Published by

Organic Farming has emerged as an important priority area globally in view of the growing demand for safe and healthy food and concerns on environmental pollution associated with the indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals. Though the use of chemical inputs in agriculture is inevitable to meet the growing demand for food in India, there are opportunities in selected crops and niche areas where organic production could be encouraged to tap the domestic and export markets. Keeping this in view, the Government of India initiated the National Programme on Organic Production (NPOP) in Xth Five Year Plan under which many promotional and policy initiatives were taken up. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) also initiated a network project on organic farming and data is being generated on the feasibility and economics of organic production of important crops in various agro-ecological regions of the country. Farmers in rainfed areas grow a large variety of crops with negligible inputs. Through proper training and organization of farmers groups, some of the areas and crops with goo