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In recent years, many sustainable farming approachbased on natural and organicinputs are gaining popularityacross the world. However, information on its impacts on soil health is quite scanty. Therefore, in present study we evaluated the effect of nature-based farming and different nutrient management practices on soil chemical, biological and crop physiological attributes after three years of adopting various nutrient management practices includingorganic farming during the kharif season of 2021 and 2022. The treatments comprised of: T1—control, T2—nutrient supplement through indigenous natural preparation, T3—organic farming, T4—integrated crop management + natural pest control, and T5—integrated crop management with chemical pesticides (ICM-P). In terms of soil nutrients status, integrated crop management) with need-based chemical pesticides had the highest available macro and micronutrients, followed by ICM with natural-basedfarming. The organic farming practice had the lowest soil pH, EC and the highest soil organic carbon. The higher soil enzymatic and biochemical activity was found under the organic farming and natural preparation. Enzymatic indices, including the biological activity index and the geometric mean of enzyme activities were greater in organic farming and natural preparation compared to control. At higher soil depth, nutrient availability and biological activity declined. Plant total chlorophyll and nitrate reductase activity found highest under ICM-P at 60 days after sowing under the ICM-P treatment; however, it declined thereafter. Soil enzymatic activity and all available nutrients are positively correlated. Integrating nutrient sources through nature-basedand organic farming can benefit soil fertility, biological activity, and overall system sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Organic production of cluster bean is to contribute to the enhancement of production sustainability along with ecology. Sustainability in organic farming must therefore be seen in a holistic sense, which includes ecological, economic and social aspects. A synergistic effectof bio fertilizer with crop increases the crop productivity and sustainability also. Bio fertilizers are low cost, effective and renewable sources of plant nutrients to supplement chemical fertilizers. Therfore to overcome the ill effect of chemical based farming, organic system is becoming the emerging need of the society. Methods: A field experiment was carried out in Pusa Navbahar variety of clusterbean during summer season (February to May) of 2019 at College farm, College of Horticulture, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Jagudan, Dist. Mehsana, Gujarat, India. Sixteen treatments having various combinations of organic sources of nutrients (FYM, vermicompost and neem cake), bio fertilizers (Rhizobium + PSB + KSM) along with RDF (20/40/0 kg/ha) as a control. They were replicated thrice in a randomized block design having a plot size of 3.0 m × 2.0 m with a spacing of 60 cm × 20 cm. Standard practices were followed during the entire course of the investigation. Result: It showed highly significant differences among different treatments for majority of the growth and yield attributing traits, but treatment T6 (75% N through FYM + Rhizobium + PSB + KSM) was rated as the best treatment for characters like days taken for germination, number of root nodules per plant, plant height at 60 DAS (cm), number of pod per cluster, number of cluster per plant, green pod yield per plant (g), green pod yield per plot (kg) and green pod yield per hectare (kg) as compared to other treatment. It can be concluded that the organic nutrient management in cluster bean with the application of 75% N through FYM + Rhizobium + PSB + KSM is beneficial for obtaining a higher yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the quest for a sustainable farming system around the world, organic farming has emerged as the most promising alternative system that can offer solutions to the growing sustainability issues associated with the current input-intensive agriculture system. Organic farming is also becoming increasingly important due to a significant rise in the demand for organic food across the world. Realizing the importance of organic agriculture in the current Indian agricultural scenario, the Government of India has taken several initiatives to promote organic farming across the country. As a result, there has been a considerable increase in different dimensions of organic farming especially in India over the last decade. However, studies have found that organic farming practices in India are more suited to a few specific regions (such as rain-fed zones, low-productivity areas, hills, and arid zones) as compared to the other parts of the country. In this backdrop, this paper attempts to evaluate the state-wise progress of organic farming in India. To measure the inter-state variation in the performance of organic farming, a composite index has been constructed by taking into account four different performance dimensions viz. area covered under organic cultivation, volume of organic production, volume of organic export, and number of producers practicing organic farming. The result suggests a wide disparity in performances in respect of organic farming among the states in India. Interestingly, the states that have performed well in organic farming are found to have a higher level of organic carbon stock in their soil. This shows the influence of agroclimatic conditions on the organic cultivation practices as popularly postulated in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical fertilizers are crucial for increasing agricultural growth and productivity, but inorganic fertilizers can negatively impact agricultural systems. To address this issue, sustainable techniques like organic farming are being developed, which improve soil quality and nutritional status while preserving human safety. In the Botanical Garden, of Department of Botany at the University of Delhi, India, experiments on Brassica juncea were carried out over a three-year period in six micro plots, each measuring 10 square meters. Vermicompost (V), Sargassum johnstoni (S), NPK (N), Trichoderma viride (T), and Sargassum + Trichoderma viride were five distinct organic combinations that were used to replenish the garden soil (ST). The aim of the study was to assess the effects of organic fertilizers and compare the results with commercially available chemical fertilizers (NPK) on Brassica growth and yield. The study found that soil modified with seaweed fertilizers significantly improved the morphological, reproductive, and biochemical properties of plants. Sargassum + Trichoderma soil amendment led to early flowering and fruiting, better-quality produce, and a low incidence of fungal infection and aphid infestation. This study reveals a new cost-effective method for crop development and production sustainability, benefiting both farmers and environmentalists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to ascertain farmers’ practices, challenges faced, and suggestions for scaling up crop diversification and sustainable agriculture in Punjab, India’s Granary. The results highlight that both organic and conventional farmers are grappling with similar challenges. However, a higher proportion of organic farmers cited difficulty in marketing, high labor requirement, low yield and low income as major challenges. Farmers offered several suggestions for scaling up production, resource access, and marketing facilitation. Valuable insights are offered into how ingenious low-cost solutions can alleviate resource-constrained conditions and state policymaking geared to create an enabling environment while engaging with farmers and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is the backbone of India’s economy and agriculture employs more than 70% of the country’s people. With the continued use of fertilizers and their negative environmental repercussions, the farming community is becoming more aware of alternative agriculture systems, such as organic farming. Organic farming is a natural farming technique that meets society’s food and nutrition demands while not diminishing natural resources. Thus, by combining organic resources with high-yielding varieties and technologies, the country was able to enhance not only its food excess, but also its environmental pollution, pesticide toxicity and agricultural production sustainability. Organic farming also feeds crops with macronutrients and micronutrients, as well as improving the physical, chemical and biological qualities of the soil. In organic farming, pest and disease management alternatives rely mainly on preventive measures rather than curative treatments, which are based on environmentally safer management strategies. The priority has been placed on maintaining the ecosystem’s health, allowing plants to become resistant to insect pests and illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Input-driven agriculture has led to an epidemic of impoverishment, farmer suicides, and environmental degradation in India, but has also shown consistent staying power in Indian politics. We examine the case of organic farming policy adoption to explore this paradox. Specifically, our objective was to evaluate how the state-wide Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) program (now formally known as Community Managed Natural Farming) in Andhra Pradesh, India came to be. Evidence was drawn from government documents, field notes from a ZBNF workshop and farmer interactions, and in-depth interviews with stakeholders. Results suggest that advocacy of civil society networks, champions within the bureaucracy, emphasis on rural livelihoods, and the 20-year history of consensus building around agroecology all played a key role in the adoption of the ZBNF program in this state. Given the possibility of scaling up ZBNF at the national level, our analysis of the enabling environment is especially timely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike the various socio economic and political issues, food security is the major daunting root challenge every country is to deal with. Food security problems accelerate with increasing population, overexploitation of natural resources, climate change, and resource degradation associated with rapid economic growth. Most of the third world countries are highly affected in terms of food dependency and food production crisis. The absence of a sustainable farming methods and the reduced efficiency of the traditional methods are the main reasons to be blamed on. In India the traditional farming methods like subsistence farming, ley farming, shifting agriculture, crop rotation, intensive farming, mixed agriculture, dryland and rain fed farming, and terrace cultivation are widely followed. These chemical farming methods are not only eventually reducing the land fertility, but also posing greater threat to the environment. A closer attention to these problems is mandatory to avoid the imminent food dependency and insecurity. The greater threat posed by the growing population and the reduction in the arable land escalate the problems. In this context country like India has to look on other alternative farming techniques which can be parallel to the traditional methods at the initial stages and can take over the centre stage at later stages for intelligently handling the intricate agricultural production challenges. In this review article, various alternative farming methods which India can successfully adopt for sustainable food production are discussed. The suitability and the potential drawbacks of each methods are also been analysed to have a better insight for careful selection of each methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small-scale