Organic Farming: A New

Platform for Sustainable

Entrepreneurship

Mohak Jain
B.Com (hons.) , Scholar
Sri Aurobindo College
Unviersity of Delhi, New Delhi
 Introduction

As Indias maximum population lives in rural areas, it becomes obvious that

development will not be possible without the development of these areas. As
agriculture is the main component of rural development, so the emphasis
should be given on its improvement which should not only be quantitative but
qualitative as well. In order to achieve this objective, agricultural production
should be done sustainably, i.e. without harming the nature and keeping in
mind the future generations.
Today, in order to increase the quantity of the output, quality has been
sacrificed and it has turned into a serious problem. Hence, it is the need of the
hour to use the farming techniques which are safe for the environment and
one such technique is Organic Farming.
What is Organic farming?
According to FAO Organic farming is a holistic production
management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem
health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological
activity. It emphasizes the use of management practices in preference
to the use of off-farm inputs, taking into account that regional
conditions require locally adapted systems.

In simpler words it is the

sustainable agriculture technique
in which production of crops and
livestock is done by completely
prohibiting the synthetic inputs
and relying upon the eco-friendly
inputs like animal manure, crop
residues, off-farm organic waste
etc.
Why Organic farming?
Quality

The quality of food that is produced under organic farming is of very good
quality has good nutrient value.

Health

The output from it is good for health compared to conventional

farmings output.

Environment

Organic farming is an eco-friendly technique. It increases the soil

fertility, water level etc.

So these benefits of organic farming has lead it to as an alternative for

agriculture production. It is a remedy for all the problems and issues that
came into the picture due to the advent of green revolution. It provides an
eco-friendly approach to agriculture which in long run is beneficial for people
and society as whole.
 Organic farming Prospects
The market which was once for just
some health conscious people who gave
more importance to health than
anything, is now becoming popular.
People nowadays pay more for the
quality and greener food to keep their
health in check.
People all over the world are now
concerning more about the ever
decreasing fertility of the soil and the
increasing pollution . organic farming
methods are safer, viable and socially
replicable.
Also area under organic farming is
increasing in India.

Organic farming has some shortcomings as well but it provides some

good future prospects as the demand is constantly rising due to the
increasing higher standards of living. People are nowadays more
conscious about their health and thus eat better and live better.
Modern Agriculture issues and Organic
farming as a remedy
Modern agriculture leads to :
1. Pollution
Dumping of waste in water bodies,
decrease in soil fertility etc.
2. Soil Erosion
Removal of the top layer of the soil due to many
reasons.
Increasing use of machinery, use of pesticides
and herbicides has contributed to further
erosion of it.
3. Water depletion
over irrigation and increasing
reliance on it has led to the levels
of water to decrease.
Pumping out rate> recharging rate
-Remedy: Organic Farming is eco-friendly and it does not causes any
pollution.
Remedy: Organic farming has minimal use of the machines so it does
not contribute to the soil erosion. Also since only eco-friendly manures
are used that even increases the nutrient value of the soil and prevent
it from eroding.
Remedy: Organic farming does rely on excessive amount of water as
the crops that are mostly produced are seasonal which does not need
extra amount of water than it is normally available. Also the animal
manure and crop rotation leads to the decreased use of the water for
agriculture.
4. Health problems
Remedy: The output produced from organic farming is
Food contains some amount of healthy and is not prone to any disease.
pesticides and fertilizer toxic
which is harmful to health.

5. Unemployment Remedy: In this prospect organic farming provides large

The use of technology and
machines in its workings has lead
to decrease in the human
element i.e. employment is
decreasing
employment opportunities as it uses the traditional
approach and practices in its working which requires a large
amount of human resource. Though the whole process takes
more time to complete but it provides the basic standard of
living to the poor by employing them.

6. Monoculture
Remedy: Organic farming provides the ample amount of
Focuses on growing a single type diversity in crop production. It includes the seasonal farming
of crop on the farmland i.e. only a i.e. growing crops with and according to the season. This
single species of crop is grown ensures the diversity in crop production and reduces the risk
that leads to the chances of
of crop failure.
widespread crop failure in case of
a disaster
 Organic Farming and Sustainable rural
development
Sustainable rural development is the
development of rural systems by constant
economic growth, improvement in social
conditions etc.

