Promotion of organic farming in Karnataka: An analysis

In this paper, an attempt was made to examine the state government efforts for promotion of organic farming in Karnataka. Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-eco system health, including biodiversity, biological cycle and soil biological activity. Organic farming is increasingly popular because products produced under organic methods are more healthy and safe besides fetching higher price premium than the products produced under inorganic farming. The present study was based on secondary data and it was found that the Karnataka government was outlined broad based organic farming policy. Initially, the state government selected villages in every district and promoted organic farming on experimental basis those villages are called “Organic Village”. Further, the policy was included all the stake holders of organic farming such as Self-Help Groups, Farmers Groups, organic input production and marketing channels, certification agencies etc. However, the certifications of organic produce, fee for certification, subsidies to cover the yield loss were not attractive for the farmers, lack of separate market etc are the great obstacles highlighted in the study for promotion of organic farming in the Karnataka. Finally, the study suggested that the improving the new variety of seeds, development of local authorities for certification of organic farming and organizing the training programme for famers and other stake holders encourages the organic farming in large scale across the state.