Does Organic Farming of Rice Provide Higher Income?-A Case Study on Tribal Farmers of Visakhapatnam District in Andhra Pradesh

By studying the economics of rice cultivation in tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh, the paper has attempted to find whether organic farming of rice provides higher income to farmers than conventional rice farming. The study is based on the information collected from 90 farmers (45 organic and 45 conventional) of three mandals, viz. Paderu, Hukumpeta and Chinttapalli, of Visakhapatanam district. The study has found that cost of cultivation of rice was lower in organic farming ( 33413/ha) than in conventional farming ( 42309/ha). Although yield levels were lower (50.7 q/ha) in organic farming compared to conventional farming (58.7 qha), the net benefitcost ratio was higher in organic farming (0.94) compared to conventional farming (0.72). The constraints revealed by organic rice farmers included lower yield in initial years, high weed intensity, non-availability of required quantity of organic manures, lack of technical guidance, distance to market, lack of market information, lack of premium price and lack of experience. The study has concluded that organic farming can certainly improve farmer's income levels in the tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh.