Design of a Hi-Tech Organic Farm

- A project for MTSA Course

Prashast Srivastava; Prateek Shah

Table of ContentsDesign of a Hi-Tech organic farm...................................................................................................2

PART I: Key principles...................................................................................................................2

What is an organic agriculture?...................................................................................................2

The Indian Scenario.................................................................................................................2

Sustainable: A comparison..........................................................................................................4

Economic Aspects...................................................................................................................4

Macroeconomic Picture...........................................................................................................9

Ecological Benefits................................................................................................................10

Social Benefits.......................................................................................................................11

Nutrient Budgeting................................................................................................................13

Size of land-holding...............................................................................................................14

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................14

PARTII: The design.......................................................................................................................15

Design of Organic Farms: Guidelines.......................................................................................15

Design of Organic Farm: Schematic..........................................................................................16

Design of Organic Farm: Preparation........................................................................................17

Legumes.................................................................................................................................17

Mulch.........................................................................................................................................17

Harvesting..................................................................................................................................17

Design of Organic Farm: Crop Rotation...................................................................................18

Crop Rotation Planning: Lessons from United States...........................................................19

Design of an Organic Farm: The Crop Cycle............................................................................20

Lessons from Greenhouse in China...........................................................................................21

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................22

Works Cited...................................................................................................................................23

Design of a Hi-Tech organic farm

PART I: Key principles

What is an organic agriculture?

While the definition and scope could vary depending upon the variation in geography and climate, the broad guidelines to interpret what constitutes organic agriculture can be built from the following key attributes of Organic Agriculture.

“Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system that –

Promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity

Emphasizes use of management practices in preference to the use of off-farm inputs

Taking into account that regional conditions require locally adapted systems.” ( FAO)

In other words, an organic farm requires minimum or no chemical inputs in form of fertilizers and pesticides. Nutrient level is generally managed by using organic waste and appropriate planning of crop rotation. Pesticides and other control chemicals are replaced by using natural sources.

The Indian ScenarioAs per FAO, India had about 1426 certified organic farms which produced close to 14000 tons of organic food in 2003. As per the estimates of Government of India, about 190000 acres of land was under organic cultivation in 2005 (satavic.org).

A comparison with some other countries has been shown below (Narayanan, 2005) –

Australia

Argentina

Italy

USA

Uruguay

India

105000003192000

1830000

950000

687481

77000Area under organic farming (ha)

Area under organic farming (ha)

The lower significance of India vis-à-vis global leaders is clear in this chart. Thus, it can be concluded that as far as India is concerned, organic farming is relatively a new concept. There is still a substantial gap before we can catch up with the global leaders.

Sustainable agriculture is sometimes, erroneously though, confused with organic farming. While sustainability is an important attribute for organic farming.

FAO defined sustainable agriculture on the basis of these basic guidelines (SustainableAgriculture Information Network) –

“It ensures that the basic nutritional requirements of present and future generations, qualitatively and quantitatively, are met while providing a number of other agricultural products

Provides durable employment, sufficient income, and decent living and working conditions for all those engaged in agricultural production

Maintains, and wherever possible, enhances the productivity capacity of the natural resources base as a whole, and the regenerative capacity of renewable resources, without disrupting the functioning of basic ecological cycles and natural balances, destroying the socio-cultural attributes of rural communities, or causing contamination of the environment, and

Reduces the vulnerability of the agricultural sector to adverse natural and socio-economic factors and other risks, and strengthens self-reliance”

So, while sustainable agriculture ensures nutritional value in crops and farming, it also encompasses a wider set of guidelines which ensure better natural conditions like water management, labor practices and future impact of the activities being undertaken.

While it can be seen that there are a several aspects common between sustainable agriculture and organic farming, there is more of a cause-effect relationship. Organic farming implemented successfully could ensure sustainable agriculture.

Typical design of organic farm involves several critical decisions. The figure below summarizes the chronological order in which these decisions need to be taken.

Sustainable: A comparisonEconomic viability is the guiding principle for key decisions related to farming practices and methodologies chosen. Other benefits include ecological and social viability, primarily because of multiple positive externalities involved while implementing sustainable practices.

Economic AspectsThe figure below summarizes the key factors which govern the economic benefits from implementing sustainable methods for agriculture.

