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Organic and natural farming are considered the holistic approach to climate adaptation. “Our research concludes that these farming systems are more productive and profitable, if we consider holistic accounting of all costs and benefits, including vital health and environmental services related to soil, water, energy, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, mitigation and adaptation to climate change,” says C P Chandrashekara, principal investigator, University of Agriculture Science, Dharwad. Organic and natural farming systems build resilience in farms, as the soil becomes more porous, which increases its water-holding capacity and allows roots of crops to go deeper and absorb more nutrients. Increased microbial health of soil leads to aggregate stability, making plants stronger and resilient to any weather changes, Chandrashekara says. A report by CSE, “Evidence on Holistic Benefits of Organic and Natural Farming in India”, also makes it clear that organic and natural farming have several holistic benefits over chemical-dependent inorganic farming.
Both the Union and state governments have schemes in place to promote organic and natural systems of farming. These include Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region and National Mission on Natural Farming. However, upscaling of organic and natural farming has been slow due to adoption challenges. As per government data, till March 2023, combined organic area stands at 4.2 per cent of the net sown area of the country, while organic farmers comprise 3 per cent of the 146 million agricultural landholders.
Analysts say the progress is slow because of challenges in transition due to the lack of a level playing field and of an overall support system, negligible budget, poor availability of quality inputs, labour-intensive and time-consuming nature of organic and natural farming, ineffectiveness of the recommended package of practices in different ground-level scenarios, and market-related challenges to get fair and remunerative prices. “Often, farmers find it difficult to prepare organic and bio-inputs due to lack of knowledge and availability of inputs, and due to the time and labour needed for it. Bio-input resource centres being set up under the National Mission on Natural Farming should try to bridge this gap by making the organic and bio-inputs readily available to farmers,” says GV Ramanajaneyulu, director, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, a resource organisation in Hyderabad. The Union budget for 2024-25 reiterates setting up of 10,000 bio-input resource centres. It also announces the inclusion of 10 million farmers in natural farming in the next two years, supported by certification and branding.
To make natural farming more climate-resilient and lucrative to farmers, the Andhra Pradesh government has a solution. It has introduced Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF), which involves growing diverse crops in all three seasons, covering the soil with crop residue mulch, minimal tillage of soil and non-use of synthetic fertilisers, says T Vijay Kumar, executive vice chairperson of APCNF. Crop diversity ensures that farmers gain from some crops even if the others fail. With 850,000 farmers and 380,000 ha covered under APCNF, it is the largest such programme in India and also the largest worldwide in terms of farmers enrolled, says Kumar.