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PRINCIPLES, SCOPE AND CHALLENGES OF ORGANIC

AGRICULTURE IN THE FOOD PRODUCTION

Chapter One

Introduction

Organic farming is defined as production of crop, animal, and other products

without the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides, transgenic
species, or antibiotics and growth-enhancing steroids, or other chemicals (Paull,
2017).
Organic agriculture is one among the broad spectrum of production methods
that are supportive of the environment. Agriculture remains the key sector for
the economic development for most developing countries. It is critically
important for ensuring food security, alleviating poverty and conserving the
vital natural resources that the world’s present and future generations will be
entirely dependent upon for their survival and well-being. The world
populations will inevitably double by the middle of the twenty-first century, that
we are soon to enter, that is in the space of just two generations. Over 90% of
the developing nations, especially in Asia and to an ever greater extent will be
in the urban areas which follow up the green revolution strategy (Edwards-
Jones and Howells, 2001).
Organic farming is beneficial for natural resources and the environment.
Organic farming is a system that favors maximum use of organic materials and
microbial fertilizers to improve soil health and to increase yield. Organic
horticulture (or organic gardening) is based on knowledge and techniques
gathered over thousands of years. In general terms, organic horticulture involves
natural processes, often taking place over extended periods of time, and a
sustainable, holistic approach - while chemical-based horticulture focuses on
immediate, isolated effects and reductionist strategies.

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Chapter Two

Organic Agriculture: Principles

Organic farming: An agricultural system that uses ecologically based pest

controls and biological fertilizers derived largely from animal and plant wastes
and nitrogen-fixing cover crops.

Principles of Organic Agriculture

The four principles of organic agriculture are as follows:

1. Principle of health

Organic Agriculture should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant,
animal, human and planet as one and indivisible.

This principle points out that the health of individuals and communities
cannot be separated from the health of ecosystems - healthy soils produce
healthy crops that foster the health of animals and people.

Health is the wholeness and integrity of living systems. It is not simply

the absence of illness, but the maintenance of physical, mental, social and
ecological well-being. Immunity, resilience and regeneration are key
characteristics of health.

The role of organic agriculture, whether in farming, processing,

distribution, or consumption, is to sustain and enhance the health of
ecosystems and organisms from the smallest in the soil to human beings.
In particular, organic agriculture is intended to produce high quality,
nutritious food that contributes to preventive health care and well-being.
In view of this it should avoid the use of fertilizers, pesticides, animal
drugs and food additives that may have adverse health effects.
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2. Principle of ecology

Organic Agriculture should be based on living ecological systems and

cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them.

This principle roots organic agriculture within living ecological systems.

It states that production is to be based on ecological processes, and
recycling. Nourishment and well-being are achieved through the ecology
of the specific production environment. For example, in the case of crops
this is the living soil; for animals it is the farm ecosystem; for fish and
marine organisms, the aquatic environment.

Organic farming, pastoral and wild harvest systems should fit the cycles
and ecological balances in nature. These cycles are universal but their
operation is site-specific. Organic management must be adapted to local
conditions, ecology, culture and scale. Inputs should be reduced by reuse,
recycling and efficient management of materials and energy in order to
maintain and improve environmental quality and conserve resources.

Organic agriculture should attain ecological balance through the design of

farming systems, establishment of habitats and maintenance of genetic
and agricultural diversity. Those who produce, process, trade, or consume
organic products should protect and benefit the common environment
including landscapes, climate, habitats, biodiversity, air and water.

3. Principle of fairness

Organic Agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness

with regard to the common environment and life opportunities.

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Fairness is characterized by equity, respect, justice and stewardship of the

shared world, both among people and in their relations to other living
beings.

This principle emphasizes that those involved in organic agriculture

should conduct human relationships in a manner that ensures fairness at
all levels and to all parties - farmers, workers, processors, distributors,
traders and consumers. Organic agriculture should provide everyone
involved with a good quality of life, and contribute to food sovereignty
and reduction of poverty. It aims to produce a sufficient supply of good
quality food and other products.

This principle insists that animals should be provided with the conditions
and opportunities of life that accord with their physiology, natural
behavior and well-being.

Natural and environmental resources that are used for production and
consumption should be managed in a way that is socially and ecologically
just and should be held in trust for future generations. Fairness requires
systems of production, distribution and trade that are open and equitable
and account for real environmental and social costs.

