Organic farming is getting popular day by day in developing and developed nations as people are becoming more aware of the impacts of conventional farming on human health and the environment. It is not a modern way of farming; rather it has been in practice since ages without the use of technology and huge investments. In organic agriculture, the soil is of central importance. Farmers nourish the soil and its biotic environment. There is a connection between healthy soil, healthy populations, healthy livestock, and crops.
TYPES OF ORGANIC FARMING
Organic farming is divided into two major types:
- Integrated Farming
- Pure Organic Farming
INTEGRATED FARMING
Integrated organic farming includes the combination of pest controlling measures and nutrients management to achieve ecological balance and necessities. In this type of organic farming, plants and crops grow and develop in such a kind of environment that has natural immunity to fight against weeds and pests. This farming relies on modern cultivation technologies and methods, but it is based on pure organic rules.
PURE ORGANIC FARMING
It is also known as “Pure Form of Organic Farming" because farmers use natural ways of cultivation and emphasize the use of natural manures and bio-pesticides and avoid harmful chemicals. In this process of farming, all the fertilizers and pesticides are obtained from natural sources such as vegetables, fruits, dead plants, and dead animals.
APPROACHES OF ORGANIC FARMING
In organic farming, different methods are used for cultivation. Environment-friendly cultivation methods are adopted. Soil health and soil nourishment is the core point of organic farming. Farmers never vehemently feed the crops with chemical fertilizers to accelerate growth in an unusual way. Farm animals graze in fresh grass grounds without any restrictions and live in open areas without cages. They grow at natural feed without hormonal injections for their rapid growth to get dairy products.
Let's discuss each approach one by one in detail:
TRADITIONAL FARMING APPROACH
Traditional farming dates back to 8500 BC. Ancient farmers introduced environment-friendly agricultural methods. Farmers paid attention to the selection, storage, and germination of seeds. Agroforestry, intercropping, crop rotation, cover cropping, traditional organic composting and integrated crop-animal farming are prominent traditional agricultural practices. Animal husbandry is an integral part of the traditional farming approach.
NATURAL/NO-TILL/DO-NOTHING FARMING APPROACH
Natural farming is also known as no-till farming or a do-nothing farming approach. This approach got fame in 1940 by a Japanese farmer Masanobu Fu-Kua-ka. He used this approach for small landholdings but dense production.
This approach has a philosophy that nature is free to play its role, so let them play. They use no machines, no ploughing of soil, no fertilizers, and no pest killers. Fu-Kua-ka used the seed ball technique in which the seed is wrapped in soil mixed with compost at left in the warehouse for dryness. In India, Fukuoka is fondly regarded and his work has found a number of practitioners, who have termed their method of farming as 'rishi kheti' literally meaning "agriculture of the sages".
SUSTAINABLE FARMING APPROACH
This approach is practiced in those areas where technological development is limited and natural resources are also limited. Farmers rely on available natural resources such as duration and amount of seasonal rainfall, soil type, seeds, and agricultural input is limited. Although products produced on these farms are not considered organic because farmers use some chemicals to control pests or diseases. These types of farms can be converted into organic if they avoid chemical use.
BIODYNAMIC APPROACH
A natural method of farming was introduced by Rudolf Stainer, a German philosopher in 1922.
BIODYNAMIC is a Greek word that means Bio "Life" Dynamic "Energy".
In this method, different dynamic formula fertilizers (BD-500 &501) are made from different parts of animals such as cow dung, horns, and horsetail.
Purposes of the use of these formulas are to activate microorganisms in the soil, help them to fight against fungal diseases and soil biological cycles.
PERMACULTURE APPROACH
This term was used by Australian ecologists in the 1970s. This term means Permanent Agriculture. This approach focuses on the use of long-term impacts of agricultural methods rather than short-term use. Agricultural activities must be sustainable. They used mixed farming techniques, agroforestry, mixed species, recycling, and smallholdings near consumers in urban and rural areas.
LOW-EXTERNAL INPUT AND SUSTAINABLE FARMING APPROACH (LEISA)
Low-External Input and Sustainable Farming is a modern approach that was introduced by the Netherland Institute of LEISA.
It deals in the use of local resources land, soil, water sources, seeds, compost, animals, humans, recycling, and genetic ones. Production must be increased but not at the cost of environmental degradation.
ZERO BUDGET FARMING APPROACH (ZBF)
This system believes in the natural growth of crops without the use of any fertilizer, pest killers, or any foreign element but gets high-yield crops and maximum production. They rely on low agricultural input, low investment, and climate-resistant farming techniques. Mostly use of local natural resources is their main concern.
CONCLUSION
Whether farmers use pure organic farming techniques or integrated farming techniques, the main purpose is to grow maximum food to fulfill the basic need and secure ecological balance. Farmers opted for new farming approaches or reshape old ones, the main emphasis is to conserve natural resources with low inputs but gain maximum outputs.