Organic farming : Current Scenario

S. K. Sharma, K. C. Laddha & R. K. Sharma

Dryland Forming Research Station (MPUAT), Arjia
Bhilwara (Rajasthan) Email : shanti_organic@rediffmail.com

Introduction
Organic farming and demand for green agricultural products is gaining
momentum in India. During the last few years, the organic agriculture has developed
rapidly worldwide and is now practiced approximately in 110 countries of the world.
According to latest survey by the Foundation Ecology & Agriculture (SOEL, 2005),
more than 26 million hectares are currently managed organically by at least 558,449
farmers worldwide. The market for organic foods is also growing, not only in Europe
and North America but also in many other countries. Growing receptivity and
acceptance of organic food concept is reflected in both mushrooming of local markets
and government involvement, including policy support, in the India in recent years.
On 16th July, 2002, Department of Agricultural Cooperation, Ministry of
Agriculture, Govt. of India has issued the draft guidelines on organic agriculture.
Beginning with individual farmers today, agri-business models for organic agriculture
for different crops are in the pipeline (Anon; 2002). Increasing realization of the ill
effects of long sustained exclusive use of chemical fertilizers, and consistent growing
demands from the consumers for fruit quality, coupled with unsustainable
productivity of arid fruits, have fostered experimentation with some alternative
practices (Srivastava et al., 2002) Organic cultivation is claimed to be the most benign
alternative.
Therefore, an effort has been made in this chapter to deliberate on status of
organic farming in India. In response, no assimilated research Information is available
on the organic cultivation but concerning on the possibilities for change, the options
available and the likely effects of a range of land use practices and strategies have
been discussed.
Ancient Organic farming in India
India has historically practiced organic farming. Sir Albert Howard who was
sent to India as an Imperial Economic Botanist to work at the Indian Agriculture
Research Institute in the year 1905 to improve Indian agriculture, soon came to the
conclusion that agriculture, as practiced by the Indian peasants, was rooted on the
sound principles of sustainability. Howard who was elected President of Indian
Science Congress in 1926, observed that agriculture research should not be misused to
make the farmer exploit the soil reserves but to teach him the know-how to transfer
capital in the shape of soil fertility and the reserves of his livestock to his profit and
loss account (TFOF, 2001).
The Indian peasant, for Howard, epitomized 'good farming' by faithfully
copying nature in their agriculture. Livestock were not merely source of nutrition in
the form of milk and meat, or of energy in the form of draught animals; their urine
and dung was a crucial cog in the progress of growth. Howard's research proved the
improved efficacy of humus for crop yield and resistance to pests and diseases, as
compared to chemical fertilizers. He developed the Indore Process of composting,
which is even today being practiced widely by organic farmers. Since the era of
Howard, a lot of changes and that too fast changes have taken place in the growth of
agriculture both in India and in the world. There are already some farms producing
organic commodities. To mention a few, Friends Rural Centre, Rasulia in
Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh, and farmers in Bijnor district of Uttar
Pradesh and of Palaghat district of Kerala are practising organic farming (Mohan,
1996).
A new trend is being developed in India now to produce various crops
organically not only on account of the love for protection of nature but also because
of the need for having safe agriculture products for human consumption. Accordingly
some farmers produce different food crops by organic methods for their own
consumption.
India has established a name in supplying quality organic tea, spices,
processed fruits like pineapple and banana and cotton to Europe and the US (Anon.
1998; Kalia, 1999). Some of the firms, which are actively involved in organic
production and export are M/s Bombay Burma Trading Corporation, Tea Promoters
Association and Ambutia Tea for tea, ION Exchange Enviro Farms Ltd. for banana
puree and pineapple juice, Peermade Development Society for spices, Accelerated
Freeze Drying Company for freeze dried banana and Maikanal Project for cotton
(Verma, 1998). Efforts are made by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export
Development Authority (APEDA) to produce and export various organic agricultural
products such as groundnuts, sugar, basmati rice and other aromatic rice, pineapple,
passion fruit etc. by establishing model farms in states like Gujarat, Orissa, Haryana,
U.P. and Uttaranchal (Anon., 2001).
During 2000, the, National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) was
released, which covers the national standards based on guidelines of IFOAM, the
European Union Standards, and CODEX standards. In India, a regulatory framework
has been formally announced in June 2001. Government of India has identified four
organizations as accreditation of agencies for inspection and certification of organic
products. They are APEDA, Tea Board, Coffee Board and Spices Board under the
Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India. Recently, Coconut Development Board and
Directorate of Cashewnut Development under the Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of
India have also been authorized to give accreditation to qualified inspection and
certification agencies (George, 2002).
Though India has a set of organic farmers and a few processing units, local
certification bodies accredited to international organizations are only in the formative
stage. Hence for organic products need in India certification bodies established in
other countries, especially, in Europe are presently relied upon. Of the over 100
certification bodies globally existing, three agencies have opened offices in India,
Many Indian organic farmers or their associations avail assistance of these offices for
inspection and certification. However, certain individual firms depend upon the
agencies in Europe and get the inspectors directly from there. Normally inspection
and certification costs vary much based on the nature of inspection to the carried out,
but it is generally between 0.3 to 1% for most products of high commercial value for
large farms and processing units.