While it is clear that the economic impact, at least in the short term, deemphasizes use of sustainable methods. However, only monetized benefits have been listed above. The stress on ecological stability might help in commanding a price premium over regularly produced crops.

The above hypothesis can be validated by actual data of various cost models developed. We now summarize a few cost-benefit analyses for different scenarios.

PositiveNegative

Paddy

Cost Benefit for paddy crop (Charyulu & Biswas, 2010)

OF- Organic Farming, CF- Conventional Farming, CF=100 baseline for comparison, all figures in Rs. Per acre

The above comparison was done for Uttar Pradesh paddy cultivation. The primary cost escalation occurs due to a reduction in yield and price for organic farming. Weeding and marketing costs are substantially higher, while the major savings occur in price of fodder produced. The net revenues are higher (100:78) for conventional farming, primarily because of higher yield.

As far as profitability is concerned total revenues occur in proportion 100:78 (CF:OF) while the cost of production is in the ratio 100:108 (CF:OF). This gives a substantially low relative net return, 100:67 (CF: OF). Hence, as far as paddy cultivation is concerned, economic viability is not inferred in short run.

Sugarcane

Cost Benefit for Sugarcane crop (Charyulu & Biswas, 2010)

OF- Organic Farming, CF- Conventional Farming, CF=100 baseline for comparison, all figures in Rs. Per acre

For sugarcane, the yield increases in short term. This has been reflected in the net returns per acre for the crop. The major source of increased revenue is increase in yield, which offsets the lower price offered to the organic food in the said situation. The cost savings chiefly comes from reduction in spending on pesticides and other protective chemicals from weeds and insects. Seed and land preparation costs are also lower.

Cost of production is lower for organic farming, 100:86, (CF: OF), while revenues are higher for OF, 100:109 (CF: OF). This translates into higher return for organic farming – 100:119 (CF: OF). The study, based in Uttar Pradesh, thus, indicates that organic cultivation of sugarcane could be profitable in short-run.

Wheat

Cost Benefit for Wheat (Charyulu & Biswas, 2010)

OF- Organic Farming, CF- Conventional Farming, CF=100 baseline for comparison, all figures in Rs. Per acre

A similar analysis for wheat indicates that while the cost of production is slightly higher, revenues are substantially higher. This is primarily because a higher price per kg which organic wheat fetched in Uttar Pradesh, where the study was conducted. Hence, the overall revenues earned by wheat cultivation was in the ratio 100:115(CF:OF) while the cost for production was higher for organic farming 100:102. (CF:OF)

The above analysis is done for the short-term only. However, it has been hypothesized that the benefits in terms of yield and production of conventional farming are offset in the long run. This has been a driver for adoption of organic farming.

Long term analysis of yield and productionYear No.

Cost of Chemicals

(Rs/ha)

Cattle Manure

(t/ha)

Yield wheat (t/ha)

Yield Rice (t/ha)

0 1994–95 3000 3 2 2.25

1 1995–96 1632 4.2 1.35 1.13

2 1996–97 788 25 1.23 1.15

3 1997–98 0 50 2.25 2.5

4 1998–99 0 25 2.75 3.13

… … … … …

10 2004–05 0 12.5 3.13 3.75

The above analysis is for a farm in Uttarakhand for wheat cultivation (Sustainable Agriculture Information Network).

There are three key parameters which we analyzed.

Consumption of chemicals – Organic farming requires a lower use of chemicals in the farms. Therefore, the cost of chemicals used in the farm had a steep decline eventually reaching zero.

Cattle Manure: Initial withdrawal of chemical compounds necessitated the use of cattle manure and was responsible for its increasing use. However, in the long run, the use of cattle manure was reduced which would have reflected in the cost incurred for fertilization.

Yield for wheat and rice: A major argument given against organic farming is the yield. The above case study clearly shows that while the yield is lower in its initial years, it matches the figure for conventional farming within three years and improves further as the soil becomes more fertile. Therefore, in the long-run, from the productivity perspective, it is better to focus on organic farming than conventional farming.

Macroeconomic PictureThe above analysis dealt at the farm level with various scenarios. However, important parameters, monetary value of which can be estimated, are relevant only on macro scale. We now discuss a few such parameters which play a crucial role in determining whether the focus should be on local markets or exports as far as policy formulation for organic produce is concerned.

