Explain the benefits and limitations of organic farming.

Question

Accepted Answer

Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control. It avoids the use of synthetic chemical fertilisers and genetically modified organisms, causes less harm to beneficial insects, and is essential for sustainable development.

### Benefits of Organic Farming

1. **Economical Farming:** Organic farming substitutes costlier agricultural inputs such as HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers and pesticides with locally produced organic inputs that are cheaper.

2. **Generates Income through Exports:** The demand for organically grown crops is on the rise, so organic farming generates income through international exports.

3. **Provides Healthy Food:** Organically grown food has more nutritional value than food grown through chemical farming.

4. **Source of Employment:** Organic farming requires more labour input than conventional farming, generating more employment opportunities. India has a comparative advantage in organic farming because of its abundant labour.

5. **Safety of Environment:** Organic produce is pesticide-free and is produced in an environmentally sustainable way.

6. **Sustains Soil Fertility:** Organic farming improves soil fertility through organic matter in the form of animal manures, compost and farmyard manure, while chemical fertilisers erode soil fertility.

### Limitations of Organic Farming

1. **Less Popular:** It needs to be popularised by creating awareness and willingness among farmers to adopt the new technology.

2. **Inadequate Infrastructure and Marketing Facilities:** Organic farming faces problems of inadequate infrastructure and marketing facilities.

3. **Low Yield:** The yield from organic farming is lesser in the initial years as compared to modern agricultural farming, so small and marginal farmers find it difficult to adapt to large-scale production.

4. **Shorter Food Life:** Organic produce has a shorter shelf life as compared to sprayed produce.

5. **Limited Choice of Crops:** The choice in the production of off-season crops is quite limited.

In spite of these limitations, organic farming helps in the sustainable development of agriculture, and India has a clear advantage in producing organic products for both domestic and international markets.