Recent status and scope of organic farming in India

Organic farming is in infantile stage in India. A Technical Team constituted
by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1993 reported that in principle, India should phase
out use of chemicals systematically and it should move out from policy and official
documents to farmers. At present, the per cent share of organic food to total food
production is negligible. However, interest in organic agriculture in India is picking
up. In the year 2000, the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) was
initiated and in 2001, the National Accreditation Programme was notified by the
Ministry of Commerce. APEDA has set up model farms for rice, sugarcane and
pineapple. Organic cultivation and agri-business in organic products is expected to
receive major boost in the country.
Under the Tenth Five Year Plan, the Government of India has included
organic agriculture as a thrust area for research and development (Anon., 2001) and
based on Task Force recommendations, a National Project on Organic Farming was
formulated for implementation during Tenth Five Year Plan (Anon., 2003). Various
state governments, SAUs and NGOs have also initiated programmes on different
aspects of organic agriculture with emphasis to augment production of organic food
and subsequently to make the significant contribution in the global market. The
Spices Board of the country has shown interest in raising organic spices for
augmenting export potential of spices. Several organic villages have been in limelight
in recent past for their impressive performance in organic farming related activities,
Ashtha village in Maharashtra and Village 3 HH (Sri Ganganagar district) in
Rajasthan have been declared as first and second organic villages of country,
respectively (Sharma, 2002b). In India, due to lack of health consciousness, domestic
population is not ready to pay a premium for food raised without the use of chemicals.
However, organic farming has a better prospect in India since, agriculture in India in
line with organic farming principles. Hence, it is very easy for Indian farmers to
practice organic farming in its true sense and produce organic food. Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR) plans to replace All India Coordinated Project on
"Organic Manures" with; organic farming at Indian Institute of Soil Science (IISS),
Bhopal. The Project Directorate for propping Systems Research (PDCSR),
Modipuram would initiate a coordinate scheme to standardize a package of practice
on organic farming (Anon., 2003). A National Institute for|0rganic Farming has been
announced to be set up at Ghaziabad (U.P.). India faces a serious challenge of raising
vertical productivity in the assured areas of irrigation by terminating the abuse of high
levels of fertilizer and water. For the rainfed areas, the utter neglect for both fertilizer
and water needs to be compensated. The regional differences in productivity must be
reduced and the best hope lies in the adoption of favourable eco-technologies. Despite
such indisputable realities, the Government of India has accepted the projected
demand to produce an additional 33 million tonnes of N, P & K, over the current
consumption figure of 16.11 million tonnes to enable an additional production of 101
million tonnes of foodgrains (a total of 301 million tonnes) by 2025, for a population
of 1350 million (Anon., 2003). However, keeping in view the long term benefits of
organic agriculture, the Government of India has considered it as a priority area for
research and development. It is hoped that adoption of organically sound agricultural
practices will lead to a comprehensive socio-economic and environmental
transformation in the country by 2020 AD (Dahama et al., 2002).