ecological farming methods of Uttarakhand hills are key to ensuring resilience to climate change as these are based on enhancing diversity, thereby increasing options to respond to climate instability. Beside eco-nutrition, local community-level economic incentives are also considered important for sustainability of traditional hill farming and food systems. Feasibility of integrating four local marketing initiatives to traditional hill farming, i) promoting community-supported organic/biodynamic agriculture (CSA), ii) linking traditional farming with school meal (MDM) programs, iii) enhanced market access and value chain development for local plant food resources, and iv) creating off-farm employment opportunity at community level for rural youths, among others, are explored in the present study. The need of re-assessing existing food and nutrition-related health and agriculture policy, and developing cross-sectoral implementation strategies on food and livelihood security, nutrition, and health was also addressed. The outcomes are expected to set priorities for state policy for a more profitable local level agriculture and regenerative food system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organic food industry in India is in the early stages of growth. Higher disposable income and greater health awareness have resulted in an increased domestic demand for organic food. There is huge premium in selling organic products, not only to export markets but also to affluent, health conscious domestic consumers. India is endowed with an abundance of labour and has diverse agro- climatic region that is well suited to year round agriculture. It still has strong traditional agricultural practices. Can India make use of this comparative advantage to introduce sustainable agriculture practices and at the same time improve incomes of small and marginal farmers?On the supply side, small and marginal farmers realize that there is an opportunity to get higher net incomes even if yields are low in organic agriculture. This is because the price of pesticides and chemicals has increased significantly over the last few decades resulting in a significant increase in the cost of production. Organic farming cost could be 50% to 60% less when compared to inorganic farming practices. In addition to domestic demand side, globalized markets provide significant opportunities for Indian agriculture to capture a larger share of the global demand for organic food. This paper analyzes the growth of the organic food industry in relation to domestic and export demand. It mainly attempts to analyze the trend of export of Piegion pea in organic food and also delves in to revealed comparative advantage of India with USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"[W]hat is the role of sustainable agriculture organisations", Brown asks (p. 14), "in sustaining and/or challenging relations of hegemony in rural India?" Chapter 4 explores the Kheti Virasat Mission (Agricultural Heritage Mission - KVM), a natural farming organization active in Punjab, the state where Green Revolution agriculture has led to perhaps the most pronounced socio-ecological degradation. Building on his extensive multi-case evidence, Brown argues that "we need to de-link sustainable agriculture from the counter-hegemonic struggle for food sovereignty" (p. 174), posing a significant analytical challenge to food regime, food sovereignty, and related literatures. [Extracted from the article]

This article assesses the potential and constraints for existing policies and institutions in the context of inclusive sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI). SAI is being promoted and adopted with positive impacts on crop yields and natural resources across a number of countries. This study is based on a review of studies and analysis using secondary as well as primary data from two villages in West Bengal, India. There is little evidence that the study region is in any way moving towards SAI in the real sense of the term. Lack of awareness and pressing income needs are driving farmers towards unsustainable practices. The main constraint is that there is no comprehensive policy frame to promote SAI although there are individual programmes and policies. While there are programmes to promote organic farming and natural farming, most policies are in favour of promoting chemical fertilizers rather than organic inputs. Although there are number of formal and informal institutions, they are not effective in promoting SAI, as they are linked programmatically and function in silos. It is argued that there is a need for synergy among various formal and informal institutions with Panchayati Raj institutions at village level playing the central role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving agricultural sustainability requires a comprehensive assessment of economic, social, and environmental dynamics. This assessment must be supported by scientifically validated indicators that measure all aspects of the system. This study aims to assess and compare the indicator-based farm sustainability of wheat farming in Punjab, India, under two farming systems: conventional farming (CF) and organic farming (OF). This study is based on cross-sectional data collected through a primary survey of 348 wheat growers (143 organics and 205 conventional). A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to collect the data. Based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2008 index construction methodology, a composite sustainability index (CSI), economic sustainability index (ESI), social sustainability index (SSI), and environmental sustainability index (EnSI) have been constructed. The study is motivated by the significant focus on wheat-rice monoculture in Punjab, which has led to declining agricultural growth, over-exploitation of groundwater, and excessive use of agro-chemicals, among other sustainability issues. The