Organic farming for sustainable agriculture and public health: Patanjali's perspective

• Published in: Vegetos - International journal of plant research 2024, Vol.37 (6), p.2220-2229
• Main Authors: Balkrishna, Acharya, Arya, Vedpriya, Bhat, Rohini, Chaudhary, Priyanka, Mishra, Shalini, Kumar, Ashwani, Sharma, Vani, Sharma, Vijay, Sharma, Nidhi, Gautam, Ajay Kumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Life Sciences; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant Physiology; Review Articles
• ISSN: 2229-4473; 2229-4473
• DOI: 10.1007/s42535-023-00717-y

Historically, chemical based agriculture resulted in surplus production to meet global food security. However, several diseases like cancer, respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological, along with environmental contamination became prevalent due to these chemicals. In this context, one of the most promising approaches in producing nutritious food without using chemical additives could be organic farming. Interestingly, 187 countries are practicing organic farming where India, Ethiopia and Tanzania having the largest number of organic producers. Similarly, the highest land under organic cultivation falls in the continent of Oceania followed by Europe, South America, Asia, North America and Africa. The adoption of organic farming is hindered by a lack of awareness, poor quality inputs, inadequate crop and input selection, low productivity, market linkage and other factors. Most of the researchers have reported a decrease in organic production from 10 to 25% when compared to conventional chemical-based farming. In order to encourage organic farming, a number of public awareness programmes, trainings and other initiatives are being undertaken all around the globe. In India, various programmes like Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, Mission Organic Value Chain Development for the North Eastern Region, Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme, National Programme for Organic Production, National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm, and National Food Security Mission are going on which are proving quite useful in promoting organic farming. A number of private organizations are now involved in the sector of organic farming; the protocols developed by Patanjali Organic Research Institute can be proven to be a game changer to mitigate various issues. However, several challenges in organic farming are still required to be thoroughly investigated so that a proper and stable solution can be provided.