Organic Farming in India: Tips & Tricks
📖 Learning
Starting with something new has always been a fascinating idea. Especially when you are about to start something exclusively for you and your family then it comes with a layer of responsibility since you have to think widely about the positive outcome that they will be expecting from your venture.
Now, if you are looking to giving organic farming in India a kick start, then there are few things you might need to keep in the mind and at times make your family understand your ideas and convince them so you could accommodate their trust and support as a whole. But before you try and enlighten others, make sure you have enough knowledge with you so you don’t sound confused while answering their doubts.
What is Organic Farming?
Basics of Organic Farming
Volume of your Venture
Selecting Site for Farming
Understanding the Soil
Things to Consider
Taking Care of Crops
Understanding the Market
FAQ's
Conclusion
What is Organic Farming?
Organic farming in India is a wide-spread strategy for yielding food crops and livestock that includes significantly more than picking the idea of not utilizing fertilizers, pesticides, genetically altered organisms, antibiotics, and growth hormones.
Organic farming in India is a comprehensive framework intended to enhance the profitability and wellness of various networks inside the agro-environment, including soil organisms, plants, animals, and individuals. The chief objective of organic farming in India is to create ventures that are reasonable and sustainable for the environment.
Organic farming in India is an agrarian strategy that involves utilizing organic information sources and essentially diminishing the measure of synthetic substances. This method of farming also includes no usage of growth hormones in any way that it brings about decreased contamination and soil corruption.
In this way, the food we consume post-production becomes healthier and we get the absolute fresh and natural things to eat. Not to mention if you are diet conscious or a fitness freak then you must be an admirer of the all-natural way of producing food and consuming them.
Basics of Organic Farming
People often perceive things in a different way. What one person involved in organic farming in India believes is correct, trusts in, and practices probably won't suit the prerequisites and objectives of another person who is also into organic farming in India. As a rule, quickly executing the informal advice can be counterproductive. Therefore, learning the basics of natural and organic farming in India is the initial phase. This certainly gives traces of what one may expect and where one ought to be beginning from. It is useful to infuse resources into pre-hand research.
Additionally, it is also crucial to be attached to discussions with individuals who are presently doing the business. Partake in organic farming in India training projects and farmer-meet-up conferences. The experience of another farmer who already had gone through a similar phase can be extremely useful in making the exploratory process more polished.
The internet too has an enormous function as there is a huge playlist of instructional exercises, recordings, and online discussions about Organic farming in India. You might also get several books talking about organic farming in India as well. You can stay updated with the latest news related to the most recent patterns in organic farming in India, its advantages, and furthermore its significance with the assistance of OFAI (Organic Farming Association of India) — One of the biggest network of organic farmers in India.
Also, there is NPOF – the National Project on Organic Farming is, indeed, an extraordinary stage for all the organic farmers in Hyderabad to associate with a differing set of similar people container India.
Volume of your Venture
If you are undertaking organic farming for your weekend schedule, you could start in your backyard or terrace. Many of the working experts across the country have begun seeking organic farming in India as of their minor perspective with controlled agricultural techniques that are less labor-oriented.
However, in case you live in a gated community where this idea is shared among many like-minded individuals, a plot inside your locale can be distributed to make smaller than normal organic farms at a more prominent frequency. If you want to change your passion into a profession then you might need more prominent arrangements and a large-scale investment as well.
Selecting Site for Farming
The location of your venture plays an imperative part in any venture to be successful. The area of your organic farming in India typically decides how the endeavor will turn out. The organic farming site ought to be close to a clean water source: water is the most important asset for crop development and health.
In case, your water source is far away, it is significantly harder to deal with the irrigation measures. As an initiation, this might seem to be a monotonous thought to make but on the other hand, is essential for effective working on your farm.
The closeness of the organic farming area to the commercial center adds a major function in the manageability of the farm. The farm's closeness to the market includes easy communication for selling. Likewise, this helps spare costs while shipping materials to the farm.
Ashwini
Understanding the Soil
Soil is considered to be the foundation base of your farm. Starting from its appearance, well-being, and equalization everything is responsible for the production result. Therefore, it essentially becomes important to get when and how to develop your soil and make the most ideal condition for your harvests to endure and flourish.
Things to Consider
Here are some things you need to consider before starting your farm.
1. Cultivation Time
Not everything will grow every time you put them under the soil and expect them to yield. So need to have a track of time and know which time is suitable for what step you will take.
Spring (February to April) - Best suitable for preparing the soil for new plantation.
Fall (October to November) – Suitable for the purpose of covering and layering the organic matter from your farm on the top-soil.