4. Principle of care

Organic Agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and

responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and
future generations and the environment.

Organic agriculture is a living and dynamic system that responds to

internal and external demands and conditions. Practitioners of organic
agriculture can enhance efficiency and increase productivity, but this

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should not be at the risk of jeopardizing health and well-being.

Consequently, new technologies need to be assessed and existing
methods reviewed. Given the incomplete understanding of ecosystems
and agriculture, care must be taken.

This principle states that precaution and responsibility are the key
concerns in management, development and technology choices in organic
agriculture. Science is necessary to ensure that organic agriculture is
healthy, safe and ecologically sound. However, scientific knowledge
alone is not sufficient. Practical experience, accumulated wisdom and
traditional and indigenous knowledge offer valid solutions, tested by
time. Organic agriculture should prevent significant risks by adopting
appropriate technologies and rejecting unpredictable ones, such as genetic
engineering. Decisions should reflect the values and needs of all who
might be affected, through transparent and participatory processes.

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Chapter Three

Scope of Organic Agriculture

Organic farming has attracted considerable attention from those who see it as a
panacea to those who see it as ideological nonsense. A more humble
responsibility for the organic movement may be to serve as role model for a
farming system in which values other than financial are cultivated. Organic
farming asks how we ought to relate to each other andour natural environment.
The values of the organic movement are not esoteric, but are based on
observation and common sense: treat livestock well, use resources sparingly,
use the least harmful method, nature is inherently valuable and so on. Food
security depends upon personal relationships of integrity and trust among
farmers, farm workers, suppliers, consumers and others up and down the
agricultural supply chain, and integrity and trust have been fundamental to
organic agriculture’s success.
There are many other role models across the spectrum of agricultural systems,
such as conservation tillage, permaculture and traditional farming systems, but
organic farming has emerged as one of the best known alternative farming
systems developed in response to the shortcomings of mainstream agriculture.
Many of the key benefits and opportunities for organic agriculture are suitable
areas for the organic movement to show leadership and innovation, including
assurance and auditing procedures, rural and regional development and low cost
agricultural systems relying on biological and ecological processes.

Scope of Organic Farming

 Protecting soil quality using organic material and encouraging biological

activity
 Indirect provision of crop nutrients using soil microorganisms
 Nitrogen fixation in soils using legumes
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 Weed and pest control based on methods like crop rotation, biological
diversity, natural predators, organic manures and suitable chemical,
thermal and biological intervention
 Rearing of livestock, taking care of housing, nutrition, health, rearing and
breeding
 Care for the larger environment and conservation of natural habitats and
wild life

As opposed to modern and conventional agricultural methods, organic farming

does not depend on synthetic chemicals. It utilizes natural, biological methods
to build up soil fertility such as microbial activity boosting plant nutrition.

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Chapter Four
Challenges of Organic Agriculture
Organic farming is nothing new, it has been practiced since 5800 B.C.
However, farming with pesticides has only been common within the last 50
years (Wu and Sardo, 2010). Many commercial farmers would tell you that it’s
not even possible to successfully grow crops without them.
With recent studies done on the effects of pesticides on our health, organic
farming is having a strong comeback. With this comeback have come new
ideas. Technology today affords us a lot more luxury and variation when it
comes to farming. This technology ranges from herbicides to tractors and
doesn’t stop there. As a new farmer, it can be confusing coming into all this
progress and trying to decide what works and what doesn’t. Every farmer has
their own miracle fix or ideas on how best to solve the three main farming
issues: soil composition, weed control and dealing with pests and disease. 

 Experimentation is the best way to learn what will work on your land and
in your particular climate as a farmer, but in order to experiment, farmers must
know what’s available.
Soil
 One of the most important components of an organic farm is the soil. Pesticide
farmers have chemical fertilizers that they use to create a topsoil layer. They
have to apply this every season as it washes away easily with rain. The key to
good soil for organic farming is building up nutrient rich soil that will last.
Fossel feels that by applying compost at the beginning of every season and
working it in with shallow tilling you will obtain the best soil possible (Yadav,
2015).

All three farmers explain how to create compost. You must have a proper
balance of phosphorous, nitrogen, carbon, and potassium in order to achieve the

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rich humus that farmers want to add to their soil. This requires time, and means
you must be careful about what you add to the heap. Manure must be allowed to
rot, nitrogen sources such as cardboard or wood must be shredded, and if you
are to be organically certified, your pile must reach between 131 and 170
degrees Fahrenheit for at least three days on order to be considered safe.

