improves the water holding capacity of the soil.
• Other animal wastes betters the infiltration rate.
• Crop residues and green manures improve hydraulic conductivity.

Most farmers choose to use farmland manure because it is commonly available. Other advantages are its ability to improve the soil, tilth and aeration, increase the water holding capacity of the soil and stimulate the activity of microorganisms that make plant food elements in the soil.

Composting is the process of reducing vegetable and animal waste to a quickly utilizable condition. This is done through the action of microorganisms on the wastes. These wastes may include leaves, roots, stubbles, crop residues, straw, hedge clippings, weeds, water hyacinth, saw dust, kitchen wastes and human habitation wastes. The waste materials undergo intensive decomposition under medium-high temperatures in heaps or pits with adequate moisture for around 3-6 months. The finished compost is an amorphous, brown to dark brown mix of humified materials.

There are basically two types of composting - Aerobic and Anaerobic.

In Aerobic compositing, the used bedding of cattle, the sweeping from cattle sheds and some urine soaked earth from the stable floor are removed every day. This is mixed with cattle dung and two or three handfuls of wood ash and is deposited on a well-drained site. Gradually a low pile of around 30 to 45 centimeters in height forms. The pile in built up before the start of the rainy season. After the first heavy showers, the welted material in a 1.2 metre strip of each side is turned with a rake on to a 2.4 metre wide strip in the middle, thus raising the height of the heap to nearly 1 metre. This process prevents a loss of moisture and ensures a quick start to decomposition. When the heap sinks after three to four weeks, it is given a second turning and made into a fresh heap by mixing outside material with that from inside. After about a month or more, depending on the amount of rain, the heap is given a final turning on a cloudy day. The compost can be put to use after around four months.

In Anaerobic Composting, the farm residues are collected in pits of a convenient size, say around 4.5 metres X 1.5 metres X 1 metre. Each day’s collection is spread in a thin layer, sprinkled with a mixture of fresh cow dung (4.5 kgs), ash (140 to 170 gms) and water (18 to 22 litres). This is then made compact. The pit is filled till the raw material stands 30 to 46 centimeters above its edge and is then plastered with a mixture of mud and cow dung. The compact moist materials become compost in about four to five months without any further attention. This compost usually contains around 0.8 to 1 per cent of nitrogen.

Green manuring involves the cultivation of leguminous plants that are used due to their symbiotic nitrogen or N fixing capacity. In some areas, non-leguminous plants may also be used due to their local availability, drought tolerance, quick growth and adaptation to adverse conditions.

The best green manure should possess the following traits:

1. Show early establishment and high seedling vigour
2. Be tolerant to drought, shade, flood and adverse temperature
3. Possess early onset of N fixation and its efficient sustenance
4. Have an ability to accumulate large bio mass and nitrogen in 4-6 weeks
5. Is easy to incorporate
6. Is quickly decomposable
7. Is tolerant to pest and diseases

In Madhya Pradesh, organic farming is being implemented under the guidance of a team of experts comprising scientists, environmentalists and food management personnel in 1565 villages. Nutrients to the crops are provided through green manuring, composts, phosphocomposts and fermented preparations prepared from cow dung and urine. Pests are managed through the use of neem and cow urine based fermented preparations. Eight different ways of composting are recommended in Madhya Pradesh. They are the Indore method, nadep compost, nadep phospho compost, vermi compost, bhabhut amrit pani, amrit sanjeevani, pitcher khad, biogas slurry, green manures and bio fertilizer.

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Agriculture in India

Agriculture in India

Agriculture in India has a long history dating back to ten thousand years.
Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and logging accounted for 16.6% of the GDP in 2007, employed 52% of the total workforce and despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, is still the largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of India.
India is the largest producer in the world of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, turmeric and black pepper. It also has the world's largest cattle population (281 million). It is the second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut and inland fish. It is the third largest producer of tobacco. India accounts for 10% of the world fruit production with first rank in the production of banana and sapota.
India's population is growing faster than its ability to produce rice and whea

Initiatives:-

The required level of investment for the development of marketing, storage and cold storage infrastructure is estimated to be huge. The government has not been able to implement various schemes to raise investment in marketing infrastructure. Among these schemes are Construction of Rural Go downs, Market Research and Information Network, and Development / Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardization.
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), established in 1905, was responsible for the research leading to the "Indian Green Revolution" of the 1970s. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is the apex body in agriculture and related allied fields, including research and education. The Union Minister of Agriculture is the President of the ICAR. The Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute develops new techniques for the design of agricultural experiments, analyses data in agriculture, and specializes in statistical techniques for animal and plant breeding.
Recently Government of India has set up Farmers Commission to completely evaluate the agriculture program.. However the recommendations have had a mixed reception.
mixed farming
In August 2001 India's Parliament passed the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers' Rights Act, a sui generis legislation. Being a WTO member, India had to comply with TRIPS and include PVP. However, farmers' rights are of particular importance in India and thus the Act also allows for farmers to save, sow and sell seeds as they always have, even if it is of a protected variety. This not only saves the livlihoods of many farmers, it also provides an environment for the continuing development and use of landraces, says Suman Sahai

Problems:-
Slow agricultural growth is a concern for policymakers as some two-thirds of India’s people depend on rural employment for a living. Current agricultural practices are neither economically nor environmentally sustainable and India's yields for many agricultural commodities are low. Poorly maintained irrigation systems and almost universal lack of good extension services are among the factors responsible. Farmers' access to markets is hampered by poor roads, rudimentary market infrastructure, and excessive regulation.
—World Bank: "India Country Overview 2008"
The low productivity in India is a result of the following factors:
According to World Bank of India: Priorities for Agriculture and Rural Development", India's large agricultural subsidies are hampering productivity-enhancing investment. Overregulation of agriculture has increased costs, price risks and uncertainty. Government intervenes in labor, land, and credit markets. India has inadequate infrastructure and services. World Bank also says that the allocation of water is inefficient, unsustainable and inequitable. The irrigation infrastructure is deteriorating. The overuse of water is currently being covered by over pumping aquifers, but as these are falling by foot of groundwater each year, this is a limited resource.
Illiteracy, general socio-economic backwardness, slow progress in implementing land reforms and inadequate or inefficient finance and marketing services for farm produce.
Inconsistent government policy. Agricultural subsidies and taxes often changed without notice for short term political ends.
The average size of land holdings is very small (less than 20,000 m²) and is subject to fragmentation, due to land ceiling acts and in some cases, family disputes. Such small holdings are often over-manned, resulting in disguised unemployment and low productivity of labour.
Adoption of modern agricultural practices and use of technology is inadequate, hampered by ignorance of such practices, high costs and impracticality in the case of small land holdings.
Irrigation facilities are inadequate, as revealed by the fact that only 52.6% of the land was irrigated in 2003–04, which result in farmers still being dependent on rainfall, specifically the Monsoon season. A good monsoon results in a robust growth for the economy as a whole, while a poor monsoon leads to a sluggish growth. Farm credit is regulated by NABARD, which is the statutory apex agent for rural development in the subcontinent. At the same time overpumping made possible by subsidized electric power is leading to an alarming drop in aquifer levels.

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