How Can You Start Organic Farming Successfully in India?

1. HOW CAN YOU START ORGANIC FARMING SUCCESSFULLY IN INDIA?

3. Currently, organic farming is gaining popularity throughout India. This is because organic farming is a viable alternative to conventional farming. Understanding Organic Farming – Organic farming is a cultivation process without chemical fertilizers, sprays, and synthetic pesticides. So organic farming helps preserve the soil's regenerative ability while providing essential plant nutrition and easier soil management. In short and simple words, organic farming uses ecological pest control methods and biological fertilizers made by animal and plant wastes apart from nitrogen- fixing crops. Farming depends on techniques like crop rotation, farm manure, organic wastes, and crop residues to ensure plant protection.

5. Why Should You Start Organic Farming in India? Are you thinking of starting organic farming anywhere in India? If yes, you should ensure that your farmland is entirely organic. Then, over the years, you should convert the entire farmland, including livestock, to organic. The conversion period must be three years for perennials and two years for annual crops. With the increasing demands of using new types of organic fertilisers, manure, and traditional methods, the conversion time has come down to even six months in many cases. But in the 80s and 90s, the transition period from chemical to natural farming was around two to three years because of the unavailability of organic inputs. So the time has been reduced to three to six months now, which is just two cropping seasons. Nowadays, most farmers switch to organic farming by choosing multiple cropping, i.e., simultaneously sowing 20-25 varieties of plants. These plants are ploughed back into the soil post-harvest period to improve the soil's micronutrient level. .

7. What are the Important Factors to Consider for Organic Farming? •The health of the soil is an essential factor for organic farming. You need to maintain it by considering practices like crop rotation and intercropping. Both these processes make sure that the soil's nutrient value remains intact. Intercropping helps in the management of disease, insects, and pests. Using leguminous, green manure crops and biodegradable materials, you can maintain soil fertility. The crop and animal residues should be recycled into the soil indirectly or directly. •To manage pests and weeds, you should use only natural methods. You can pull out weeds and recycle them as much as possible in the field. •You can use plant-based repellents, neem seeds, and kernel extracts for effective pest management.

10. Understanding Organic Farming Policy India introduced the organic farming policy in 2005. As per the Union Ministry of Agriculture, around 2.78 million hectares of farmland were under organic cultivation in March 2020. However, the figure constitutes only two percent of the total 140 million hectares net sown area throughout the country. Sikkim is the only state in India practicing fully organic agricultural methods. On the other hand, states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra have been using around half of the farmland area for organic cultivation. You can acquire organic certification by applying to any agency accredited by the Agricultural and Processed food products Export Development Authority (APEDA) India stands at the eighth position in land for organic cultivation and first in the number of producers, as per the report by APEDA.

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