1 - Introduction

Summary

What is Organic Farming?

No one would be able to give a simple answer to the question: What is organic farming? The common answer to this question is that organic farming is farming without chemicals.

The generally accepted organic rules prohibit use of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators, livestock feed additives and, stress on longterm soil management, though there is no single international regulation for organic production. The ethics of organic farming is to generate all the required plant nutrients within the farm and adopt crop protection using local resources, restricting external inputs to the bare minimum, if not completely dispensing with them. Organic farming is essentially a soil-building mechanism; to keep the soil ‘alive’, make the soil ‘live’ and sustain fertility. Building ‘live’ soil is the primary concern of all organic farming. In organic farming, soil – and not the crop – is fed. The soil has to hold the organic matter and create conditions for microorganisms to work on it to release nutrients. Therefore, organic farming is neither merely replacing the chemicals with organic matter in it, nor is it going back to traditional agriculture. It is the conversion of soil from ‘non-living’ to ‘living’. To sustain life in the soil, several techniques are involved, such as conversion of soil and moisture, and maintenance of minimum soil organic matter. Farmers must practise green manuring, compost making, vermicomposting, and use of bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides. Once that is achieved, the soil will take care of itself with minimum maintenance cost and minimum external inputs.