Though the roots of organic farming are in India, Organic agriculture is taking rapid strides throughout the World, and statistical information is now available from 154 countries of the world28. Its share of agricultural land and farms continues to grow in many countries (Table – 1.3). The main results of the latest global survey on certified organic farming29 shows:
About Ha. 35 million of agricultural land is managed organically by almost 1.4 million producers.
28 Statistics and Emerging Trends, 2010, The World of Organic Agriculture – IFOAM and FiBL, Frick.
29 The term ‘organically managed land’ etc. refers to certified organic agriculture and includes both the certified in conversion areas and the certified fully converted areas.
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Table 1.1 - Historical Perspective of Organic Farming in India Ancient period
Vedic Period (23750 BC)
A mention was made to organic manure in Rig Veda to Green Manure in Atharva Veda. It is stated that to cause healthy growth the plant should be nourished by dung of goat, sheep, cow, water as well as meat. A reference of manure is also made in Vrksayurveda by Surpala (Manuscript, Oxford, No 324 B, Six, 107-164)
Oldest practice
10000 years old, dating back to 'Neolithic age, practiced by ancient civilization like Mesopotamia, and Hwang Ho Basin
The Ramayana (7300 BC)
All dead things - rotten corpse or stinking garbage etc.
returned to earth are transformed into wholesome things that nourish life. Such is the alchemy of mother earth – as interpreted by late Sri. C. Rajagopalachari, in his magnum opus – The Ramayana published by Bharatiya Vidya Kendra, Mumbai
The Mahabharata (5500 BC)
A mention was made to Kamadhenu, the celestial cow, and its role on human life and soil fertility.
Kautilya’s Arthasashthra (300 BC)
A mentioned was made to several manures like oil cake, excreta of animals etc.
Brihad-Samhita (by Varahmihira)
(515 AD)
He described how to choose manures for different crops and the methods best suited for manure.
The Holy Quran
(590 AD) At least one third of what you take out from soils must be returned to it implying recycling or by post-harvest residue
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Table 1.2 - Key Milestones on Organic Farming in Current Period in the World
Sir Albert Howard (1900-1947)
He is the Father of Modern Organic Agriculture, developed organic composting process (mycorrhizal fungi) at Pusa, (Samastipur) India and published document “An Agriculture Testament".
Rudolph Steiner ( 1922)
He is a German spiritual Philosopher who built biodynamic farm in Germany.
J.I. Rodel (1950), USA
He popularized the term ‘sustainable agriculture’
and also method of organic growing.
IFOAM
Establishment of 'International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement", in 1972
One Straw Revolution Masanobu Fukoka, an eminent microbiologist in Japan released the Book in 1975.
EU Revolution EU Revolution on Organic Food, 1991
Codex Codex Guidelines on Organic Standard, 1999.
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Table – 1.3
Land under Organic Agriculture in World’s Top 10 Countries, (Share of Total Agricultural Land 2005-2009)
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Rank Country Organic % Organic % Organic % Organic % Organic %
1 Australia 11766768 0.026 12345314 0.028 12023135.1 0.028 12023135.1 0.029 12001724 2.88 2 Argentina 2682267.51 0.020 2358375.77 0.018 2777959 0.021 4007026 0.030 4397851 3.31 3 U S A 1640769.203 0.005 1188167.701 0.004 1736084.003 0.005 1948949.128 0.006 1948946 0.60
4 China 2300000 0.004 2300000 0.004 1553000 0.003 1853000 0.003 1853000 0.34
5 Brazil 842000 0.003 880000 0.003 1765793 0.007 1765793 0.007 1765793 0.67
6 Spain 622762.25 0.025 736938.51 0.030 804884.2 0.032 1129843.62 0.045 1330774 5.35
7 India 185937 0.001 432259 0.002 1030311 0.006 1018469.6 0.006 1180000 0.66
8 Italy 1067102 0.084 1148162 0.090 1150253 0.090 1002414 0.079 1106684 8.68
9 Uruguay 759000 0.050 930965 0.061 930965 0.063 930965 0.063 947115 6.26
10 Germany 807406 0.047 825539 0.048 865336 0.051 907786 0.054 930965 5.59
World 29046687.65 0.007 30144686.28 0.007 32351095.51 0.008 35225259.08 0.008 37232127 0.85
Source: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2010, The World of Organic Agriculture, IFAOM, Bonn and FiBL, Frick and also available on world wide web: http://www.organic- world.net/fileadmin/documents_organicworld/yearbook/yearbook-2011/pages-225-sources-world-of-organic-agriculture.pdf
Note: Area in Ha. and % is share in Gross Cropped Area to Total Area Cultivated.