2. Analyse Your Soil
Clay or dense soil – Retains a lot of water and is preferable season is the fall, for utilizing the moisture-rich soil effectively.
Loose or sandy soil – Lower in water retention and is advisable to cultivate during the spring to add the suitable moisture-retention and to create a good ecosystem for your farm.
3. Types Of Crops
Deep-rooted crops – Drought resistance as the roots are capable of drawing a high amount of water from within. For instance, tomatoes, pulses, melons, and coarse cereals fall under this.
Shallow Rooted Crops – Higher dependency of water supply and requires continuous hydration. Monsoon is the best season for these crops. For instance, corn, cabbage, cauliflower, and mustard are the perfect ones.
4. Organic Manure
Green Manure - Green fertilizer helps in fostering a superior soil structure and the richness of the soil. They provide organic matter, an extra measure of Nitrogen, particularly if you are going for vegetable cultivation.
Compost - New deposits from the farm and household residues can be accumulated, saturated, and turn to get aerated at times and deteriorate steadily by reducing the Carbon: Nitrogen proportion.
The residues that you can use are the following.
- Crop straws
- Crop residues
- Leaves
- Bagasse
- Groundnut husk
- Paddy husk
- Sugarcane trash
- Cattle dung and urine
- Kitchen and vegetable wastes
- Household garbage (biodegradable)
Rishita Jain
Taking Care of Crops
The way toward growing a crop is very time-consuming. Organic farming in India requires some serious devotion and more consideration contrasted with regular cultivating. There are sure procedures that should be considered relying upon the plant and farm condition.
Understanding the Market
Marketing for any startup is a pivotal process to grow. Even in farming, it is imperative to know what sort of market you will need. to provide a good increase. Some horticultural items may not make a good sell in a specific sort of market. This thought is useful in making your venture sustainable.
While the consequences of organic farming may appear to be alluring, the way toward setting up and keeping up the farm is an extremely hard one. It takes difficult work, tolerance, perseverance, and a high level of confidence. If you need assistance, refer to InAcres — a team of devoted individuals with a goal to promote and produce integrated organic farming in India and there is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) — another team that fosters the pursuit of involving eco-friendly ecosystems all around the country.
Vibhavari Madki
FAQ's
Why organic farming is bad?
There is a huge downside because of the extra land that is being used to grow organic crops,” said Stefan Wirsenius, an associate professor at Chalmers. “If we use more land for food, we have less land for carbon sequestration. The total greenhouse gas impact from organic farming is higher than conventional farming.”
What is organic farming and its benefits?
Compared with conventional agriculture, organic farming uses fewer pesticides, reduces soil erosion, decreases nitrate leaching into groundwater and surface water, and recycles animal wastes back into the farm. These benefits are counterbalanced by higher food costs for consumers and generally lower yields.
Is Organic Farming Profitable in India?
According to International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD), India has more than 15,000 certified organic farms. Organic farms are generally more profitable and environmentally friendly, as it uses fewer chemicals and the residue is comparatively less chemical-intensive.
How can I start organic farming in India?
Things You Need to Know When Starting an Organic Farm
- Learn the basics of organic farming.
- The site is key.
- Match the land with what it is best for.
- Know your market.
- Prepare the soil and make good compost.
- Take care of what you plant.
- Seek a mentor and network with people.
- Seek a mentor and network with people.
Why Organic farming is expensive?
Organic foods are difficult to grow as they need high involvement and more time to grow. Moreover, lower yields of such crops and poor supply (still developing) chain further increases the production cost.
What are disadvantages of organic farming?
Disadvantages of organic farming
- Organic food is more expensive because farmers do not get as much out of their land as conventional farmers do.
- Production costs are higher because farmers need more workers.
- Marketing and distribution are not efficient because organic food is produced in smaller amounts.
Is organic farming difficult?
Some areas are natively organic, but others that are large producers of pulses etc., have been farming with chemicals. Converting these into organic has many challenges, however, from a broader perspective, these challenges can be met with proper counter-measures and government policies.
Conclusion
Farming these days is done by putting people's lives at risk with harmful pesticides and fertilizers. The main problem is the population growth in India. As the population increases, the demand and supply for foods are also increased. To cater to the needs, food production is done by using chemical fertilizers, toxic pesticides, and hybrids. Due to the excess use of chemicals, human health and nature are being adversely affected. To solve this issue, Organic Farming is the best possible solution to protect ourselves and nature from deadly chemicals.
Organic farming is a traditional way of farming that has been followed for ages. In India, organic farming is an agricultural method that is aimed to grow crops so as to keep the soil alive. It is done by following good practices using organic waste, waste crops, animal and farm waste, aquatic waste, and other organic materials.
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