Organic farming helps in the development of rural areas and thus the
economy. It creates jobs for the people living in these areas. Provides them
with the healthy food. Also organic farming complements the harmonic
relation of human with their environment.
A sustainable rural development policy should be able to fulfill the needs of
the current and future generations whether it may be nutrients needs,
employment needs or regeneration of the natural resource. Organic farming
helps in all these aspects and assists in implementation the policy. In this
way organic farming can be said as a tool of sustainable rural development.
 Indian Organic Market Appraisal

According to India Organic Food

Market Forecast & Opportunities,
2020 Organic food in India is
anticipated to grow at a CAGR of over
25% during 2015-20.

A study by ASSOCHAM titled Organic

Products The Way Ahead exhibited
that certified organic farms under
private farmers are increasing and it
was around 4.5million hectares in
2013.
It showed that private players are
doing their best in employing the
innovative business models in this
context.

State wise area under organic farming

Entrepreneurship Opportunities in
Organic Market

1. Export 2. Health

3. Environment
A. Export
The demand for organic food is rising on a global scale.
Although the consumers prefer locally produced organic goods but it is impossible to grow
the variety of organic goods and the sufficient quantity within the borders of the same
country to fulfill the demand.
Also due to the different natural conditions, a good that can be produced in one region
cannot be produced in other. For e.g. in northern developed countries fruits like orange,
kiwi etc. cannot be produced so they are imported from the developing Mediterranean
region.
As a result importing is a common practice and it is a very big opportunity for the
developing countries like ours to penetrate these potential markets
- Some strategies to be followed before exporting fruits and vegetables.

C. Good
A. Standards B. Know-how
Infrastructure

D. Good trade
relations

B. Health
As the standard of living is increasing people are now spending more on health.
Health nowadays is the major concern mainly due to the consequences of changing
atmosphere, unhealthy adulterated food, harmful diseases etc.
People are now becoming more health conscious and are willing to pay more to get
nutritious food, fresh fruits and vegetables, clean water etc. that leads to the increase
in human life span.
So for farmers who are maintaining the quality standards and supplying the required
quantity, the market is of huge potential and there is a lot of room for growth and
success.
C. Environment
As the non-organic techniques have begun harming the environment since last many
decades, it is major concern for all the countries and the organizations to react to its
safety.
Organic farming as an alternative is very successful in doing so. Its techniques are eco-
friendly and it even betters the environment, so governments and global
organizations are spreading awareness among the farmers about this technique and
they are also providing many incentives so that farmers take up this form of farming
and thus have a huge potential for growth.
Schemes like Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme is implemented by NCOF in
collaboration with NABARD. This scheme makes available the organic inputs, helps to
increase the soil productivity, reduce the pollution and environment degradation and
reduce the dependability on the chemical fertilizers.
Constraints in Organic Market Yield
Yield
Critics of organic farming argue that the yield from organic farming is very less
than that from the conventional one (somewhere 10-20% less). In country like
ours which has an abundance of the population, this technique is solely not
enough to fulfill the demand and fill the stomach of every citizen of the
country.
Certification
For farmers that produce organic food, they are required an organic
certification from the concern regulated body of the country. They must hire a
certification organization that can inspect their product, checks whether they
have met the set standards required by them to sell or export the food. This
process is very expensive. It depends on the quantity of farm produce, farm
size etc.
Natural pesticides.
Organic farming use natural pesticides which if used carelessly may be harmful
to the crops.
Some organic-focused product
companies in India
Vinati organics limited.
This company was established in 1989; they are a chemical company and
are focused using innovation with chemistry to produce organically.

Jagriti Agro tech.

This company believes in holistic rural development by providing by providing the sustainable
livelihood opportunities. The main activities of the company is to train the farmers in best
practices of organic farming & minimizing costs, to maintain the documents to obtain the
organic certification, teaching the farmers to plan according to the market demands.

I Say Organic.
This is a social enterprise which provides people with the toxic free organic food while
supporting and restructuring the farmers.

Conscious Foods
Started in 1990, this is the pioneer company for providing green and organic food to
consumers in India. Most of the products are sourced from the small rural farmers in the
company. They are certified by ECOCERT.
 Conclusion
Organic farming as a market is growing day by day. People are now aware of
the negative effects of the modern non-organic farming and are increasingly
getting conscious about their health and food quality and these are all
contributing to this sectors growth.
Increasing concerns about the environment, society and economy have led the
farmers to shift from conventional to organic farming.
Also, India has diverse agro-climate conditions which act as a catalyst in organic
farming.
So organic farming through its characteristics provides many entrepreneurial
prospects that are lucrative enough for the farmers to get attracted. It
generates enough profits while keeping quality as a priority.
The demand for the organically produced food is increasing globally and thus
for the entrepreneurs, it is the perfect market. Due to its eco-friendly
characteristic; it has become the technique for the future.