Organic Farming Should Never Be Turned Into An Article Of Faith

Context: Regarding organic farming, policies that respect the farmer’s economic freedom offer the best route to sustainable agriculture.

About organic farming: Organic farming is defined as production of crop, animal, and other products without the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides, transgenic species, or antibiotics and growth-enhancing steroids, or other chemicals.

Concerns associated with organic farming

• Lack of awareness among farmers.
• Lower yield: Its yields are 20-30% lower than conventionally farmed crops.
• Carbon footprint: To increase organic output and income, we need more farmland and fewer farmers. More farmland means fewer forests.
• Inefficient state support: Subsidies trickling through government system are already inefficient.
• Question on sustainability – Experience of Sri Lanka: Ban on fertilizer and total embracement of organic agriculture led to food crisis.
  • Public policy has to be justified using reason and empirical evidence, but the study on organic agriculture is inadequate.
  • Wholesale implementation of organic farming under one size fits all strategy will bound to boomerang.

Way forward: Whether or not organic farming is a ‘good thing’ depends on crop, soil, geography and economic context. Need of the hour is to take gradual approach in adoption of organic farming without wholesale dumping of modern agriculture. Policies shall be framed respecting farmer’s economic freedom.