Cover crops

The homesteader, Ussery, believes compost is just too much work. He supports
the idea of cover crops, also known as green manure. Soil should never be left
bare, all three farmers agree. Ussery keeps the soil covered with nutrient rich
cover crops and then either lets winter kill them or cuts them off at the base and
allows the roots to decompose underground. The purpose of cover crops is for
them to decompose and slowly release their nutrients into the soil to become
available to the cash crops. Good cover crops include cereal grains and legumes.
These keep nutrients in the soil and then once killed release those and more
back into the soil. It also opens channels in the soil that allow worms and
moisture to infiltrate deep throughout.

Another way to kill the cover crop and release its nutrients is by using
your own chickens. If you set up a wire around the part of the garden where the
cover crop is planted, the chickens will scratch, trample, and eat the cover crop
down to nothing. They will also defecate in the fields, leaving behind their
manure as fertilizer (Yadav, 2015).
Soil analysis

All three farmers place varying importance on getting a soil analysis. Kaysing,
however believes this is key. He offers several sources of free or cheap analysis
such as the USDA soil conservation services. The cheapest way to test your soil

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is to scoop up about a pound of topsoil and put it into a glass jar. Fill the bottle
with water and then shake. The first layer to settle would be pebbles, then sand,
then organic matter, and finally clay. This can tell you what your soil is made
up of, but still doesn’t tell you what nutrients are lacking (Kaysing, 2013)

Once you know what your soil needs, Kaysing feels that you should
enrich the soil. He believes you should add rock phosphates, greensand, and
limestone to achieve the perfect soil once you have gotten your analysis. These
are the basic components that make up most good soil, various forms of
decomposed rock and seabed deposits (Kaysing, 2013). 
Stifling weed growth 

Commercial farmers of today’s day and age deal with weeds by using chemical
fertilizers on cash crops and heavily tilling in between the rows. This destroys
topsoil and opens the field up to even more weed growth the following year.
Fossel offers many ways to control weed growth, but has had the most success
with limiting the weed plants that reach germination and thus cutting weed
growth in half every year. Fossel achieves this through regular shallow tilling,
which opens up weed seeds to predation by birds and small rodents (Fossel,
2006). The other two farmers feel that little to no tilling should take place even
if it’s shallow, because it buries the nutrient rich topsoil. Fossel also goes after
the weeds by hand before they germinate and scatter their new seeds (Fossel,
2006).

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Chapter Five

Conclusions

Keeping in view the aforesaid advantages and limitations of organic farming,

following generalisations can be made in the context of farming.
Wherever it possible, organic farming can be encouraged especially in
horticultural crops where its effects have been found better. For example in
Kashmir, walnut cultivation is purely organic based horticultural crop and of
high quality has tremendous export potential in the international market.
Similarly, almond can be grown with no use of chemical fertilizers. So the areas
under walnut cultivation can be considered as ‘organic by default’.

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References

Edwards-Jones, G; Howells, O (2001). "The origin and hazard of inputs to crop

protection in organic farming systems: Are they sustainable?".
Agricultural Systems. 67: 31
Fossel G.C. (2006). Problems and prospects of Organic farming in NER. Paper
presented in the Seminar on “Organic farming – Status and Road Map”
during the North East Agri. Expo on March 06 at Dimapur, Nagaland.
Kaysing,, J. A. (2013). Food security: intensification of agriculture is essential,
for which current tools must be defended and new sustainable
technologies invented. Food Energ. Secur. 2, 167–173
Lotter, D. (2003). "Organic Agriculture" (PDF). Journal of Sustainable
Agriculture. 21 (4): 59. doi:10.1300/J064v21n04_06. S2CID 216090323.
Paull, John (2017) "Four New Strategies to Grow the Organic Agriculture
Sector", Agrofor International Journal, 2(3):61-70.
Sundar Raj, B. A (2013) Third Generation Automated Teller Machine Using
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Wani, S. A., Chand, S., Najar, G.R. and Teli, M.A. (2013). Organic Farming:
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Wu, J. Y., and Sardo, V. (2010). Sustainable versus organic agriculture. In:
Sociology, Organic Farming, Climate Change and Soil Science. pp. 41–
76. Lichtfouse, E., Ed., Springer, Dordrecht
Yadav, A. K. (2015). Organic Agriculture at a Glance. Available online:
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