Sukanta Rana¹ and Jatindra N. Bhakta²
¹Department of Zoology, Raniganj Girls’ College, Paschim Bardhaman, West Bengal, India
²Laboratory of Environmental and Bioresource Technology, Department of Ecological Studies and International Centre for Ecological Engineering, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal, India

Part of the book: Research Advancements in Organic Farming

Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.52305/IKOK0802

Abstract

Organic farming is a chemical-less and ecosystem based agriculture practice that ensures the development of a nation in a holistic way. Organic sources of persistent nutrient supply and nutrient recycling are the driving forces for sustainable production in agriculture. Besides, it conserves soil, water and biodiversity and provides safety food and secures human health. It prevents climate change and stabilizes crop yield throughout the year. Crop yield is satisfactory (70-98% of conventional practices) and farmers are profited by 33-59%. Organic products have a great demand in global market and have a very high price premium (5-244% higher compared to chemical products) due to limited supply. Organic farming is the best practice for healthy ecosystem services. Several technologies must be integrated with the organic farming to reduce labour and product cost. Various advanced technologies have been developed by the researchers to produce the organic fertilizer and nutrients for sustainable agriculture and organic products in recent years. In this field, a comprehensive information is insufficient so far. The present chapter has focused to briefly discuss the significance of organic farming for sustainable agriculture.

 Keywords: organic farming, biodiversity conservation, safety and healthy food, high profit, sustainable development

