Scope of Organic vegetable farming in India

Organic vegetable farming is gaining popularity in India. Organic food market is one of the fastest growing business in India because of the shortage of the availability of organic products.The awareness among people about the health issues caused by the consumption of vegetables which contain chemicals,also fuelling it.

The rate of food production is not enough to feed rapidly increasing human population.Same way in India,food production and the space available for farming is decreasing rapidly.The GREEN REVOLUTION helped India to overcome the food crisis that happened in 60's and 70's.But increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides decreased soil's natural fertility and productivity.So there is a threat that the food crisis may occur in nearby future unless preventive measures are taken.The other thing is that the modern way of life affected health of people very seriously and increased use of chemicals as fertilizers and pesticides added oil to the fire.Now people are aware of the negative impact of  these chemicals and prefer food produced in organic way.So the scope is very huge for Organic way of vegetable farming.

Indian Government is promoting Organic farming through various schemes.National project on Organic farming (NPOF) is one such scheme to promote organic farming.Various state governments like Kerala,Maharashtra,Karnataka,Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh etc promote Organic farming with their own schemes and subsidies.

What is Organic farming?

Organic farming is not just a farming method,but it is a culture which consider nature, soil, its surrounding habitat,plants and animals as primary factors than profit.Its a productive way to cultivate our food without harming nature.So here humans produce food from nature in a win-win situation.Ultimate gain is for humans that we get nature fresh food and at the same time,the habitat is becoming more and more greener.So Organic farming is a culture where we create no negative impact to earth.

Scope of farming Organic vegetables

New technologies and equipments are becoming popular in farming fields.The main features of these new technologies are their environmental friendly operations.By utilizing these new technologies and environmental friendly equipments mass production of organic food items are possible.Same time people are becoming more and more health conscious. They are willing to pay more for organically grown food items.So there is always a good market for organic items.

In Kerala,production of vegetables are very less compared to the demand.So a very good market always exists for vegetables in Kerala.Now Keralites are depending other states like Tamil Nadu,Karnataka for their vegetables required,but the quality of these vegetables cannot be confirmed.Most of the contain chemicals more than permitted.Because of this, Organic farming is a political subject for Assembly election in Kerala.The solution is to have at least one organic farm in every village so people can buy fresh vegetables directly from them by seeing how they are produced.Individual Organic farming on terrace also gaining popularity nowadays.

Organic farming

Farmers groups and Farmers market

 For better utilization of opportunities in the field of organic vegetable farming,we need to form farmers group and market in village level.Formation of farmers group helps mass production of vegetables which is a key point to rule the market.Formation of farmers market helps buyers to meet the farmers directly and providing an easy medium to buy/sell products.So the scope of farming depends mainly on these two factors.

Utilization of private Investment in Organic farming

 As the demand for Organic vegetables increases day by day, private investment in this sector is becoming more attractive. Utilizing new technologies and modern equipments,private investors can increase productivity and earn more income.But such movements are in initial stage in Kerala.

A study was conducted by CUTS(Consumer Unity and Trust Society)for analysing the awareness and usage of organic farming methods among farmers.Even though 98% of farmers are aware of the hazards of pesticides and fertilizers,they still continue to use they by fearing less production if they use Organic methods.Government is spending Crores for promoting Organic farming,but it is not reaching to the root level.

New Trends in Organic farming

Formation of Organic farmers associations is the new trend in Organic farming.This helps them to freeze quality guidelines,Brand their products and raise funds.They also have their own websites.As the production is bulk,they also have the option for bargaining directly with major players and they do exports also.Associations like OFAI,AOFGI,MASS etc are such Organic farmers associations.

 So investing in Organic farming is a good business opportunity,but we need to have some experience before we enter deep into it.So its the time to learn more about organic vegetable farming....expect more info on coming posts..