Hidden Costs: Exporting of goods normally entails higher costs which are generally overlooked. The cost of transportation to the export hub (nearest rail link or ports) is substantial especially because the farms are generally located in rural areas where transport connectivity is inferior to the urban areas.

Food Security: Provision for food security is an important concern. Currently, subsidized rates are being offered to the poor. However, to ensure supply, it is important that the produce remain focused on local markets as their key driver instead of focusing on export to foreign countries.

Debt: Conventional farming involved investment in fertilizers and weedicides. This resulted in huge debts to the farmers. Encouraging organic farming could help in resolving this issue.

Risk: Dependence on foreign markets could be a risky proposition. It is difficult to analyze the demand in the foreign market. This is due to various other factors including the policy of the foreign government, which are not necessarily concerned with interest of Indian farmers. Therefore, if the demand is dependent on export, it could face a volatility which might be difficult to tackle. On the other hand, local market is easier to predict and forms a stable demand. Any surplus, of course, could be used for exports.

Niche Domestic Markets: Domestically, there could be segments which are willing to pay a higher price for organic produce. These could be explored by extensive market research. Also, as the awareness of the organic products increases, the demand would increase. Hence, there could be an opportunity in Indian domestic markets which would drive the demand in future as the awareness spreads.

Employment: Employment has been a major problem in the country. This is more critical in rural areas, resulting in exodus of unemployed youth from village to cities, creating migrant problem in urban areas. Conventional farming essentially results in lesser employment due to extensive use of machinery than organic farming. Therefore, promotion of organic farming could result in higher employment in rural areas.

It is clear that organic farming has advantages over conventional one. This is more prominent when local markets are encouraged to be a demand centre for organic produce.

While we have discussed the possible monetized benefits out of organic farming, there are several benefits which are difficult to quantify. These can be divided into two broad categories – ecological and social benefits.

Ecological Benefits(Sustainable Agriculture Information Network)

Soil: Lack of fertilizers and other chemical in the farms ensures that the nutrient and other essential minerals present in the soil. Organic farms do not necessitate the usage of these harmful chemicals and hence, the soil remains more fertile than the conventional farming.

.Water: Water table has become a major issue due to over exploitation of the natural resources. The receding water table poses a challenge to figure out alternative methods of conserving water and irrigation. Organic farming helps in improving water retention capacity of soil thereby, reducing the need for irrigation. Coupled with rainwater conservation, it can eliminate the need of external sources altogether.

Biodiversity: An essential feature of a healthy farm lies in biodiversity. An indiscriminate use of pesticides can result in elimination of helpful animals. Switching to organic agriculture eliminates the risk of these unwanted consequences.

Pollution: A key difference between organic and conventional farming is the pesticides used. In addition to above mentioned disadvantages, use of pesticides is a major cause of pollution and can result in potentially fatal diseases. Organic agriculture focuses on natural methods of elimination of pests, weeds and insects. Thus, it does not cause any pollution. On contrary, the excessive chemicals are generally unwanted and hence, are a major source of pollution.

Landscape: Top soil erosion is responsible for multiple natural calamities. Erosion of top soil increases the risk of landslides. In certain regions, top soil plays an important role in controlling of flood by absorbing excessive water. Excessive cultivation erodes the topsoil thereby increasing these risks. Organic agriculture, on the other hand, conserves top soil and thus reduces the risk of the said natural calamities.

Pollution: Traditional farming is generally associated with Green house Gas emissions. Carbon sequestration by the soil is also reduced in conventional farming. Therefore, emission of methane is higher in case of conventional farming than the organic farming. Carbon footprint also increases for conventional farming due to excessive use of machinery. Organic farming reduces the risk of excessive carbon footprint and hence, can be encouraged for alleviating the impact of global climate change due to GHG emissions.

Social Benefits(Sustainable Agriculture Information Network)

Social benefits of organic farming are generally non-quantifiable. We now list the social benefits which can be derived from organic farming.

Inclusiveness: Rural urban divide has been a major problem. Stress on organic farming can reduce the disparity between the living standards in rural and urban areas.

Political Unrest: Political factors play an important role, especially in form of lobbying from MNCs and other players from corporate sector. Switching to organic farming would push market forces and competitiveness to the fore thereby, reducing the impact which these players have on politics and policy formulation.

Local Acceptance: Organic farming employs local resources which in turn ensure better acceptance of the produce. Therefore, organic farming would not rely on fertilizers manufactured in some industrial estate. Rather it could rely on earthworms from a field or other locally available inputs.

