Organics need policy support
Growth in organic farming requires state government’s help in creating infrastructure Experts need to sensitise farmers about the ill-effects of agriculture using chemical fertilisers
Due to the widespread use of chemical fertilizers, not many farmers are keen on using cow dung manure today, due to which organic food use has risen considerably in the past few years.
To meet the demands of the organic products in the city, many professionals in Hyderabad city have taken up organic farming to provide enough organic products to people, which will help them lead a healthy lifestyle.
The organic food market in the city is growing at 25-30 per cent every year, but the awareness about organic farming is still low despite many organic producers being available in the city.
Although many educated and well-informed organic farmers have made remarkable progress in organic farming in Hyderabad, this method of farming still needs to overcome challenges at policy, commercial and infrastructural levels.
There are challenges faced by the organic farmers due to lack of policy, commercial and infrastructural levels. These challenges can impact the growth of organic farming in the state, besides affecting the quality of organic food produce. The challenge posed by inadequate agricultural infrastructure and cold storage facilities translates to loss of produce due to spoilage.
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are the highest fertiliser-using states and pesticides and herbicide use is increasing rapidly. Soil organic matter is very low, so the biggest challenge is the need to build them, according to the experts.
According to the experts, the rampant use of pesticides and chemicals to exterminate weeds has caused an evolution of the pest and weeds species and made them increasingly immune to chemicals, which are the first hurdle in the transition from chemical farming to organic farming.
Dr G.V. Ramanjaneyulu, agricultural scientist, the CEO of Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, said, “Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are the highest fertilizerusing states and pesticides and herbicide use is increasing rapidly and soil organic matter is very low, so we need to build them’’.
“The difficulties of an organic farmer do not end with harvesting the produce. Severe lack of suitable infrastructure and storage place is a biggest challenge for organic farming and its produce,” the CEO explained.