Organic agriculture

What is Organic Agriculture?• There is a lot of confusion on what actually means organic

agriculture. The word “organic” means "of plant or animal origin", but it also refers to the organisational aspect of an organism.

• For some people it is the kind of agriculture which is based on organic manures or other natural inputs, i.e. minerals or pesticides of plant origin. In this view, emphasis is given to the renunciation of fertilizers and pesticides which are synthetic or chemical.

• For others it refers to agricultural systems, which follow the principles and logics of a living organism in which all elements (soil, plants, farm animals, insects, the farmer etc.) are closely linked with each other. Organic farming therefore must be based on a thorough understanding and clever management of these interactions and processes.

Principles and Aims of

Organic Agriculture• A System Approach

• Conventional farming puts its focus on achieving maximum yields of a specific crop. It is based on a rather simple understanding: crop yields are increased by nutrient inputs and they get reduced through pests, diseases and weeds, which therefore must be combated.

• Organic agriculture is a holistic way of farming: besides production of goods of high quality, an important aim is the conservation of the natural resources fertile soil, clean water and rich biodiversity.

• The art of organic farming is to make the best use of ecological principles and processes. Organic farmers can learn a lot from studying the interactions in natural ecosystems such as forests.

Is Traditional farming Organic farming

• According to the WHO, 20 000 deaths are unintentionally caused by pesticides (220 000 deaths when including use of pesticides for suicides etc.), most of them in developing countries.

• 3 million people suffer from severe acute poisoning matched by a greater number of unreported cases (WHO 1990).

• One of the most obvious direct negative effects of agriculture is pollution of water with nitrates, phosphates and pesticides.

• 60 percent of all nitrogen fertilizers applied are not taken up by the plants but are lost, mainly to ground or surface water (OECD 2000).

• Nitrate levels in drinking water are rising. Pesticides are now found in groundwater in most places in the world.

• Apart from the poisoning of aquatic organisms, this contamination incurs high costs for water purification, crop damages and health care related costs.

The advantages of organic farming compared to conventional agriculture can be summarised asfollows:

• soil conservation and maintenance of soil fertility less pollution of water (groundwater, rivers, lakes)

•protection of wildlife (birds, frogs, insects etc.) higher biodiversity, more diverse landscape better treatment of farm animals

•less utilisation of non-renewable external inputs and energy

• less pesticide residues in food no hormones and antibiotics in animal products better product quality (taste, storage properties)

Benefits of Organic Agriculture

Organic Agriculture - Current

situation

• Broadly speaking there are two different kinds of organic farms in the world:

• Certified organic farms producing for a premium price market

• Non certified organic farms producing for the own household and local markets.

• In total there are more than 20 million hectares certified organic land today. The countries having the largest areas of organic farmland are Australia, Argentina, Italy, Canada and USA.

• Some countries have reached a substantial proportion (close to or more than 10%) of organic land such as Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Finland and Italy.

• The value of the organic market is approximately US$ 20 billion.

‘New’ solutions?The bio-tech industry is now promoting genetic

engineering with identical arguments as the earlier Green Revolution. As with all new technologies it is difficult to prove that they are harmless or harmful until after they have been used for a longer term. But in this case that may be too late!

• Agricultural risks - erosion and pollution of genetic base, creation of super weeds, development of resistance

• Environmental risks - affecting non-target organisms - cross over of genes

• Health risks - allergy potential and undesirable compounds in food

• Farmers dependency on seed • High costs

Can organic agriculture solve the problems

• Can Organic agriculture increase the productivity, especially in those situations where farmers are most prone to food shortages?

• Can Organic agriculture produce safe food and supports a diverse diet?

• Can Organic agriculture increase income and/or return on labour?

is Organic agriculture sustainable?

Organic agriculture needs to be able to answer two major questions:

1. Can organic agriculture produce high yields?

2. Can organic agriculture get the food to the people who need it? Can it be economically viable ?

Can organic agriculture feed the world?

Increased Productivity

The increase of productivity experienced in conversion to organic production arise from

• Improved diversity in the agricultural system through crop rotation, intercropping and polycultures

• The use of green manure crops either separately or intercropped Improved on farm re-cycling of nutrients by utilization of crop residues as mulch or through composting

• Better use of organic materials in the surrounding eco-systems or recycling by-products from the food industry

• Better use of natural capital, especially water (by mulching, water harvesting, and through the increase in soil organic matter)

• Integration of livestock and crops, leading to improved nutrient management

• More attention to soil and nature conservation

Increase income

• By reduction or avoidance of purchased inputs

• By diversification and optimizing the productivity

• By maintenance or improvements of on-farm and off-farm bio-diversity

• By sales on a premium market

The Road to Organic

Regulations:

• 1990 – Organic Foods Production Act passed by Congress

• 1997-98 – USDA released proposed organic regulations. Proposed rule allowed the use of irradiation,

• March 7 2000 – USDA released a second draft of the proposed regulations. Irradiation.

