Organic Farming in India:
A Means of Sustainable Development
 

Organic products are grown under a system of agriculture - known as organic farming - without the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides with an environmentally and socially responsible approach. Organic farming works at the grassroots level, preserving the reproductive and regenerative capacity of the soil, good plant nutrition, and sound soil management.

The fact that organic farming improves soil fertility/quality has also been acknowledged by many researchers. TP Rajendran (CICR, Coimbatore, 2004) reported that there is no loss of productivity on adopting organic farming practices. On the contrary, it gives better production, is cheaper, labour intensive and provides opportunities to increase rural employment. However, there are challenges in adopting this technology, as it requires scientific explanation, formulation of packages and practices, post-harvest technology for organic produce, quality of its inputs, consumers’ awareness, formulation of standards for inputs and produce, and certification of farms, the produce and the process.

Organic farming in India has been practiced by farmers for over thousands of years. This practice continued till the 1970s, after which chemical farming was encouraged by the government to increase food production in the country. The era was generally called Green Revolution. The positive effects of chemical farming were immediately seen, with India producing surplus food grains but at the cost of the environment.

In India, the development of organic agriculture is receiving increasing attention among farmers, producers, processors, traders, exporters and consumers. Growing consciousness of health hazards due to the possible contamination of farm produce from the use of chemical fertilisers have immensely contributed to the revival of organic farming during the last five years.
 

Organic Farming Scenario in India

India has been bestowed with a lot of potential to produce a wide variety of organic products due to its various agro-climatic regions. In several parts of the country, the inherited tradition of organic farming is an added advantage. This holds promise for the organic producers to tap a market that is growing steadily in the domestic market and related to the export market. Currently, India ranks 33rd in terms of total land under organic cultivation and 88th for agriculture land under organic crops to the total farming area. In the financial year 2007-2008, the cultivated land under certification was figure 2.8 million hectares (APEDA). This includes 1 million hectare under cultivation, leaving the rest under forest area (wild collection).

According to the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India has 1.7 million hectares of area under certified organic farming. The organic market in the country is valued at Rs 10 million, with an annual growth rate steadily rising from 35% to 50% by 2010.
Organic production is not limited to the food sector but has also ventured into organic cotton fibre, garments, cosmetics, functional food products, body care products, etc. India has exported 86 items in 2007-2008 with the total volume of 37,533 MT. The export realisation was around 100.4 million US$, registering a 30% growth over the previous year. Organic products are mainly exported to Europe, the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, South Africa and the Middle East. Cotton leads among the organic products exported, at 16,503 MT.

Role of Indian Government

Keeping in view the importance of organic farming in our national agricultural and economic scenario, the Government of India has constituted the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). The Authority attempts to shift the focus of farmers’ lives from mere subsistence to strength and prosperity, especially in organic farming. The government has also set up a National Centre for Organic Farming to improve farming practices and fund research through NGOs, universities and research institutes. The government has also constituted a National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), National Organic Product Standards and Certification and Accreditation Regulations 2001.

There are 16 accredited certification bodies under NPOP across the country that are involved in certification of organic products. The logo used under the certification programme is called ‘India Organic’.

To boost organic agriculture in general, the Planning Commission, Government of India, has proposed setting up a Rs 2,50 million fund in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12). Several institutions and agencies are also involved in R&D activities on organic agriculture. Apart from government institutions, various NGOs and CSOs are actively involved in promotion and capacity building of farmers, SHGs, traders, etc.

Supply Chain Bottlenecks

The organic products supply chain in India is very complex and wide, driven by importers and exporters while the weakest links are the farmers and the labourers. A major weakness here is the serious lack of adequate information sharing and communication down the supply chain. Moreover, the organic market is not consumer demand based, but supply driven, which leads to numerous threats. The biggest hazard is that all kinds of products are offered under declarations such as ‘without pesticides’, ‘eco-friendly’ or even ‘organic’. In this sense, most threats are related to the problem of faithful declaration, the role of government, and clarification of the term ‘organic’.

The traders and processors face problems of inconsistent supplies, insufficient volumes, lack of quality storage, lack of market information, under developed domestic market, and high quality conditions for export. The problem of multiple certifications for domestic and international markets and for different buyers also raises the cost and delays deliveries. Non-existence of any pricing policy for organic products is also a major issue in the Indian organic products supply chain.

Although on the brighter side, the awareness regarding pesticide residues, presence of international and national certification bodies and support of Indian government are the key strengths. Apart from support from the government, private sector Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are also involved in promotion of organic farming, capacity building of farmers, traders, exporters, marketing executives on the various aspects of organic farming (marketing, child labour, fair trade, quality assurance).

Marketing of organic products needs to take into account local markets, developing niche markets, generic promotion of the organic products market. Further, for the sustainability of company-farmer partnership schemes, it is important that a company is able to successfully market its products so that farmers do not suffer from a lack of the same.

So far as the role of the government in the commodity chain is concerned, it can proactively help the stakeholders in the chain to identify the opportunities and threats in the global commodity chains. It can also assist producers in entering the chains (Kaplinsky 2000). Certification system for organic products should be simplified and made transparent in order to ease the supply chain.  q

 

Neelam Rana
nrana@devalt.org