Preliminary Study of Organic Farming Practices in Southern Rajasthan, India
Hari Singh *
Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
S. K. Sharma
Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
M. K. Meena
Indian Institute of Soil and water Conservation (IISWC), Dehradun, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In the present age of global warming and changing climatic scenario, agriculture has to be more eco- friendly with resource-conserving technologies for achieving the sustainable food-livelihood-environmental security. With growing awareness on food safety and health issue, demand for organically produced products increased drastically. To understand the economics and status of Organic Farming practices, a case study was conducted in Southern Rajasthan in the year 2020-21. A convenient sample of 317 organic cultivators were selected through multistage simple random sampling technique and data were collected through a pretested questionnaire along with semi structured interviews. Preliminary study shows that the net returns per hectare received from organic farming were relatively higher or good enough as compare to conventional counterparts. An increasing trend of growing organic products were observed during the study period. The major constraints identified by the organic cultivators were non-availability of labour and organic certification followed by the high wage rate and insect pest attacks. Sustainable efforts from government organizations, research institutes, marketing cells, progressive cultivators, dealers, and policy makers are necessary for successful adoption of the organic farming.
Keywords: Conservation technologies, organic farming, organic certification, food safety, constraints