empirical results of CSI show that OF is more sustainable than CF in terms of environmental and social sustainability, whereas CF is economically more viable than OF. The study suggest that the government should adopt a balanced approach that encourages and promotes both farming systems simultaneously. To enhance the sustainability of CF, the focus should be on resource conservation technologies, farm practices and ensuring farmers' well-being, while financial incentives, educational opportunities, and market expansion are crucial for making OF more sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green revolution has been a major boost to the agriculture sector throughout the world including India. The food production of the country increased by many fold during the 1960s and 1970s and has continued to increase since then. But, the boom of green revolution could not last long as we witnessed stagnation in the productivity of our farm lands along with soil and crop health degradation. This forced the scientific and farming community to look for efficient and ecologically safe farming systems which led to the evolution of the concept of „sustainable agriculture". Sustainable agriculture is a holistic concept of agriculture which helps in meeting the needs of the present generation without affecting the future generation. It helps in maintaining optimum crop production along with maintaining soil health, conservation of natural resources and preserving ecological balance and biodiversity in agroecosystems. This review aims to create a paradigm for future studies on new and innovative techniques for sustainable crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this first paper, we explain why traditional knowledge is an important theme in the study of Indian agriculture, especially given the crises routinely facing poor, smallholder farmers. We begin with an overview of some of the key authors who have written about the problems facing small farmers both within and outside India. Different authors have focused on different aspects of the benefits that can be derived from the local knowledge and skills of farmers, but these do not always pertain to organic farming. Our interest in organic farming is specifically about 'traditional' knowledge. With the industrialisation of agriculture in India and elsewhere, many poor, small farmers have been deskilled and placed into vulnerable positions. Traditional knowledge has been undermined, overwhelmed or has survived only in fragments. How 'traditional knowledge' might be retrieved, reinvented, reintroduced and modified so as to create a farmer-driven, sustainable and biodiverse agriculture is our concern. In the final section of this paper, we analyse the four situations we have been working on as examples of the possibilities and challenges facing the revival of 'traditional knowledge' in the villages of Kolkata, central India and Sikkim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional agricultural practices that use excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticides come at a great price with respect to soil health, a key component to achieve agricultural sustainability. Organic farming could serve as an alternative agricultural system and solve the problems associated with the usage of agro-chemicals by sustainable use of soil resources. A study was carried out to evaluate the impact of organic vs. conventional cultivations of basmati rice on soil health during Kharif (rainy) season of 2011 at Kaithal district of Haryana, India, under farmers' participatory mode. Long-term application of organic residues in certified organic farms was found to improve physical, chemical, and biological indicators of soil health. Greater organic matter buildup as indicated by higher soil organic carbon content in organic fields was critical to increase soil aggregate stability by increasing water holding capacity and reducing bulk density. Proper supplementation of nutrients (both major and micro nutrients) through organic residue addition favored biologically available nutrients in organic systems. Further, the prevalence of organic substrates stimulated soil microorganisms to produce enzymes responsible for the conversion of unavailable nutrients to plant available forms. Most importantly, a closer look at the relationship between physicochemical and biological indicators of soil health evidenced the significance of organic matter to enzyme activities suggesting enhanced nutrient cycling in systems receiving organic amendments. Enzyme activities were very sensitive to short-term (one growing season) effects of organic vs. conventional nutrient management. Soil chemical indicators (organic matter and nutrient contents) were also changed in the short-term, but the response was secondary to the biochemical indicators. Taken together, this study indicates that organic farming practices foster biotic and abiotic interactions in the soil which may facilitate in moving towards a sustainable food future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic agriculture is not a new concept to India. Organic farming is one of the several approaches found to meet the objectives of sustainable agriculture. Many techniques used in organic farming like inter-cropping, mulching and integration of crops and livestock are not alien to various agriculture systems including the traditional agriculture practiced in India. Technical efficiency indicates the ratio between actual and potential output of any production unit. In this context, the present study estimates the technical efficiency of organic agriculture and modern agriculture systems and to study the factors influencing technical efficiency in organic farming. Technical efficiency shows that there is marginal difference in the technical efficiency under both farming systems in the case of Coconut and Areca nut. However, in the case of Paddy and Sugarcane more farmers practicing organic