What drives a move towards organic agriculture among non-agriculturists? A qualitative study of the motivations and experiences of new-entrant farmers in India.

Amidst the scenario of a general fall in agricultural employment vis-à-vis the increase in non-agricultural employment as a part of the economic development process, a new trend is seen wherein the farm sector is receiving new-entrants- relatively younger population who are taking up farming after leaving non-primary sector jobs. India has been especially emphasized to tap the potential of its vast pool of human resource for agricultural growth. Agriculture employs the largest share of the country's labourforce. However, the productivity of the sector is rapidly decreasing as compared to other sectors of the economy. Besides, there are growing concerns regarding the future approaches to agricultural development and more emphasis is being laid on the agroecological approach for revitalizing the farming scenario. Hence, a need is felt to understand the motivations and activities of new-entrant farmers as they shall guide the course of farming in the coming time. This study aims to understand the driving factors which cause the occupational transition among new-entrants with particular emphasis on adoption of organic farming. The data was collected from fifteen farmers who shared their stories via online conferences organized by an organic farming training center in north-Central India. Thematic analysis technique was used to process the data. The findings reveal that the switch to agriculture occurs due to dissatisfaction with earlier job, which is found less meaningful than farming; environmental consciousness and health concerns related to conventional agriculture; and the desire to fulfil social responsibilities by doing something 'new'. The entry of young non-agriculturists in agriculture is a rewarding incidence if their practices are rooted in agroecological principles. This is because various dimensions of sustainability can be ensured by a combination of- farm entrepreneurship (addressing economics), organic farm practices (addressing farm-ecology) and, enhancement of social bonding within and outside the farm-family (addressing social capital), as is evidenced by the activities of the studied neo-farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]