Health awareness is on the rise now more than ever before. This is a global trend where people are more conscious about what they eat, their workouts, and have become more mindful. One of the ways of eating healthy, according to common people, is eating organic food. Organic food concept is now here to stay. But what exactly is it? Organic food is farmed in a more holistic way, right from the farm to the table.
Organic farming is all about producing fruits and vegetables without adding any harmful chemicals to the soil. And any produce can be certified organic if only the farm land has been chemical-free for atleast 5 years. A point to note is that not just the farm land but 5 acres of land around the farm land should be chemical free too.
The green revolution that happened in India years ago is responsible for introducing chemical fertilisers into the lands. Albeit it increased the crop yield, it did come with a lot of side-effects. So, people now are looking to reverse the damages done and one way to go about it is organic farming. This post talks about some of the challenges faced in organic farming:
Farmers’ consent:
Going organic is not an easy joke. It involves huge costs. Farmers will have to consistently put money in. Manure has to be natural. Buying ethically sourced organic manure will surely burn a hole in the pocket. This raises the question of affordability. While farmers are already struggling to make ends meet with regular farming, organic farming can be far-fetched for many farmers.
The other thing about farmers is their lack of knowledge. Farmers can make use of bio-pesticides and fertilisers in place of chemical fertilisers. Now the problem is not many are aware of this and we also have to think about their willingness to adopt something that they are not aware of. And farmers who know about these bio-pesticides sometimes do lack knowledge of how to apply them. So farmers in India need to be taught about so many different things. Are they willing to learn?
Shortage of organic inputs:
Seeds and other fertilisers are the main ingredients in farming. When it comes to organic farming, all these have to be natural. The government has imposed stringent policies on farming and provides huge subsidies to buy chemical fertilisers. But when it comes to bio-fertilisers, government is not very enthusiastic, simply because it is an expensive affair.
To make organic farming a success in India, the GoI should do something about it. Ease the policies, provide subsidies, and create network of organic farmers and input suppliers to make organic farming easily accessible for farmers.
Difference in Demand and Supply:
One of the main reasons for the difference in demand and supply is the location. People who want to and can afford to buy organic food are often from metro cities. And metro cities are the last place with chemical-free farm lands. Ergo food items have to come from rural areas. The catch here is grains can be saved in transit as they have longer shelf life. But the same is not possible with perishable foods like fruits and vegetables. Now this also leads to cost inflation.
Lack of marketing channels:
We have been talking about the bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides and how they are still not common knowledge for many farmers. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of proper marketing channels. There has to be some network to make all the stakeholders in the supply chain meet and greet in one place. This is still not possible. Traders who have connections are not willing to take on organic inputs as there is no much demand for them in their market.
