Prof. Raj Kishore Panda* in Bhubaneswar, August 16, 2022: Recent civil unrest and subsequent political turmoil in Sri Lanka have opened up fresh debate on the sustainability issue of organic agriculture as an alternative to conventional farming system in the context of developing countries.

As it is reported, the imprudent policy decision of the Sri Lankan government to adopt organic agriculture replacing conventional farming brought in sharp fall in agricultural production leading to acute shortage of food stuffs and wild rise in prices of essential commodities in the island nation, thus forcing the present crisis. Sri Lanka which was self-sufficient in rice production since 2010 and ranked first in Food Security Index for South Asia in 2017 resorted to importing food grains to meet its domestic requirements in 2021.

Organic agriculture as an alternative to conventional farming system has been fast growing all over the world over the last decade. This is because organic farming system is perceived to offer better solutions to the problems of present agriculture both in terms of providing stable crop productivity on a sustainable basis, thus providing enhanced livelihood to the farmers and protecting soil and environment against degradation and pollution.

However, as it is well recognized there lies sharp differences between developed and developing countries with regard to the farming practices followed. While the developed countries being better placed in terms of food security are more interested in the farming system providing safe and hygienic food to their people, the developing countries in view of having weak food security are intensely engaged in growing more food for their people with limited attention showing towards the quality aspect of food production.

Coming to the state of organic agriculture in India we find that over the years there has been very slow growth in terms of acreage under organic farming in the country. By 2018 only 19.38 million hectares have come under organic farming and this amounts to 1.08 percent of the cultivated area of the country.

State-wise data reveal that contrary to the expectation the relatively poorer states such as Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan exhibit higher percentage of area under organic agriculture than the agriculturally richer states like Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The crops covered under organic agriculture largely include the commercial ones like cotton, spices, vegetables, fruits, tea and coffee and all these are largely cultivated for export purposes.

The pertinent question here is why has not organic farming picked up in the country? Is it that the farmers do have a negative attitude towards the farming system or is there any institutional bottlenecks thwarting the conversion to the new farming system from the conventional one? To answer these questions we underline below a few issues which need policy attention.

First and foremost hurdle lies in the predominance of small holder farming in the country. As experts opine, in the initial years of conversion (normally 2-4 years) the organic food production is associated with higher cost per unit of output. More so, since the conversion from conventional farming to organic farming needs some investment towards the preparation of land it entails a cost. The small holder-farmers being financially vulnerable it becomes very difficult on their part to switch to organic farming without institutional support. The higher cost of production in the initial stages of conversion also makes farming less remunerative for small farmers.

Secondly, because of widespread prevalence of in-secured tenancy in the agriculture sector, both the land owners and the lessees are reluctant to invest in organic agriculture. While the land lord does not invest on conversion apprehending that the lease-holder may claim occupancy right for cultivating the land after it is converted, the lease-holder in his way does not think worthwhile to invest in conversion as he does not have the security of tenure to cultivate the land for a definite period.

Thirdly, in developing country like India demand for organic farm products is very limited. It is largely confined to people living in cities and metropolis who are better concerned with quality aspects of food. The marketing channels to sell the organic farm produces which are supposed to be more perishable are not well developed in India. As such the growers of organic produce face a lot of constraints in selling their products.

From the above narrative, we may draw conclusion that organic agriculture being considered as a safe and sustainable farming system for the future healthy living of the mankind, agricultural policy needs to prioritize its progress in the country. Sri Lanka case may be considered as a policy misstep by the government.

In case of India with wide regional diversity in land and climatic conditions and traditional/subsistence farming being practiced in a large part of hilly and tribal areas including some rain-fed pockets with negligible use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, a well thought-out planning is needed to develop these areas for organic farming.

Since this farming system happens to be relatively costly in the initial period we must think for both (conventional as well as organic) farming methods to go together. A strong institutional support in the form of finance, extension services , markets etc is an imperative to boost organic agriculture in the country.

* Formerly, Professor of Economics, Utkal University & Director, NKC Centre for Development Studies (ICSSR Institute) , Odisha, Bhubaneswar.