Economic Analysis of Natural Farming based Apple Orchards in Himachal Pradesh

The apple production was evaluated under two farming systems i.e., Subhash Palekar's Natural Farming (SPNF) and conventional chemical based farming (CF) systems in Himachal Pradesh, India. The data was collated from 110 apple orchards spread all across the state during the cropping season of 2020. The total variable cost of apple cultivation under natural farming was 56.53 % lower than conventional farming (CF), thereby clearly highlighting the advantage of natural farming over CF. Net returns of apples under natural farming were better (27.41%) than CF apples mainly due to sizable reduction in cultivation costs. The success of progressive SPNF adopters proves that natural farming has viable potential to sustain apple farming and enhance mountainous farmers' income in the backdrop of the looming threat of climate change.