Certification in India
The Government of India is attempting to establish the basic rules and accreditation
processes, which are necessary. In March, 2000, the Ministry of Commerce launched
the National Programme on Organic Production (NPOP), designed to establish
national standards for organic products, which could then be sold under the logo,
"India Organic". To ensure the implementation of NPOP, the National Accreditation
Policy and Programmes (NAPP) has been formulated with Accreditation Regulations
announced in May, 2001. These make it mandatory that all certification bodies,
whether already engaged or proposing to engage in inspection and certification of
organic crops and products, should be accredited by an Accreditation Agency. The
operational structure of the NAPP is given in fig. 1. The programme will be
developed and implemented by the Government of India through its Ministry of
Commerce as the apex body. The Ministry will constitute a Steering Committee for
National Programme for Organic Production, whose members will be drawn from
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA),
Coffee Board, Spices Board and Tea Board and other government and private
organisations associated with the organic movement. To advise the Steering
Committee for National Programme for Organic Production on relevant issues, sub-
committees will be appointed whenever necessary. The Steering Committee for
National Programme for Organic Production will formulate a National Accreditation
policy and Programme and draw up National Standards for Organic Products which
will include standards for organic production and processes. National Accreditation
Policy and Programmes will be administered by the Accreditation Agency which will
define the overall policy objectives for the Accreditation Programmes and Operations.
 Government of India

Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Commerce (MoA)
(MoC)

National Standards for National Accreditation

Organic Products Policy and Programme
(NSOP) (NAPP)

Steering Committee for National

Programme for Organic
Production (SCNPOP)
(Member appointed by the MoC)

Accreditation
Technical Committee Committee
(On standards, accreditation,
inspection and certification)
Tea Board

Accreditation Agencies
(AA) Coffee Board
APEDA
Other agencies
constituted by
Spices Board Government of
Evaluation Agency (EA) India

Inspection and
Certification Agencies

Farmers Operators Processors

Fig. 1 : Operational Structure of National Programme for Organic Production

(NPOP), India

Eligible Inspection and Certification Agencies implementing certification

programmes will be identified by the Accreditation Agency with the help of an
Evaluating Agency. Evaluating Agency will be appointed by the Accreditation
Agency, which may consist of persons from within their organization or experts from
outside. The evaluating agency will designate a Programme Manager for receiving
and screening applications from certification programmes, for arranging evaluation
visits etc. to ascertain the credentials of the programmes and of the implementing
agencies. The Programme Manager will submit an evaluation report alogwith their
recommendations of the Accreditation Agency for considering Accreditation.
Based on the recommendations of the Evaluating Agency, suitable Inspection
and Certification Agencies will be accredited by the Accreditation Agency. These
agencies should be well versed with the operating procedures, the NPOP and the
international standards. Their programmes should have been in operation for at least
one year and they should be able to provide the supporting documents.
The inspectors, appointed by the accredited Inspection and Certification
Agencies will carry out inspection of the operations through records maintained by
the operators as per specified formats and also by periodic site inspection. Based on
compliance to the standards and programmes, accredited inspection and Certification
Agencies will certify the organic status of products and operations, indicating their
conditions along with their recommendations. Foreign certification bodies operating
in the country must also be accredited.
The regulations also make a provision for export, import and local trade of
organic products. Currently, however, only the export of organic products comes
under the government regulation, while imports and local trade do not. Thus, an
agricultural product can, at present, be exported as an organic product only if a
certification body duly accredited by APEDA, as one of the accreditation agencies
certifies it.
APEDA recognises the following laboratories for export testing in northern India :
1. Shri Ram Institute for Industrial Research, 19, University Road, New Delhi
-110007
2. Food Research and Analysis Centre, Federation House, Tansen Marg, New
Delhi -" 110001

Certification Bodies
There are 12 accredited certifying agencies in the country and the list is
presented in Table 20. Tentative tariff structure (8) for certification is as below:
• Travel and Inspection: Rs.12000 - Rs.19000 per day (depending on small
farmers, cooperative, estate manufacturers, large and medium sized
processors).
 • Report preparation: Rs.5000/-
• Certification: Rs.5000/-
Acts for Regulatory Mechanism of Organic Foods
For organic food regulation, several statutory provisions are available in India
and these may be incorporated in regulatory mechanism as and when required. Some
of these acts are mentioned below:
• Preservation of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
• Essential Commodity Act, 1955.
• Standards on Weight and Measures (Packed Commodities Rule), 1977.
• Export (Quality Control & Inspection) Act, 1963.
• BIS Act, 1986.
• Agricultural Produce (Grading & Marketing) Act, 1937.
• Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
• Regulation of Export of Fresh Grapes through Control of Pesticide Residue
(Trade Notice No. QME/GEN/049/2003, dated 22.12.2003.
• Fertilizer (Control) Order (FCO), 1957.
• Insecticide Act, 1968.
National Project on Organic farming
(Rs. in lakh)
S. Components Xth Plant
Physical target Financial outlay
No.
1 Establishment of NCOF / RCOFs - 829.00
.