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The regions with the largest areas of organically managed agricultural land are Oceania (Ha. 12.1 million), Europe (Ha. 8.2 million) and Latin America (Ha.
8.1 million). The countries with the most organic agricultural land are found in Australia, Argentina and China.
The highest shares of organically managed agricultural land are in the Falkland Islands (36.9 percent), Liechtenstein (29.8 percent) and Austria (15.9 percent).
The countries with the highest number of producers are in India (340’000 producers), Uganda (180’000) and Mexico (130’000). More than one third of organic producers are found in Africa (Table- 1.4).
On a global level, the organic agricultural land area increased over time in all regions, in total, by almost three million hectares, or nine percent, compared to the data from 2007. Twenty-six percent (or Ha. 1.65 million) more land under organic management was reported for Latin America, mainly due to strong growth in Argentina. In Europe the organic land increased by more than Ha.
0.5 million, in Asia by Ha. 0.4 million.
About one-third of the World’s organically managed agricultural land – Ha. 12 million – is located in developing countries alone. Most of this land is in Latin America, with Asia and Africa in second and third places. The countries with the largest area under organic management are Argentina, China and Brazil.
About Ha. 31 million are organic-wild collection areas and are land for bee keeping. A majority of this land is in developing countries – in stark contrast to agricultural land, of which two-thirds is in developed countries. Further organic areas include aquaculture areas (Ha.0.43 million), forest (Ha. 0.01 million) and grazed non-agricultural land (0.32 million hectares).
Almost two-thirds of the agricultural land under organic management is grassland (22 million hectares). The cropped area (arable land and permanent crops) constitutes Ha. 8.2 million, (up 10.4 percent from 2007), which represents a quarter of the organic agricultural land.
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Source: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2010, The World of Organic Agriculture, IFAOM, Bonn and FiBL, Frick and also available on world wide web http://www.organic-world.net/fileadmin/documents_organicworld/yearbook/yearbook-2011/pages-225-sources-world-of-organic-agriculture.pdf
Table-1.4
World’s Top 10 Organic Producers 2007 - 2009
2007 2008 2009
Country Producers
% in World Producer’s
Rank Producers
% in World Producer’s
Rank Producers
% in World Producer’s
Rank
India 1,95,741 14.20 2 3,40,000 24.67 1 677257 37.44 1
Uganda 2,06,803 16.96 1 1,80,746 13.11 2 187893 10.39 2
Mexico 1,28,819 10.56 4 1,28,862 9.35 3 128862 7.12 3
Ethiopia 1,65,560 13.58 3 1,01,899 7.39 4 101578 5.61 4
Tanzania 90,222 7.40 5 85,366 6.19 5 85366 4.72 5
Peru 36,093 2.96 7 46,230 3.35 6 54904 3.03 6
Italy 45,231 3.71 6 44,371 3.22 7 43029 2.38 7
Indonesia 0 0.00 0 31,703 2.30 8 9981 0.55 8
Greece 23,769 1.95 8 24,057 1.75 9 23665 1.31 9
Spain 18,226 1.49 12 21,291 1.54 10 25291 1.40 10
World 12,19,526 100.00 13,78,372 100.00 1809121 100.00
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The Study of Wyss,H.E et al30 has traced the history of organic farming in Europe and stated that although the European Organic Agriculture Movement was indicated by Rudolf Steiner and Hans Mueller between 1922 and 1940, it was not until the 1980s that pest management researchers began to develop strategies to control pests in organic systems. Today, insect pest management in organic agriculture involves the adoption of scientifically based and ecologically sound strategies as specified by international and national organic production standards.
These include a ban on synthetic insecticides and, more recently, on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The first phase of an insect pest management program for organic systems is the adoption of cultural practices including diverse crop rotation, enhancement of soil quality by incorporation of specific cover crops and/or the addition of soil amendments, and choice of resistant varieties that help to prevent pest outbreaks. In the second phase, habitat management is implemented to encourage populations of pest antagonists. Third and fourth phases of the program include deployment of direct measures such as bio-control agents and approved insecticides.
However, the strategies for pest prevention implemented in the first two phases often obviate the need for direct control measures. Approaches to pest management in organic systems differ from those in conventional agriculture conceptually in that indirect or preventative measures form the foundation of the system, while direct or reactive control methods are rare and must comply with organic production standards.
30 Wyss E.,H. Luka,L. Pfiffner,C. Schlatter,G. Uehlinger,C. Daniel “Approaches to Pest Management in Arganic Agriculture: a case study in European apple orchards” Paper presented at a symposium entitled “IPM in Organic Systems”, XXII International Congress of Entomology, Brisbane, Australia, 16 August 2004, available on the world wide web: http://www.organic-research.com/
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