References

Alfvén, T., Braun-Fahrländer, C., Brunekreef, B., van Mutius, E., Riedler, J., A. Scheynius,
M. van Hage, M. Wickman, M. R. Benz, J. Budde, K. B. Michels, D. Schram, E.
Ublagger, M. Waser, G. Pershagen, PARSIFAL study group (2006). Allergic diseases
and atopic sensitization in children related to farming and anthroposophic lifestyle –
the PARSIFAL study. Allergy, 61: 414-421. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1398-9995.2005.00939.x.
Ankamah-Yeboah, I., Nielsen, M., and Nielsen, R. (2016). Price premium of organic
salmon in Danish retail sale. Ecol. Econ., 122: 54-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.11.028.
Arnhold, S., Lindner, S., Lee, B., Martin, E., Kettering, J., Nguyen, T. T., Koellner, T., Sik,
Y., and Huwe, B. (2014). Conventional and organic farming: Soil erosion and
conservation potential for row crop cultivation. Geoderma, 219-220: 89-105.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.12.023.
Asche, F., Larsen, T. A., Smith, M. D., Sogn-Grundvåg, G., and Young, J. A. (2015).
Pricing of eco-labels with retailer heterogeneity. Food Policy, 53: 82-93.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2015.04.004.
Azeez, G. (2009). Soil carbon and organic farming: a review of the evidence of agriculture’s
potential to combat climate change. Summary of findings.
https://www.soilassociation.org/climate.aspx.
Barański, M., Rempelos, L., Lyersen, P. O., and Leifert, C. (2017). Effects of organic food
consumption on human health; the jury is still out! Food Nutr. Res., 61 (1): 1287333.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/16546628.2017.1287333.
Barański, M., Srednicka-Tober, D., Volakakis, N., Seal, C., Sanderson, R., Gavin B.
Stewart, Charles Benbrook, Bruno Biavati, Emilia Markellou, Charilaos Giotis,
Joanna Gromadzka-Ostrowska, Ewa Rembiałkowska, Krystyna Skwarło-Sońta, Raija
Tahvonen, Dagmar Janovská, Urs Niggli, Philippe Nicot, and Carlo Leifert. (2014).
Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of
pesticide residue in organically grown crops: a systemic literature review and meta analysis. Br J. Nutr., 112: 794-811.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114514001366.
Bavec, M., and Bavec, F. (2015). Impact of Biodiversity on Organic farming. In: Lo, Y. H.,
Blanco, J. A., and Roy, S. (Eds). Biodiversity in Ecosystems – Linking structure and
Function, IntechOpen, London. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/58974.
https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/47462.
Bengtsson, J., Ahnstrom, J., and Weibull, A. C. (2005). The effects of organic agriculture
on biodiversity and abundance: a meta-analysis. J. Appl. Ecol., 42: 261-269.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01005.x.
Brandt, K., Leifert, C., Sanderson, R., and Seal, C. J. (2011). Ageoecosystem management
and nutritional quality of plant foods: the case of organic fruits and vegetables. Crit.
Rev. Plant Sci., 30 (1-2): 177-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352689.2011.554417.
Camron, V. A. F. (2021). Conventional food prices rising faster than organics.
https://www.newhope.com/market-data-and-analysis/conventional-food-prices rising-faster-organics.
Crowder, D. W., and Reganold, J. P. (2015). Financial competitiveness of organic
agriculture on a globalscale. PNAS 112 (24): 7611-7616. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1423674112.
Farmer Junction, (2020). Components of Organic Farming.
https://www.farmerjunction.com/components-of-organic-farming/.
Finley, L., Chappel, M. J., Thiers, P., and Moor J. M. (2017). Does organic farming present
greater opportunities for employment and community development than conventional
farming? A survey-based investigation in California and Washington. Agroecol.
Sustain. Food Syst., 42 (4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2017.1394416.
Gall, E. (2021). Biodiversity, soil, and water: Producing food while preserving our natural
resources. IFOAM Organics Europe, Brussels. https://www.organicseurope.bio/what we-do/biodiversity-soil-water/.
Gupta, S, (2017). Food safety and organic farming. MOJFPT, 4(3): 81-83.
DOI:  https://doi.org/10.15406/mojfpt.2017.04.00092.
Holzschuh, A., Stefan-Dewenter, I., Kleijn, D., and Tscharntke, T. (2006) Diversity of
flower-visiting bees in cereal fields: effects of farming system, landscape composition
and regional context. J. Appl. Ecol., 44 (1): 41-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01259.x.
https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/outreach-and-education/help-for organic-farming/index.
https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2021/05/26/2236737/0/en/Global Organic-Food-and-Beverages-Market-Is-Expected-to-Reach-USD-849-7-billion-by 2028-Fior-Markets.html.
https://www.reportlinker.com/p05837327/Global-Organic-Food-Market-By-Product Type-By-Distribution-Channel-By-Region-Competition-Forecast Opportunities.html?utm_source=GNW.
Huber, M., Rembialkowska, E., Srednicka, D., Bügel, S., and van de Vijver, L. (2011).
Organic food and impact on human health: Assessing the status quo and prospect of
research. NJAS-Wagen. J. Life Sci., 58(3-4): 103-109.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2011.01.004.
Jeong, E., and Jang, S. (2019). Price premiums for organic menus at restaurants: What is
an acceptable level? Int. J. Hosp. Manag., 77: 117-127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.06.020.
Kanwar, M., and Dhakad, M. K. (2022). Sustainable Development and Organic Farming in
Indian Context. J. Environ. Sci. Technol., 8 (1): 16-24.
Katayama, N. (2016). Bird diversity and abundance in organic and conventional apple
orchards in northern Japan. Sci. Rep., 6: 34210. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep34210.
Kesse-Guyot, E., Péneus, S., Méjean, C., Szabo, de Edelenyi, F., Galan, P., Serge Hercberg,
Denis Lairon (2013). Profiles of organic food consumption in a large sample of French
adults: results from the Nutrinet-Santé cohort study. PLoS One, 8 (10): e76998.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0076998.
Knapp, S., and van der Heijden, M. G. A. (2018). A global meta-analysis of yield stability