• December 21, 2000 – Final rule for organic released

• April 21st 2001 – final Rule 18 month implementation period in effect

• April 21st 2002 – first round of USDA accreditation’s given to certification agencies

In order to gain import access to the U.S., foreign certifiers can:

• Seek accreditation directly through the USDA National Organic Program or from organisations approved by USDA

• Among the major markets for organic food, USA is leading retail sales with a total market capitalization of US$4200 million. While this accounts for only 1.25% of the total retail sales in USA of food, the average growth rate is estimated at 10-15% per annum.

• In GERMANY, retail sales of about US$1800 million per annum has been registered. In DENMARK, sales are about 2.5% of the total, with growth rates of 25-30% per annum.

• In Sweden, the growth rate is about 30-40%, whereas in UK with a total retail sale of US $ 450 MILLION and growth of 25-35% per annum, the share in total retail trade is only 0.4%.

• Switzerland has a total retail sale of 2% with growth rates between 25-30% per annum.

Major countries

Movement of Organic Agriculture

• the organic agriculture movement is spearheaded by the members and associates of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM).

• IFOAM membership in India includes a spectrum of NGO’s, farmer’s organisations, promotional bodies, corporate units and Institutions.

• Efforts of PRAKRUTI (IFOAM members organisation) at Mahatma Gandhi’s Ashram in Sevagram and made a declaration known as Sevagramdeclaration. This declaration contained several recommendations for promoting organic agriculture in the country.

• In April 1994, a national level conference was organised at Cochin by UPASI on organic farming and environment. During the conference, over 400 participants participated

India

• Only 30 percent of our total cultivable area is covered with fertilizer where irrigation facilities are available

• Remaining 70 percent of the arable land, which is mainly rainfed area, has not been using any fertilizer. but it contributes only 40 percent of the total food production. Even a 10 to 20 percent increase in yield in these areas will add substantially to the granaries of the nation in addition to supplying the export market for organic products.

• Most of India's farms are "organic by

default." The irony and difficulty of the new governmental push for organic agriculture is that 65% of the country's cropped area is "organic by default," according to a study by Rabo India.

• Small farmers, located mostly in the Eastern and North-Eastern regions of the country, have no choice except to farm without chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

• According to a conservative estimate, around 600 to 700 million tonnes of agricultural waste is available in the country every year but most of it is not properly used.

• We must convert our ‘filth into our wealth’by mobilizing all the biomass in rural and urban areas.

Need of Organic fertilisers and pesticides

• Even if the present production of around 13 million tonnes of fertilizers is increased to around 20 million tonnes by the turn of the century, it may not be available at affordable prices to the farmers.

• There are several alternatives for supply of soil nutrients from organic sources like wormi-compost, biofertilisers etc. Technologies have been developed to produce large quantities of wormi-compost. There are specific biofertilisersfor cereals, millets, pulses and oilseeds

• The biofertlisers and biopesticides have not become very popular in India for two reasons. – The first is the lack of marketing and distributing

network. The retailers are not interested in selling bio inputs because their demand is low, supply is erratic and farmers are ignorant about bio inputs.

– The second reason is over presence of chemical fertilsers and pesticides, heavy advertisement of the same and higher margin for retailers.

• However some big firms have started marketing bio inputs and hopefully the scenario will change.

• India's growing use of fertiliser, though low by Western standards, is still high enough to cause concern, say agricultural scientists.

• On an average India's fertiliser consumption is 90.12 kg per hectare of land, figures thrown up at a seminar here on organic farming and its "emerging opportunities" indicated.

• Some states such as Punjab - considered India's granary - have, however, touched levels as high as 173 kg per hectare, and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh touched some 143 kg per hectare.

• India is caught in a catch-22 situation, as by the year 2025 the country is expected to face a food deficiency, by which time this would become the world's most populous country.

• 100 percent organic farming was not possible.

• India is 27th out of 100 countries- grows 41000 ha( 0.041 million ha)

• Australia is no 1 growing 10.5 mi. ha

• USA no 5 growing with 0.95 mi.ha

• In 2002, according to Government statistics, from a total food production of over 200 million tones, the country produced only 14,000 tones of organic food products. India currently has only 1,426 certified organic farms

Some golden rules for exportSome golden rules for exporting organic products should

also be followed. THE PRODUCTS :· Must be certified organic.· The distribution channels, whether exporter, importer or

distributor should be selected carefully.· Close contacts and prompt communication with importers

need to be established.· Knowledge of Foreign markets should be built up on the

basis of customer requirement when and where the product is to be sold.

· Working in collaboration with other producers or in co-operatives is advantageous to promoting R&D and in the production of marketable quantities at economic costs.

· Do not ignore domestic markets even though exports may yield higher premiums.