Indigenous Knowledge: There are several practices in the country which have been scientifically proven to be beneficial. Stress on organic agriculture encourages free sharing of knowledge. Therefore, indigenous knowledge related to farming could help in increasing productivity and efficiency of farms.

Gender Discrimination: Conventional farming primarily involved role of only male members of the family. This is in line with the belief that machinery is essentially controlled by power and hence, women cannot be involved with the same. However, organic farming does not levy any such restrictions. Hence, this could help in alleviating gender discrimination.

Food Security: If the produce is used for local consumption (as indicated in the previous section), it could help in providing food security to the users in the vicinity. Organic farming can be usually implemented on a smaller scale which means that most of the produce would be used for local consumption. Hence, appropriate incentives could result in food security for users in the vicinity.

Participation: Participation of the local community is a key advantage. The traditional rich-old divide is primarily because of high capital requirements in form of machinery and other chemicals necessary in conventional farming. If this requirement is eliminated, the poor would not be dependent upon the rich for borrowed capital and the divide can be bridged to an extent.

Therefore, it can be concluded that with social and ecological benefits included, organic farming is a better option.

We tried to quantify these benefits by floating a questionnaire as to how much would someone like to pay if some of these benefits were provided. The results have been discussed next.

Price PremiumTo quantify the ecological and social benefits which are derived from the organic farming, we floated a survey to gauge the consumer perception about the willingness to pay. The survey asked the respondents to quote a price over and above the assumed base price which they would be willing to pay provided if a particular attribute is present/ missing in the product.

We chose apple as the produce with an assumed base price of Rs. 30. The findings of our survey have been shown below -

Chemica

l Free

More minera

ls

Looks Red

der

More Carb

on emiss

ion

Reduced

Gender

Discrim

ination

Lower To

xic Chem

icals

Landslid

e due t

o exces

sive f

arming

More Carb

on needed

for t

ransporta

tion

Preserv

e biodive

rsity

Certified

Organic

05

101520253035404550

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Base PricePremium (%)Acceptable Price

The responses point out to a higher willingness to pay for a produce if it is chemical free, has more minerals and is certified organic. They can fetch a premium of 41%, 44% and 33% on an average as per the responses we received.

The awareness of ecological factors was also inferred, however to a mellowed extent. An average respondent was willing to pay about 2.5% to 5.5% lesser if the production caused undesirable effects like landslide due to poor farming practices, more carbon emission during production and transportation. In general, people were found to be, to an extent, indifferent to these negative effects which reflected in only a minor difference in willingness to pay for a apple.

Nutrient BudgetingNitrogen and Phosphorus form the two key nutrients reflecting the fertility of soil. Therefore, to gauge the health of soil, presence of these nutrients is frequently used as a measure of fertility. Every plantation and harvest affects the presence of these in the soil. While some crops, like wheat etc. deplete them from the soil, others like legumes for nitrogen replenish the soil with the nutrients. Nutrient budgeting is a concept where crop cycle is planned to ensure the presence of these minerals in the soil to keep it fertile.

We have plotted the Nitrogen budgeting for different crop cycles below (Sharawat, Mohanty, &Burford) –

It can therefore be seen that the traditional wheat-maize crop cycle depletes nitrogen more than the other crop cycle. An alternative to the same could be Maize-potato-green gram or maize-Indian rapeseed – wheat crop cycle which ensures replenishments of nitrogen back into the soil.

For Phosphorus, there are multiple ways to ensure that the mineral content is not critically comprised. Compost pits form a simple and effective way of ensuring the same. They broadly belong to any of the following three categories –

Biodung Compost – Cow dung is collected and covered by a polythene cloth. The decomposition and other chemical processes turn it into manure which can be used as fertilizer for the soil.

Vermi Compost- This is primarily done by using earthworms, the presence of which is also an indicator of the health of the soil. Earthworms produce organic residues which are useful as far as nutrient replenishment to the soil is concerned.

PhosphoCompost – Organic residues like excretory waste from the cattle, other organic residues generated after decomposition can be mixed with phosphate and pyrite and treated with P solubilizing microbes. This process can enrich the soil with Phosphorus.

