Benefits of Organic Farming

At the outset, let us understand what is organic farming. Well, organic farming can be defined as an agricultural activity followed mainly to maintain the fertility of the soil and for pest control. It does not involve the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, genetically modified organisms or any kind of plant growth regulators in it. Products yielded through organic farming have been in great demand since the last decade. Organic farming covers almost 0.8% of the total area under farming throughout the world which means more than 32 million hectares land is under organic farming.

An Introduction to Organic Farming
The concept of organic farming originated out of the organic movement that existed in the earlier years of 1930 and 1940. The organic movement was actually an anti-synthetic fertilizer movement. Synthetic fertilizers were used widely in those days for agricultural purposes whereas organic farming prohibits the application of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Organic farming is a very old concept and a developed practice in India. In fact, it was implemented in India much before the organic movement began. Evidences of this fact have been found in the ancient texts of India. In India, many of the villages still practice organic farming methods.

Benefits of Organic Farming

• Organic farming proves to be more profitable than the age old traditional farming methods.
• It has been found that organic farming reduces the production cost by about 25-30%, as it does not involve the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which thus makes organic farming cost effective.
• Soil is the most important component in farming and organic farming preserves soil by reducing soil erosion up to a large extent.
• Organic farming also enables the farmers to use the soil for a longer period of time to grow crops as soil fertility is maintained for a long time.
• Organic farming has a positive effect on the ecosystem, as it proves vital in supporting the survival of wildlife in the lowlands. It even provides safe pasture lands for grazing
• Organic farming is not only beneficial for farmers, but it also has proved useful for the dairy industry. Cattle grazing on organic farmlands have been found to be less prone to diseases and they yield more milk. These are definitely good signs for a consumer of these dairy products from health perspective and for a dairy organization from the profit perspective.
• Products or foodstuffs produced from organic farming neither contain any sort of artificial flavors or preservatives nor do they contain any harmful chemicals.
• The original nutritional content of food is preserved due to the absence of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
• Organic products moreover are tastier than the products yielded from traditional farming.
• Consumption of products obtained from organic farming minimizes the risks of physical ailments such as heart attacks. Scientific studies have proven that organic foods are healthier than the inorganic ones

Organic farming has proven beneficial for many but the yield of organic farming has not been substantial since its beginning. Many farmers have turned to organic farming only on account of the subsidies given by the government to promote organic farming. There also have been instances wherein farmers have opted for organic farming on account of reduced production cost as compared to traditional farming. Low productivity, higher time required to yield and requirement of specialized skills for implementation have been some of the disadvantages of organic farming. However, organic farming has been significantly contributing towards providing quality food and prevention of soil erosion which have nowadays become serious concerns in many regions of the world.