farming attained higher levels of efficiency. Training modules should include, technical aspects of organic farming, information about ecology, eco-systems, the relationship between production process and eco-systems and Cost of cultivation/budgeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realizing the effects of Conventional System (CS) of agriculture by the stakeholders that are leading to unsustainable trends in productivity of primary industry, society and environment, organic agriculture (OA) is being gradually established as a viable option for sustaining growth of primary sector in India. In this article logical standing of OA as scientific, resources & energy efficient and climate resilient system has been presented with the experimental results and experiences of the farmers. Organic agriculture got significant momentum in India in all direction i.e. production, marketing, research and policy etc. during last 2-3 decades. During this period this has been proved that sufficient organic inputs are available and productivity & profitability remained almost at par with CS, if managed prudently, besides environmental (biodiversity, carbon sequestration) and human health improvement. However, there is need of programming for quantity and quality production of organic produce to meet the increasing indigenous as well as export demand. This programming and its execution will lead to gradual shift on OA, firstly in drylands and later on in irrigated areas, without losing food security. Consortium approach of all stakeholders in policy, research, and market and production is the need for success of this programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey was made on certified organic farms in the country to ascertain the real benefits and feasibility of organic farming in terms of the production potential, economics and soil health in comparison to the conventional farms. The study revealed that organic farming, in spite of the reduction in crop productivity by 9.2%, provided higher net profit to farmers by 22.0% compared to conventional farming. This was mainly due to the availability of premium price (20-40%) for the certified organic produce and reduction in the cost of cultivation by 11.7%. In cases, where such premium prices were not available and the cost of cultivation was higher primarily due to purchased off-farm inputs, organic farming was not found economically feasible. However, there was an overall improvement in soil quality in terms of various parameters, viz. physical, chemical, biological properties, availability of macro- and micronutrients, indicating an enhanced soil health and sustainability of crop production in organic farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological intensification (EI) describes farming practices that aim to use ecological processes for producing agricultural yields. While evidence for the ecological benefits of EI is plentiful, the question of how it can be more widely adopted by farmers, and why it has not been so far, remains pertinent, since only approximately 9% of the globally farmed land is currently managed with EI practices. We suggest that considering farmers as central while attending to farm and system level factors can help to identify barriers and facilitators to EI adoption. To do this, we look to diverse, overlapping bodies of literature encompassing EI practice details, systems thinking, and farmer adoption. Innovation characteristics is one framework that has been used to study farmer adoption of new farm management tools and practices. Our objective is to use innovation characteristics for identifying farmer, farm, and system level barriers and potential solutions to EI adoption. We then aim to synthesize broader lessons for a sustainability transition in agriculture. We treat EI as a suite of innovations, including practices, technologies, and knowledge. We explore how the innovation characteristics of EI - i.e. their relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability – manifest at each of three levels: farmer, farm, and system. We apply our approach to three case studies of EI adoption from different world regions: 1) managing landscape complexity in Germany, 2) installation of riparian buffers in the USA and 3) organic farming in India. An analysis of our case studies using innovation characteristics helped identify barriers to EI adoption and at what level these barriers should be addressed. Barriers included: uncoupled financial and farm-level ecological relative advantages of EI (system level), framing that is not in line with farm values and needs (farmer level), insufficient training for managing complex systems (farmer level), and time constraints for experimentation with and observation of EI effects (farm level). System level solutions could support training and experimentation with EI, empowering farmers by providing them with autonomy to adapt and apply EI as they see fitting. Using innovation characteristics and diverse bodies of knowledge allowed us to identify barriers, but also opportunities at farmer, farm, and system level. Abundant work focuses on convincing farmers of what science says is right, so showing farmers that barriers are not explicit to them is a helpful step forward in the transition towards sustainability. [Display omitted] • We study ecological intensification (EI) practice adoption in case studies from Germany, India and the USA. • We identify barriers and options at farmer, farm or system levels for EI practice adoption with innovation characteristics. • All 5 innovation characteristics were helpful in identifying context-specific and broader lessons on EI adoption. • Relative advantage and compatibility are both improved by a focus on farmers' needs and values. • Systems-focused training, knowledge exchange and adaptability can improve trialability, complexity and observability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]