Organic Farming: A Sustainable Approach
With the increase in population, our compulsion is not only to stabilize agricultural production but to increase it further in a sustainable manner. Scientists have realized that the ‘Green Revolution’ with high input use has reached a plateau and is now sustained with diminishing return of falling dividends. Thus, a natural balance needs to be maintained at all costs for the existence of life and property. The solution lies in organic farming.
- Protecting the long-term fertility of soils by maintaining organic matter levels, encouraging soil biological activity, and careful mechanical intervention.
- Providing crop nutrients indirectly using relatively insoluble nutrient sources which are made available to the plant by the action of soil micro-organisms.
- Nitrogen self-sufficiency through the use of legumes and biological nitrogen fixation, as well as effective recycling of organic materials including crop residues and livestock manures.
- Weed, disease, and pest control relying primarily on crop rotations, natural predators, diversity, organic manuring, resistant varieties, and limited thermal, biological, and chemical intervention.
- The extensive management of livestock, paying full regard to their evolutionary adaptations, behavioral needs, and animal welfare issues with respect to nutrition, housing, health, breeding, and rearing.
Organic farming system in India is not new and is being followed from ancient times. It is a method of farming system which primarily aimed 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 and other biological materials along with beneficial microbes (bio-fertilizers) to release nutrients to crops for increased sustainable production in an eco-friendly pollution-free environment.
The world has already tasted the ill effects of chemicals based agriculture in terms of land pollution, water pollution, air pollution, and even worst like causing deadly diseases like cancer in different parts. In India, Punjab, and Haryana are major examples of such degradations taking place in the name of green revolution over the past few decades. This offers a large scope for building rural enterprises, right from testing, certification, training to production, and processing in pre and post agriculture practices.
Organic farming not only supports the ecological balance but also offers opportunities for start-ups and entrepreneurship, closely linking with traditional practices and modern scientific expertise. This sustainable approach ensures the conservation of wildlife and natural habitats, promoting a healthier future for our planet.