in organic and conservation agriculture. Nat. Commun., 9: 3632.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05956-1.
Kummeling, I., Thijs, C., Huber, M., van de Viver, L. P. L., Sinikfers, B. E. P., John
Penders, Foekje Stelma, Ronald van Ree, Piet A. van den Brandt, Pieter C. Dagnelie
(2008). Consumption of organic foods and risks of atopic diseases during the first 2
years of life in the Netherlands. Br. J. Nutr., 99: 598-605.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114507815844.
Leifeld, J. and Fuhrer, J. (2010). Organic farming and soil carbon sequestration: What do
you really know about the benefits? Ambio, 39(8): 585-99.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-010-0082-8.
Lorenz, K., and Lal, R. (2016). Environmental Impact of Organic Agriculture. Adv. Agron.,
139: 99-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2016.05.003.
Millock, K., Hansen, L. G., Wier, M., and Mørch, Andersen, L. (2002). Willingness to Pay
for Organic Foods: A Comparison between Survey Data and Panel Data from
Denmark. In Proceedings of the 12th Annual EAERE Conference, Monterey, CA,
USA, 4-27 June 2002, pp 23.
Niggli, U., Filebbach, A., Hepperly, P., and Scialabba, N. (2009). Low greenhouse gas
agriculture: mitigation and adaptation potential of sustainable farming system. Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
Oberholtzer, L., Dimitri, C., and Greene, C. (2005). Price Premiums Hold on as US
Organic Produce Market Expands. US Department of Agriculture, Economic
Research Service: Washington, DC, USA, pp 22.
Pfiffner, L., and Balmer, O. (2011). Organic Agriculture and Biodiversity. Research
Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick. https://orgprints.org/id/eprint/20247/1/1548-biodiversity.pdf.
Reganold, J. P., and Wachter, J. M. (2016). Organic agriculture in the twenty-first century.
Nat. Plants, 2: 15-221. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.221.
Seitz, S., Goebes, P., Puerta, V. L., Pereira, E. I. P., Wittwer, R., Six, J., van der Heijden,
M. G. A., and Scholten, T. (2019). Conservation tillage and organic farming reduce
soil erosion. Agron. Sustain. Dev., 39: 4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-018-0545-z.
Shade, J., Sciligo, A., Crystal-Ornelas, R., and Tully, K. (2021). Maximizing Carbon
Sequestration in Organic Systems. https://www.organiccentre.org/sites/default/files/Soil/the_organic_centre_carbon_sequestration.pdf.
Sharma, R., Pradhan, L., Kumari, M., and Bhattacharya, P. (2021). Assessment of Carbon
Sequestration Potential of Tree Species in Amity University Campus Noida. Environ.
Sci. Proc., 3: 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/IECF2020-08075.
Sivaranjani, S., and Rakshit, A. (2019). Organic Farming in Protecting Water Quality. In:
Sarath, Chandran, C., Thomas, S., and Unni, M. (Eds). Organic Farming. Springer
Cham, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04657-6_1.
Skoufogianni, E., Solomou, A., Molla, A., and Martinos, K. (2016). Organic Farming as an
Essential Tool of the Multifunctional Agriculture. In: Konvalina, P. (Ed). Organic
Farming – A Promishing Way of Food Production. IntechOpen, London. doi:
https://doi.org/10.5772/61630.
Smith-Spangler, C., Brandeau, M. L., Hunter, G. E., Bavinger, J. C., Pearson, M., Paul J.
Eschbach, Vandana Sundaram, Hau Liu, Patricia Schirmer, Christopher Stave, Ingram
Olkin, Dena M. Bravata (2012). Are organic foods safer or healthier than conventional
alternatives ? A systematic review. Ann. Intern. Med., 157 (5): 348-366.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-157-5-201209040-00007.
Solomou, A., Sfougaris, A., Vavoulidou, E. M., and Csuzdi, C. (2013). Species Richness
and Density of Earthworms in Relation to Soil Factors in Olive Orchard Production
Systems in Central Greece. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal., 44 (1-4): 301-311.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2013.741904.
Stein, K., Coulibaly, D., Stenchly, K., Goetze, D., Porembski, S., Lindner, A., Konaté, S.,
and Linsenmair, E. K. (2017). Bee pollination increases yield quantity and quality of
cash crops in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Sci. Rep., 7: 17691.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17970-2.
Stolze, M., Piorr, A., Haring, A., and Dabbert, S. (2000). The environmental impacts of
organic farming in Europe. Organic farming in Europe: Economics and policy, Vol.
6, pp127. University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart. http://www.uni-hohenheim.de/~i410a/ofeurope/.
Sudheer, P. S. K. (2013). Economics of organic versus chemical farming for three crops in
Andhra Pradesh, India. J. Org. Syst., 8(2): 36-49. https://orgprints.org/id/eprint/25532/1/25532.pdf.
Tyšer, L., Kolářová, M., Tulačka, O., and Hamouz, P. (2021). Weed vegetation in
conventional and organic farming in West Bohemia (Czech Republic). Plant, Soil
Environ., 67: 376-382. https://doi.org/10.17221/6/2021-PSE.
Van Loo, E. J., Caputo, V., Nayga, Jr., R. M., Meullenet, J. F., and Ricke, S. C. (2011).
Consumers’ willingness to pay for organic chicken breast: Evidence from choice
experiment. Food Qual. Prefer. 22 (7): 603-613.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2011.02.003.
Willer, H., Trávníček, J., Meier, C., and Schlatter, B. (Eds) (2021). The World of Organic
Agriculture: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2021. Research Institute of Organic
Agriculture-FiBL, Frick and IFOAM – Organic International, Bonn (v20210301).
http://www.organic-world.net/yearbook/yearbook-2021.html.
Wing, I. S., Cian, E. D., and Mistry, M. N. (2021). Global vulnerability of crop yields to
climate change. J. Environ. Econ. Manag., 109: 102462.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102462.
Zhao, C., Liu, B., Piao, S., Wang, X., Lobell, D. B., Huang, Y., Huang, M., Yao, Y., Bassu,
S., Ciais, P., Durand, J. L., Elliott, J., Ewert, F., Janssens, I. A., Li, T., Lin, E., Liu, Q.,
Martre, P., Müller, C., Peng, S., Peňuelas, J., Ruane, A. C., Wallach, D., Wang, T.,
Wu, D., Liu, Z., Zhu, Y., Zhu, Z., and Asseng, S. (2017). Temperature increase reduces
global yields of major crops in four independent estimates PNAS 114 (35): 9326-9331.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1701762114.