2 Capacity building through service provider 300 900.00

.

3 Setting up of production units –

. i. Fruit / vegetable compost units 35 1400.00
ii. Biofertiliser units 30 600.00
iii. Vermiculture hatcheries 2000 300.00
4 Trading (on certification, input production, 400 258.00
. extension etc.)
 5 Field demonstration
.
6 Market development and promotion
.
Total
Table - List of accredited certifying and inspection agencies in India
S. No Name of certifying &
inspection agencies
1 Association for promotion of
Organic Farming (APOF)
2 Indian Society for
Certification of organic
products (ISCOP)
3 Indian Organic Certification
Agency (INDOCERT)
4 Skallnspection and
Certification Agency
5 IMO Control Pvt. Ltd.
6 Ecocert International
7 Bioinspectra
8 SGS India Pvt Ltd
9 LACON
3920 896.00
- 522.00
5705.00
Address
Alumni Asso, Building, Bellary Road,
Hebbal, Bangalore - 560024
Ph.080-235'16060
"Rasi Building" 162/163,
Ponnaiyaraja-puram,
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu - 641001,
Ph.0422-2471181
Thottumugham P.O. Aluva-683105,
Cochin, Kerala State, India
Ph 0484-2630909
Mahalaxmi Layout, No.191,
1st Main Road, Bangalore-560086
26, 17th Main HAL,
2nd'A' Stage, Bangalore-560008
Ph. 080-25285883
54A, Kanchan Nagar, Nakshetrawadi,
Aurangabad - 413002, Maharashtra
0240-2376336
C/o Indocert, Thottumugham,
P.O. Aluva – 683105
Cochin, Kerala State
Ph.0484-2630908
250, Udyog Vihar,
Phase-IV, Gurgaon-122015
Ph. 0124-2399757
Mithradham, Chunangardi
10 International Resources for Sona Udyog Unit No.7
Fair Trade (IRFD) Parsi Panchayat Road
Andheri (E) Mumbai 400069
Ph:022-28235246
11 One Cert Asia Agrasen Farm Vatika
Road Off Ton Rd, Jaipur, Rajasthan
12 National Organic Pune
Certification Association
(NOCA)

India organic: A Profile (2004-05)

1 Area under certified = 2.5 million ha
.
2 Total certified product = 115.238 metric tonne
.
3 Total project certified = 332
.
4 Number of processing units = 158
.
5 Accredited inspection and certifying agencies = 11
.
6 Number of products exported = 35
.
7 States involved in organic export
i. Kerala = 1232 metric tonne
.
i. West = 937 metric tonne
Bengal
i. Karnataka = 476 metric tonne
i. Tamil = 471 metric tonne
Nadu
i. Punjab = 541 metric tonne
i. Himachal = 521 metric tonne
Pradesh
i. Maharashtr = 375 metric tonne
a
1 All India total organic export = 6472 metric tonne
5
.
 1 Premium collected against organic export = Rs. 80-90 crore
6 (tentative)
.
Sources : APEDA (2006)

• Main export market :

USA, EU, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Saudi Arab

• Import : Nil

• Main potential organic products in demand :

Tea, spices, rice, wheat, coffee, fruit & veg.