There are a few key principles which must be adhered to for planning the nutrient budget effectively (Mohler & Johnson, 2009) –

1. Avoid planting the same crop family in the same field too often. 2. Alternate cover crops with cash crops 3. Alternate deep-rooted crops with shallow fine-rooted crops. 4. Precede heavy feeders with nitrogen-fixing cover crops 5. Avoid following a root crop with another root crop.

Size of land-holdingIt has been frequently argued that bigger farms offer better opportunities for sustainable agriculture. However, for our study indicates that smaller farms might have an edge over the larger ones.

1. Poverty: Organic farming is aimed at reducing poverty at the bottom of the pyramid. The land-holding size with poor families is already smaller, hence organic farming should be encouraged in smaller farms too.

2. Efficiency: Smaller farms offer more output to input ratio than the larger farms. However, very small farms could erode this advantage. However, generally speaking, smaller farms reduce wastage and allow better control of conditions.

3. Labor: Labor is the priary constraint in the agriculture scenario in country. Thus, labor availability per unit area is higher for smaller farms than the larger ones.

4. Demand: Larger farms need a bigger market to absorb their production. Smaller farms do need not adhere to these constraints as their demand can be absorbed by own-consumption and local market requirements.

ConclusionOur conclusion for the theoretical aspects can be summarized under the following heads –

1. Land Holding Size: Smaller land holdings can ensure better efficiency and productivity.2. Ecological and Social Perspective: As discussed, social and ecological objectives favor

organic farming3. Local Orientation: A focus on local consumption would be more effective than focus on

exports for organic farming.4. Based on the above parameters, we have chosen Western Belt of Uttar Pradesh as an area

to develop an organic farm.

PARTII: The designDesign of an organic farm requires several steps to be undertaken. These encompass several attributes and depend on various local variables, climate and soil being two of them.

We believe that design of a Organic Farm is a four step process- Infrastructure Development, Habitat Development, Preparation of the soil and Crop rotation (India Development Gateway). Pesticides and weedicides are a part of each stage with a varying degree.

Design of Organic Farms: GuidelinesWe now list down various guidelines to be followed while designing an organic farm (IndiaDevelopment Gateway).

1. 3-5% of the space should be reserved for utilities like cattle, vermicompost, vermiwash & trees for shades

2. Percolation tanks should be installed all over the farm for rainwater conservation.3. A farm pond should be constructed to reduce dependence on external sources of water. 4. A tank for preparation of liquid manure should be provided. 5. Tree lines are required – Neem and Tamarind are considered natural insecticides6. Rows of Glyricidia should be planted. These help in fixing on nitrogen. 7. Plants with pesticidal value – Calotropis, Dautara Alba etc. should be planted. 8. Biogas plant for energy requirements could also be provided.

As far as the decision of crop cycle is concerned, there are several factors to be considered (Mohler & Johnson, 2009) (India Development Gateway).

1. A nutrient extracting crop should not follow another nutrient extracting crop.2. Legumes should be planted at least once a year.3. At any point of time, there should be about 8 different types of crops in the field.4. Wheat should not be repeated every year. This has an adverse effect on the crop. 5. Diversity is the key. An entire farm planted with the same crop runs a risk of draining

soil of valuable minerals and crop failure.6. Farms could be left fallow/used as graze lands. This helps in replenishment of the

minerals by natural process.7. A grain crop should generally not be followed by another grain crop. 8. Deep rooted crops should not follow another deep rooted crop.

Based on this principle, we designed an organic farm and appropriate scheduling of crops.

Following are specifications of the farm –

Area: 5 acre

Time Horizon: 4 years

Area: Western agricultural belt of Uttar Pradesh

Design of Organic Farm: SchematicShown below is the schematic diagram of the farm design we propose.

The field has been divided into 8 sub-plots, which we have tried to keep of the equal area. The yellow rectangle in the bottom right corner is the space for utilities which roughly takes up 5% of the total area. The central blue circle represents the farm pond which roughly translates into an area of 200 m2. The farm pond is chosen to be placed in the centre of the farm to ease the water supply to different sub-plots. The smaller grey circles are percolation tanks which are spread all over the field to conserve rainwater and reduce the dependence on external irrigation. The green lines indicate the tree lines which form a natural boundary between sub-plots ensuring diversity in the farm.

Utility area consists of compost tanks and a bio-gas plant to meet the power requirements of the farm.

