A study on organic farming: Its uses, drawbacks, feasibility and scalability with reference to the Sikkim model

Abstract

Organic farming or traditional farming was the actual method of farming practiced across different eras in different parts of the world. organic and traditional farming were synonymous before the industrial revolution as there were not many inorganic methods. Post the industrial revolution in the west and during the Green revolution in India, came the advent of yield enhancing tools such as fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides. In India, post-independence, increased population and consequent rising demand for food prompted both (government and the farmers) to focus on increasing yield per hectare. In 1960s, this led to introduction of new technologies and use of chemical inputs which increased production as well as the productivity of the limited available agricultural land and the phase was coined as ‘Green Revolution’. This pushed the government to provide huge subsidies thus reducing cost of the chemicals for the farmers. On the other hand, labor shortage due to schemes such as ‘national employment guarantee scheme’ ensured that farmers spent up to 40% of their investments on labor. These two reasons and the argument that India cannot afford expensive crops has led to uncontrolled use of chemicals. With the Green Revolution initiatives, the production as well as the productivity of the agricultural land increased, and India became self-sufficient in food grain production and started exporting the surplus produce to many countries. Thus, India became net exporter of food produce helping strengthen the economy. However, the intensive use of synthetic fertilizers in non-organic method of agriculture eroded soil fertility and soil health which threatened the sustainability of agriculture sector in the long run. Many state governments which were highly dependent on agriculture and eco-tourism were concerned about the deteriorating levels of the farmland, bio-diversity, and the sustainability of their eco-system with the increasing use of chemicals. As a result, Sikkim, a tiny state in the Himalayas decided to reintroduce organic farming in the state to protect the state from hazards of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.