• General potential crops & hopes in recent time :

Oilseed, pulses, cashew, wheat

• Potential markets for different organic produce

• Domestic organic market in India
• 86 % export
• Unorganised & undeveloped
• Potential consumer : 20 Cr.
• Value of organic mkt. : 200 Cr
• Needs of domestic mkt.
• Packages
• Domestic standards
• Marketing facilities & quality aspects (Testing)

Other Projects of MOA in Support of Organic Farming

Apart from DAC project on organic farming, the projects like 'Technology
Mission on Horticulture', Cotton scheme etc. are supporting organic farming. Besides,
under Macro Management programme, Government of India is supporting different
State schemes on organic agriculture.
FAO-DAC Project on Organic Farming
The Ministry of Agriculture has taken up the Technical Cooperation
Programme (TCP) of FAO (TCP/IND/3003 - Development of Technical Capacity
Base for the Promotion of Organic Agriculture in India) to overcome the knowledge
gap by quickly producing basic information tailored to various ecological zones of the
country on the current state of knowledge on organic crop production packages, input
production and utilisation and certification issues including legal and institutional
aspects. The project is operational since April, 2005. The preparation of Technical
package of practice of different crops for different regions are under process.

Constitution of Organic Expert Panel by DAC

There are many issues on crop productivity and input use under organic
farming which have been raised by various concerns. To address all these issues, the
Ministry of Agriculture has constituted (July, 2005) an organic expert panel under the
chairmanship of Dr. H.P. Singh, Dean, GB Pant Agricultural University. The report is
expected shortly.
However, based on the recommendations of this Panel, the approach towards organic
farming could be reviewed.

Task Force on Balanced Use of Fertiliser

The Development of Agriculture and cooperation under Ministry of
Agriculture has constituted (2004) one Task Force on Balanced use of fertililser under
the chairmanship of Sh. A. K. Singh, Additional Secretary. One of the terms of this
task force is to suggest appropriate mechanism for encouraging use of organic
manures and biofertililser for balanced use of fertilisers.

Organic Farming Approach by NAAS

The National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)has issued a Policy
Paper on Organic Farming, which concludes that while synthetic pesticides can be
avoided, complete exclusion of fertilisers may not be advisable under all situations.
NAAS recommends that a "holistic approach involving Integrated Nutrient
Management (INM), Integrated Pest Management (IPM), enhanced input use
efficiency and adoption of region- specific promising cropping systems would be the
best organic farming strategy for India." To begin with, the practice of organic
farming should be for low volume, high value crops like spices, medicinal plants,
fruits and vegetables. NAAS has also emphasized the need for intensive research on
soil fertility and plant health management and on issues relating to microbial
contamination of food arising from the use of farm yard manures. (Organic Farming:
Approaches and Possibilities in the context of Indian Agriculture, Policy Paper 30,
NAAS, February 2005).

Rajasthan – on the path of Organic farming

A Profile

I category state by MOA assessment

Planning commission : Rainfed area priority
NGO’s in Rajasthan
M.G.Murarka Rural Research Foundation
Vermicompost module, 500000 t/ye
Shekhawate region
Contract farming
Wheat
Ajit grewal
Rajasthan Gau seva schemes
Govt. Promotional schemes
3 HH (Ganganagar)
I organic village of Rajasthan
Wheat production
 Schemes by NABARD
Demonstration of vermicompost
Compost unit (Rs. 20 lakh/unit or 25 %)
Vermiculture hatcheriex (Rs. 1.5 lakh or 25 %)
Fruit & vegetable waste compost unit (rs. 40 lakh or 25 %)
Society for organic agriculture movement (SOAM)
Contract farming regulation (2005)
Amendment of Rajasthan Agriculture Act, 1961
Rajasthan organic certification agency (2005)
Setting up of private mandies (June 12, 2004)
Permit contract farming in the state
2 organic shops in each mandi of Rajasthan
Krishi Aapke Dwar : 1st distance education certificate course on OF by
RAV in India (Hindi) (2005)
Diploma in organic agriculture
Research projects by Raj. Govt.
MPUAT
RAU
Area Approach and Crop Identification
For promotion of organic farming, identification of potential areas and crop is
crucial. The Government strategy to promote organic farming for the crops having
market potential like fruits, spices, oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, wheat, cotton, basmati
rice, etc. As far as potential areas are concerned, three priority zones have been
identified.

Category-I
The top priority areas for promotion of organic farming are the rainfed areas
where fertililser and agro-chemical consumption is already very low.

Category-II
The Category II areas are primarily under rainfed farming with little irrigation
support.