I II

III IV

V VI

VIIVIII

Design of Organic Farm: PreparationPreparation of soil for organic farming is a key process which needs to be followed before implementing organic farming. We have divided it into three broad categories based on the standard suggestions (India Development Gateway) –

1. Legumes2. Mulch3. Harvesting

Legumes Three different kinds of legumes are needed. The first crop should be grown for 60 days,

second from 90-120 days and the third one for more than 120 days (a total of 270-300 days). Thus, around a year is needed to prepare the soil before starting organic agriculture.

Legumes could also be used as a crop to add to the financial viability of organic agriculture.

Mulch Except for Green pods, all other parts of the plant should be used as mulch. This is done,

both, from a nutrient and economic perspective. Uprooted weeds can also be used as mulch Compost pits can be used for soil enrichment. Compost should be applied at a rate of 2.5 tons per hectare. A cereal crop should be used as inter-crop. Post harvest, the entire crop can be used as

mulch.

Harvesting 3-4 cycles of application of liquid manure should be followed for optimum results Crop residue should be treated with liquid manure for better results. This helps in

replenishing necessary nutrients to the soil. Care must be taken about the composition of the manure applied. Each crop residue

should consist of at least 30% residues from legumes. Legumes can be grown as primary produce also.

In about 12-18 months, soil would be able to support organic agriculture. Once the soil is ready, it can be followed by any sequence of crop rotation based on the principles discussed in the previous section.

Thus, it can be concluded preparation is a time-consuming process which offers little in short run. However, long-term benefits would drive organic agriculture.

Design of Organic Farm: Crop RotationCrop rotation is an important decision while designing an organic farm. Decisions can be categorized into two categories – annual and multiyear. They can be taken to address the business and ecological needs (biological needs). Based on the above classification, following matrix is suggested in a study (Mohler & Johnson, 2009).

While designing the farm, multiyear perspective is taken into account. This primarily includes decision as to which crop to grow (farm) and other ecological needs (field). Annual decisions are taken as per the business needs as it would dictate which crop should be grown.

The flowchart above shows a typical decision making process for deciding the appropriate crop cycle (Mohler & Johnson, 2009).

Crop Rotation Planning: Lessons from United StatesThe figure below shows crop rotation in three farms in the U.S. (Mohler & Johnson, 2009)

The figure shows a 4-5 year horizon of successful organic practices which happened in US. What is noteworthy is that at least one legume crops is planted every year. Farm has been left fallow, or turned into graze lands frequently. Rich diversity exists in terms of different crops.

The first farm started with Red Clover .This can be substituted by legumes. Second crop for year 1 for the first farm was corn, maize in India. After that the farm was left fallow. This was followed by Soybean, another nutrient replenishing crop. Wheat followed this plantation. The second crop of wheat was interspersed by Red Clover. After a four year horizon, the farming practices emulated the year one crop cycle.

The key similarities occur in terms of use of legumes and leaving the farm fallow. Another key similarity is in growing of Alfalfa and fallow lands once in the crop cycle.

Based on the above crop cycle, we have tried to implement a similar schedule in crop rotation while suggesting it for the design of our farm.

Design of an Organic Farm: The Crop CycleBased on our analysis, we suggest the following crop rotation cycle –

I II III IV V VI VII VIII

Year 1

Potato Sugarcane Maize Maize Sugarcane Potato Maize Maize

Wheat Grazing Potato Potato Grazing Wheat Potato Potato

Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes

Year 2

Sugarcane Maize Potato Maize Maize Sugarcane Potato Maize

Grazing Potato Wheat Potato Potato Grazing Wheat Potato

Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes

Year 3

Maize Potato Sugarcane Sugarcane Potato Maize Sugarcane Sugarcane

Potato Wheat Grazing Grazing Wheat Potato Grazing Grazing

Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes

Year 4

Potato Sugarcane Maize Potato Sugarcane Potato Maize Potato

Wheat Grazing Potato Wheat Grazing Wheat Potato Wheat

Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes Legumes

Legumes should be chosen to ensure diversity. The top row reflects the 8 different sub-plots in the original field structure we talked about. Therefore, sub-plots having same crops are not adjacent to each other.

The farm has been left fallow once in the overall crop cycle Wheat is never cultivated for a gap lesser than 3 years. A nutrient draining crop (wheat, sugarcane) is followed by either leaving the land fallow

or by following it up with wheat. Tuber crops are never followed by another tuber crop. Maize is never followed by grain or legumes. This is done to ensure diversity.

