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Farmers go organic, make it big

FARIDKOT: Unlike many of their less-fortunate peers, many small and marginal farmers in this area are in high spirits for they opted for organic farming.

Farmers go organic, make it big

After reaping success, a farmer teaching others on how to be self-reliant by adopting organic farming. Tribune photo



Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, February 3

Unlike many of their less-fortunate peers, many small and marginal farmers in this area are in high spirits for they opted for organic farming.

Sometime ago they couldn’t have imagined that wheat they grew would gratify doctors, engineers, educationists and several others who use organic products only.

However, for the past over five years they are making good profit by growing organic products.

Organic wheat is in high demand in Punjab. While farmers in the state are facing difficulty in selling their wheat crop at minimum support price, a large number of consumers import wheat from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and that too at much higher prices - between Rs 2,600 to Rs 3,200 per quintal.

The reason for this high cost wheat import from MP and Rajasthan is good quality of wheat from these states in comparison to Punjab.

While in the domestic market of Punjab, wheat was easily available for Rs 1,450 per quintal last year, many organic farmers sold their produce at rate ranging between Rs 3,000 and Rs 3,200 per quintal.

As supply by these organic farmers fall short of demand, many traders import huge stock of wheat from MP and Rajasthan and sell it at Rs 2,600 to Rs 3,100 per quintal in this area.

Using no pesticides and fertilisers on four acres, Amarjit Shama is creating a unique example of diversification in agriculture at Chaina village in the Jaitu subdivision. He has sown over five varieties of crops, including wheat, flex seeds, oats and pulses, by dividing his farm in small segments.

Terming it zero-budget natural farming, Jagtar Singh Dhaliwal, a farmer with seven acres in Kotkapura, said, “It is the buyer who approaches a farmer to purchase organic wheat, not the vice-versa. No single input is to be purchased from market in natural farming system. In this system you have to use all those things, which are utilised by nature itself in forest and which are already available in your farm.”

Even a study, “Economics and Efficiency of Organic Farming vis-à-vis Conventional Farming in India”, by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, has revealed that though the yield under organic farming is nearly half, the market price realisation of per kg wheat is significantly higher in organic farming (117 per cent).

“The study indicates 16 per cent higher gross returns per acre of wheat under organic farming over conventional farming,” said Umendra Dutt, executive director, Kheti Virsat Mission, a voluntary organisation promoting natural farming.

Box:

Organic farming refers to means of farming that does not involve use of chemicals such as chemical fertilisers and chemical pesticides

Organic wheat is in high demand in the state. Its price ranges between Rs 3,000 and Rs 3,300 per quintal

A study by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad reveals that though the yield under organic farming is nearly half, the market price realisation of per kg wheat is significantly higher in organic farming (117 per cent)

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