Emerging trend of Organic Farming.

Emerging trend of Organic Farming.

           

 Organic farming is simply farming without chemicals. It is a system that seeks to exclude the direct or routine use of synthetic fertilizers, biocides, veterinary drugs, hormones, additives, preservatives, growth regulators and other agrochemicals. It relies upon crop rotations, crop residues, livestock manures, cattle dung, composted municipal garbage, vermin-compost, organic wastes such as rice husk, wheat husk, cotton lint and mineral bearing rocks i.e. used to feed the soil and supplies the nutrients required by plants. It is also called green food production.

          Health hazards are drastically increasing day by day due to the use of food commodities accumulating a great amount of toxins contributed by pesticides and fertilizers. Chemicals extensively used for commercial vegetables, fruits and cereals production contains carcinogenic compounds which permeate into the final produce. The noticeable ill effects of pesticides are respiratory problems, cancers, less reproductive ability and many more. The conventional farmers use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers more extensively in order to attain more yield and maximum benefits irrespective of their ill effects on human health. They have no concern with the human health. Wild life is diminishing such as the earth worms have become scarce and the soil seems dead. Sulphure and sulphure-containing pesticides are destructive for beneficial insects and arthropods. Go organic for a genuine, cost-effective, healthier and environmentally safer future

The organic food on the whole is nutrition and meets anatomical and physiological requirements of human. It also helps in interaction of food clean like production, processing, packaging and trading within the environment and the social structures. For keeping good health it becomes necessary to avoid use of such vegetables. Organic food has a better taste and a great variety. It contains on average 50 percent more vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other micro nutrients than intensively farmed produce.

    Organic cultivation replenishes and maintains long term soil fertility by reducing nitrate leaching. Increasing and improving wild life habitant. Naturally occurring microorganisms in soil play an important role in nitrogen cycle and decrease pathogenic fungus and bacteria. It encourages the use of natural and renewable recourses. It is to ensure healthy farm livestock. It provides more predicable economic returns. It boosts farm income and promotes sustainability. It maintains the genetic diversity of agricultural ecosystems. It ensures sustainable and healthy conditions for future generations.                
 In world the total area under organic farming was 31million hectares and there were total 633891 farms managed organically round the world. (By the  FiBL Survey 2007). While in Pakistan at present there are 20'310 hectares under organic farming and 28 farms managed organically. (By the FiBL Survey 2005-07). The studies show that 30.4 million hectares are currently certified according to organic standards. It is commercially practiced in 120 countries. The global market for organic products reached a value of over 40 billion US Dollars.

           As Organic farmers are not allowed to use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers therefore use of such toxic chemicals should be completely avoided. Good agricultural practices are needed to be carried out. The integrated pest management system is to be adopted. Weeds managed manually or mechanically. Green manuring has a positive influence on physical and chemical properties of soil. It maintains organic matter status of soil and increases its water holding capacity .Soil microbial population is also multiplied and soil aeration is improved. The organic wastes are also recycled.

           The dawn of third millennium bears immense concerns about potentially environmental hazards throughout the world. Public apathy and official indifferences on environment protection is not a secret. There is a dire need to decimate polluted environment. Organic farms are better than conventional farms at sustaining diverse ecosystems, i.e. population of plants and animals creating environment friendly atmosphere. Organic farming helps to minimize the greenhouse effect and global warming through its ability to sequester carbon in the soil. Organic farms support nature, whereas, intensive conventional farming has led to dramatic erosion of soil, fall of wild birds, destruction of ancient hedgerows, and extinction of some species like butterflies, frogs, grass snakes and wild mammals.

       The basic standards for organic production are published by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements IFOAM. These IFOAM basic standards define how organic products are grown produced processed and handled. The organic farmers have to meet these standards. Certification, accreditation and labeling the produce as ‘organic’ must be made by the certified and registered agencies. In Pakistan most of the Organic Farms are certified by Control Union Certifications Zwolle, the Netherlands for organic production methods and USDA-NOP standards.

            The mostly grown commodities are organic rice, organic cotton, organic wheat, organic sugar, organic sucrose, Organic Kinno fruit and juice concentrate, and Organic Mango fruit and pulp and seasonal fresh vegetables.

Prospects in Pakistan

Pakistan has a great potential for organic farming by delineating million of acres of most fertile and productive land. Progressive farmers community is destined turning towards organic cultivation. The area under organic farming will increase as public awareness and health consciousness are boosted up by the media. Organic farming here in Pakistan has many challenges to conduct. Organically produced commodities are relatively more perishable.

The reasons for slow progress of organic farming include lack of awareness among people about its benefits. Export of organic produce is at very limited level. There is also lack of inspection and certification agencies. Government price policies and monopolies on market of agriculture produce, causing low agricultural income.                 

The organic food market is growing rapidly in the entire world. Various alternative organic standards are also emerging. Some are also implementing new approaches to defining and buying food. Farmers have to reap market premium for certified production. The organic commodities will have high prices in domestic as well as in super markets. Hence the economy will grow with a potential to alleviate poverty. Organic food is also often linked with the fair trade movement, based on the principle that social and environmental sustainability are inextricably interdependent. Initiatives should be taken to organize marketing of organic food through creation of awareness and establishment of markets. Pakistan has large area which has used minimal pesticides and chemicals, where potential for conversion exists. It is envisaged that a reasonable percentage of production shall be organic in coming five years. The major organic food markets for Pakistan are Europe, the USA, Japan and Middle East. There is bright future which indicates impressive opportunities of different organic food products by Pakistan to export. Organic farming is also compulsory in order to withstand WTO standards to increase export of our agricultural produce.  Future prospects show proper utilization of recourses and profitable use of farm wastes. Soil water and air pollution would be reduced. Organic farming will provide an avocation to the land less laborers. Its objective are to develop low capital less labor intensive, high yielding, better quality and healthy organic farming. Reducing the cost of production to minimum to achieve self-sufficiency in all inputs. It is recognized as a long-term solution to the problem caused by nitrate pollution. Organic agriculture in the beginnings shows lower yields than conventional cropping but as its input are lower than conventional agriculture and labor in Pakistan is cheap, in long when organic agricultural methods have improved soil characteristics, soil fauna and established worm activity and large production of vermicasts, the yields will surpass the conventional methods.

            It is concluded to be a very vast and diversified field. There is growing demand of organic food products throughout the world. The researches and developments on national level are strictly needed to be made. The government should provide subsidy, financial and technical support to the farmers for organic crops cultivation. It is needed to shift our agriculture trends towards saving the nature. This will give us safe agricultural products and the power we use to dispose off our solid wastes. It is right of our next generation that if we can’t give them a better environment, we have no right to worsen it any more.