While crop rotation is an important part, it is also important to address the concerns related to pesticides and insecticides. To tackle these problems, natural alternatives are available and should be used to reduce application of chemicals to the soil.

We also estimated the revenue generation potential of the organic farm generated.

Following are the assumptions for calculations –

Yield (kg per ha) Price (Rs. Per kg)

Potato 22600 12

Wheat 2369 13

Legumes 600 59

Sugarcane 27364 1.95

Maize 1373 67

In addition, we assumed that all the eight areas of the farm are equal, yield is constant throughout the four year horizon and no major fluctuation in price takes place. A total of 15% of the area has been assumed to be under non-agriculture activities (utility).

These assumptions, although strong, provide a reasonable first order estimate of the revenue generation potential.

Our calculations pegged the revenue generation potential at Rs. 1941210 for a time horizon of 4 years, which translate into about Rs. 4.85 lakhs per year for a 5-acre farm. Based on some primary research, the revenue generated is about Rs. 1 Cr per year for large farms like 100 acre. Therefore, scaling down the potential would be close to around 5 lakhs per year for conventional farming.

Lessons from Greenhouse in China(based on discussion with Prof. Jiang)

Greenhouse is a small area where weather conditions are precisely monitored for maximizing the farm output. The demand for greenhouse is primarily driven by increase in productivity and extreme climatic conditions. They hold an important position in China, where weather conditions are extreme and at times unsuitable for cultivation. This has led to evolution of greenhouses where temperature and humidity can be precisely controlled for high value crops.

The evolution of greenhouses in China was initially driven by the government which provided land area for development of greenhouses to encourage migration to cities facing labor shortage. These were high risk and capital intensive proposition. However, they could be used for better productivity and growth of new variety of vegetables at a controlled price which offset the risk. The push now comes from the corporate sector which has been investing in better and improved technology for greenhouses too.

The evolution of greenhouse in China was fraught with problems. These included –

Land ownership was not with farmers. Hence, they ran a pertinent risk of losing their land.

Food safety was another major issue. Corporate involvement has increased the gap between rich and the poor. Added color has been a major challenge to organic farmers. Disorganized supply chain for organic food products is another major drawback for

organic farmers in China.

ConclusionBased on our research about the product, we conclude the following –

There are several kinds of benefits which can be leveraged using the organic method of agriculture. These include quantifiable benefits like economic benefits and non-quantifiable benefits like Ecological and environmental benefits.

Our survey findings indicate that people might be interested in paying a premium based on the attributes of organic produce, provided they are clearly marketed.

Organic method of cultivation is beneficial in the long run. However, preparing the ecological support system for optimum performance takes time before yielding desired results.

Nutrient budgeting and maintaining the fertility of soil is a key concern for agriculturalist today. This can be achieved by Crop Rotation and other related methods

Greenhouses have been a successful experiment in India. However, indiscriminate emulation for Indian scenario is fraught with risk. Sufficient analysis and research is needed for setting up Greenhouses in India.

Works CitedFAO. (n.d.). www.fao.org. Retrieved Dec 30, 2011, from http://www.fao.org/docs/eims/upload/230037/OA_biod.pdf

Charyulu, D. K., & Biswas, S. (2010). Economics and Efficiency of Organic Farming vis-a-vis Conventional Farming in India.

India Development Gateway. (n.d.). Organic Agriculture- Principles and Practices. Retrieved Dec 31, 2011, from www.idag.in: http://www.indg.in/agriculture/agricultural-best-practices/organic-production/organic-agriculture-principles-and-practices

Mohler, C. L., & Johnson, S. A. (2009). Crop Rotation on Organic Farms: A Planning Manual. Ithaca, NY.

Narayanan, S. R. (2005). Organic Farming in India: Relevance, Problems and Constraints. Mumbai: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.

satavic.org. (n.d.). Organic Farming in India. Retrieved Dec 30, 2011, from http://www.satavic.org/india.htm

Sharawat, K., Mohanty, S., & Burford, J. Macronutrient Transformations and Budgeting in Soils.

Sustainable Agriculture Information Network. Sustainable Agriculture: A pathway out of poverty for India's rural poor.

Photo on the coverpage: http://www.indiatalkies.com/2011/05/india-comprehensive-action-plan-organic-farming-rajnath-singh.html