Word “Organic” means “Acquired from living things”. Organic farming is an active process of making soil healthy and provides a dynamic living system for the world.
After the Green Revolution in the mid-60s, drastic progress and development have been seen in the agriculture sector with self-sufficiency in food production but this progress is achieved at the cost of environmental damage such as infertile soil, waterlogging, and nutrition deficiency in the soil. These challenges forced the farmers to transfer from chemical farming to organic farming.
Organic farming is based on some principles to overcome environmental challenges.
HEALTH
In organic farming, the principle of health deals with the health of the entire ecosystem as a whole, from micro-organisms in the soil to plant, animal, and human health. This principle declares that good health is the basic right of each living creature and cannot be separated from the ecosystem. Healthy soil can produce healthy plants which will provide health benefits to humans and animals. To maintain the health of all of them, farmers must use natural fertilizers (humus, manure) chemical-free pest and insect killers, less tillage, use of freshwater sources for irrigation especially rainfall, and manual farming techniques. An organic farmer should avoid the use of chemical fertilizers, pest and insect killers, animal hormones, and food extracts.
ECOLOGY
The second major principle of organic farming deals with the healthy ecological balance of the earth as a whole. According to this principle, the main concern of the farmer must be in the natural ways he used the land for farming, growing crops, watering these plants, feeding farm animals, dumping of the animal waste, and supply of prepared food in the market must be sustainable. All these activities are interlinked. Farmers must process, use, produce, marketing, sell, purchase and consume organic commodities in a way that must be protected for land, air, water, animal living space, and climate. Ecological balance is not only the responsibility of a farmer, but it is a collective effort of processors, workers, producers, stockholders, traders, salespersons, distributors, and consumers.
FAIRNESS
The third important principle is ecological fairness which means that natural resources good or bad must be equally distributed among the living creatures of the earth’s surface or it is the basic right of each living organism on earth that it can avail each kind of resources from soil termite to a human being. This fairness is only possible when we sustainably manage these resources, it means these resources must be used in a way that they must preserve for the future generation.
CARE
The principle of care is about protecting soil, air-water, animals and humans from diseases, damage, and providing care in a way that these resources must be secure for our next generations.
Organic farming is a dynamic system that is based on traditional and innovative methods and techniques which are tested and practiced from generation to generation and if valid must continue forever. But new scientific methods must be introduced which are energy efficient and environment secure. Outdated methods must be reviewed if they are environment-friendly.
The environment must be protected with the responsibility and well-being of current and future generations.
CONCLUSION
Environmental health, ecological balance, equal distribution of resources, and application of precautionary measures in agricultural practices are the basis of organic farming and we have to transform traditional harmful farming towards a natural one for a secure future.