Organic Farming: Reality and Concerns

Abstract

Organic farming is being proposed as a measure to restore sustainability of agriculture production, with an eye on maintaining environmental amenity at the same time. Although it has made remarkable progress in recent times, the scientific community stands rather skeptical about the ability of organic agriculture to produce enough food to feed the fast-growing population throughout the world. Despite being recognized to offer some health and environmental benefits, its low-yield potential with respect to conventional farming, and inadequate availability of organic inputs to meet the crop nutrient requirements are some constraints that put in jeopardy its future prospect as a universally acceptable alternative agriculture system. In view of these contrasting opinions, the present review attempts to explore the extent, distribution, merits and limitations of the organic agriculture. Possible impact of organic farming on soil health and India’s food security is also discussed.