Organic Agriculture Programming for Sustainability in Primary Sector of India: Action and Adoption

By : Arun K. Sharma

Page No: 1-17

Abstract
Realizing the effects of Conventional System (CS) of agriculture by the stakeholders that are leading to unsustainable trends in productivity of primary industry, society and environment, organic agriculture (OA) is being gradually established as a viable option for sustaining growth of primary sector in India. In this article logical standing of OA as scientific, resources & energy efficient and climate resilient system has been presented with the experimental results and experiences of the farmers. Organic agriculture got significant momentum in India in all direction i.e. production, marketing, research and policy etc. during last 2-3 decades. During this period this has been proved that sufficient organic inputs are available and productivity & profitability remained almost at par with CS, if managed prudently, besides environmental (biodiversity, carbon sequestration) and human health improvement. However, there is need of programming for quantity and quality production of organic produce to meet the increasing indigenous as well as export demand. This programming and its execution will lead to gradual shift on OA, firstly in drylands and later on in irrigated areas, without losing food security. Consortium approach of all stakeholders in policy, research, and market and production is the need for success of this programming.

Author :
Arun K. Sharma : Senior Scientist, Central Arid Zone Research Institute(CAZRI), Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.