Organic farming - (Gaurav Mathur)

Organic farming has been followed from ancient time in India. It is a unique method which is primarily aimed at use of organic products and bio-fertilizers in crop cultivation to release nutrients to crops for increased sustainable production in a healthy environment.

The organic foods offer higher returns in comparison to conventional foods. The market for organic foods is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20-22%. Thus there is an evident requirement of organic farming technical professionals who are skilled and developed to facilitate the business at a global standpoint. These professionals should have a thorough knowledge of systems which are used in organic farming and understanding of various approaches used in organic food production systems.

FFSQ has brought this programme for freshers and graduates, professionals that want to develop their technical skills and want to get equipped to perform management functions in organic foods production.

Organic farming methods combine scientific knowledge of ecology and some modern technology with traditional farming practices based on naturally occurring biological processes. Organic farming methods are studied in the field of agroecology. While conventional agriculture uses synthetic pesticides and water-soluble synthetically purified fertilizers, organic farmers are restricted by regulations to using natural pesticides and fertilizers. An example of a natural pesticide is pyrethrin, which is found naturally in the Chrysanthemum flower. The principal methods of organic farming include crop rotation, green manures and compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation. These measures use the natural environment to enhance agricultural productivity: legumes are planted to fix nitrogen into the soil, natural insect predators are encouraged, crops are rotated to confuse pests and renew soil, and natural materials such as potassium bicarbonate and mulches are used to control disease and weeds. Genetically modified seeds and animals are excluded.

While organic is fundamentally different from conventional because of the use of carbon-based fertilizers compared with highly soluble synthetic based fertilizers and biological pest control instead of synthetic pesticides, organic farming and large-scale conventional farming are not entirely mutually exclusive. Many of the methods developed for organic agriculture have been borrowed by more conventional agriculture. For example, Integrated Pest Management is a multifaceted strategy that uses various organic methods of pest control whenever possible, but in conventional farming could include synthetic pesticides only as a last resort.