Category-III
The last priority areas are those with moderate to heavy use of fertililsers and
pesticides, mostly multiple cropped area. The list of districts having fertilizer
consumption below 25 kg/ha is given in Table 24.
Apart from promoting organic farming in low consumption area, rainfed area,
dryland, hill area etc., some efforts efforts are also being made in high intensive
cropping area like Punjab, Haryana, etc. for organic farming. But it requires sufficient
study to assess its accept ability in these area.

Table 24 – List of districts having per ha. Fertilizer consumption under the State
National level State level fertilizer District level fertilizer
fert. Consumption Consumption
consumption (kg/ha) (kg/ha) District & consumption
State Consumption
(kg/ha)
Eastern Region Assam 46.60 Lakhimpur (10.1), Dhimaji (2.3).
89.8 Sibsagar (9.2), Sonitpur (19.4),
Golaghat (20.0), Hailakandi (26.1),
K.Anglang (4.1), NC Hills (1.2)
Bihar & 80.50 Shivhar (2.4)
 Jharkhand
Madhubani (22.1). Banka (14,4),
Kisanganj (16.2)
Orissa 41.40 Bolangir (21.1), Kendrapara (25.8),
Dhenkanal (18.7), Angul (22.8),
Nawapara (21.5), Keonjhar (23.9)
Koraput (19.2), Malkangiri (17.8)
Phulbani (3.7), Sundargarh (19.0)
Northern Region Jammu & 71.40 Udhampur (23.1), Kathua (19.3),
Kashmir Doda (16.0), Rajouri (21.8),
Leh (17.8), Kargil (17.3)
Himachal 49.40 Chamba (17.6), Kinnaur (19.8)
Pradesh
Southern Region Karnataka 74.90 Bidar (21.0), Gadag (20.9)
Kerala 63.60 Kasargod (22.1)
Western region Madhya 55.00 Mandala (19.4), Dindhori (3.1)
Pradesh Seom (21.3), Damoh (25.1).
Sidhi (17.3), Shahdol (12.2).
Urnaria (182), Jhabua (15.2).
Guna (24.2)
Chhattisgarh 46.50 Korba (12.3), Jashpur Nagar (10.1),
Sarguja (22.8), Korea (11. 2),
Jagdalpur (8.0). Dantewada (1.3)
Maharashtra 65.70 Osmanabad (14.3)
Rajasthan 40.50 Ajmer (18.0), Sikar(21.7),Jhunjhunu
(17.7), Bikaner (13.3). Chum (1.8).
Jodhpur (15.4), Jaisalmer (7.7),
Jalore (18.9), Barmer (3.5), Nagaur
(17.9), Bhilwara (23.2), Pali (23.5),
Jodhpur Division (14.3)
Source : Fertiliser Statistics (2003)

Table - Organic farming status in a state

A case study of Rajasthan (2004-05)
S. Name of Cropping pattern (since Number of Organic
No District organic farming in Farmers Area (ha)
practice)
1 Dungarpur Pulses-cereals, Cereals- 105 52.0
cereals, Cereals-pulses
2 Tonk Moong-wheat, Bajra- 132 590.0
mustard, Til-wheat
3 Nagour Guar-cumin, Guar-wheat, 54 63.0
Moong-mustard
4 Ganganagar Cotton-wheat 41 24.0
5 Bhilwara Urd / moong-wheat 30 12
6 Jaisalmer Bajra 20 50.0
7 Bharatpur Bajra-wheat 96 38.4
8 Jhunjhunu Pulses-wheat 14 11.2
9 Alwar Wheat-bajra 29 26.0
10 Banswara Maize / cotton-grass / 4752 4045.0
faIlow
11 Jaipur Guar / bajra-mustard-wheat 9 13.7
Total 5282 5631.3

Factors Constraining Greening of Indian Agriculture:

Though there are positive signs for green agriculture in India it is not growing
at a pace to enhance its market attractiveness so as to motivate larger section of
farming community to opt for organic agriculture. Fig 11 is an exercise to find why
the penetration of greening the agriculture in India is limited. Major problems that
hinders the growth organic agriculture in India can be listed as follows:

Factors limiting Bio-inputs Market:

In exploring the factors limiting bio-input market we attempted to analyse
them from multiple stakeholders perspectives presented briefly in the following:

Producers'/Distributors'/Traders' point of view:

• Lack of proper infrastructure for distribution and conservation of bio-inputs is
a major constraint hinders the access of these inputs to farmers.
• Existence of poor quality bio-inputs in market reduces the credibility of input
providers. Lack of quality control mechanisms for bio-inputs furthers the
mistrust among farmers.
• Given the low penetration of bio-inputs market and the limited shelf-life it is
disincentivizing the traders to store and sell bio-inputs
From Users' (farmers') point of view:
• Bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides are perceived as less yielding.
• Some climatic regions and soil conditions are not suitable for specific strains
of organic production.
• For some strains limited shelf life is also constrain as most of the bio-input last
only for about 4-6 months.
• Given the mandated gestation period of around three years for a conventional
farm to become an organic farm the benefits perceived by farmers in general
and small and marginal farmers in particular tend to be limited as they have
short term orientation. As a result even if they are aware they are hesitant to
switch over to organic (green) agricultural practices.

From Promoters' (Government's) point of view:

• Agricultural departments, research institutions and extension services have for
long been oriented towards chemical input agriculture as a result there is a
requirement for reorienting these officials towards organic (green) agriculture
• Changing the cropping and cultivation patterns is slow and time-consuming
process given the high levels of illiteracy and large number of small and
marginal farmers it makes the change process difficult.
• Subsidies on chemical fertilizers and pesticide impede the growth of organic
agriculture.

Limiting factors organic produce market:

• Lack of market information in general and organic market information in
particular is biggest drawback for Indian agriculture. The current information
base is low and even the limited information available does not get
disseminated due to lack of adequate channels for dissemination. As a result
farmers are in a predicament as they are
• Quality of Indian food industry is always a constraint for growth, low
consistency of quality and contamination in food products is a hindrance in
capturing the available market especially the international market.
 • Given the high levels of transaction costs for getting farms certified as organic
it is a major deterrent for enhancing organic production in the country. As the
certification process for organic farming is very lengthy and complex, the cost
of certification is also unaffordable for small farmers {Rs.22000 to Rs.29200
per certification} (Garibay S V and Jyoti K, 2003).
• Government has shown limited interest for organic agriculture, though the
activities from government side are increasing but till date there is no direct
support from government side in terms of subsidy or market support towards
organic agriculture.
• Lack of proper infrastructure in terms of roads from remote villages, cold
storage facilities and slow transportation infrastructure affects the cost, quality
and reach of producers and
• Indian organic agriculture is very fragmented and there are no organizations
for managing the entire value chain of organic products.

Conclusion
The organic farming is catching up fast with the Indian farmers and
entrepreneurs due to realization of premium on the organic foods. Organic food is
perceived by consumers as safer and tastier. In India, there is potential scope for
production of organic foods due to varied climate and wider pockets close to organic
fanning. However, a number of issues related to the nutrient and pest management,
nutritive and sensory value of organically produced foods and price benefits of
organic production need to be properly addressed. To make the organic food, a
thriving industry, the government should provide the prerequisite patronage and
institutional support in development of strong R&D backup, regulatory mechanism
and marketing infrastructure for the emerging new field.

REFERENCES
1. www.apeda.org
2. Bhattacharyya, P. Organic Food Production in Inda- Status, Strategy and
Scope. Agribios (India), Jodhpur, 01 - 182 (2004)
3. Bhattacharyya, P and Kumar, D. Estimates of availability of organic nutrients,
SWOAT analysis and Government Initiatives. Paper presented in National
Seminar on National Policy on Organic Farming, 10-11 March,2005 (2005)
4. Gouri, P.Y.S.M., National Programme for organic production. Bulletin of
Indian Society of Soil Science. No.22 (K.P. Singh, G. Narayanasamy, R K.
Rattan and N. N. Goswami ed.), 61-64 (2004)
5. IFOAM- The World of Organic Agriculture Statistics and emerging trends
(Helga Willer and Minou Yussefi eds), 1 - 167 (2005)
6. Sharma, P.D. and Singh Mohan. Problems and Prospects of Organic Farming.
Bulletin of Indian Society of Soil Science, No.22, 14- 41 (2004)