Organic Sugarcane Farming for Development of Sustainable Agriculture in Maharashtra

The economics of organic sugarcane farming (OSF) and inorganic sugarcane farming (ISF) have been examined and the OSF has been assessed with respect to important sustainability indicators such as conservation of soil, water, power and farmers’ economic well-being and livelihood security. The study is based on data for 2004-05 collected from 30 certified OSF and 30 ISF sample households from the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. The OSF households have been found younger and more educated having larger landholdings and better resources. The OSF is labour-intensive, but its cost of cultivation is lower due to savings on chemical fertilizers, irrigation, seeds and agrochemicals. The yield on OSF has been reported lower but it is more than compensated by the price premium received and the yield and profit stability observed on the OSF. In addition, the OSF has been found superior in terms of economic well-being and livelihood security of the farmer. The study has revealed that OSF has enormous potential for improving sustainability of agriculture and has suggested that organic farming should receive prime attention from all stakeholders to realize its full potential in increasing and providing the much sought after sustainability to agriculture