With the increase in human civilization, the need for food also grew. Soon people realized that it was essential to find a solution to their food requirements and a way to store it for their future consumption. Then people started to grow plants and crops in their way, and as time passed by, people began to grow plants and crops efficiently and in an improved manner. So, the practice of farming and growing food is called agriculture.
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The concept of farming organically was developed in the early 1900s by Sir Albert Howard, Rudolf Steiner, and others. Organic farming started in the 20th century, and today, as per some records it has reached over 70 million hectares globally. But before the discovery of organic farming thousands of years, people used to practice agriculture traditionally, without the use of any artificial facilities. Later, with scientific development, a modern way was discovered for farming. This method followed a scientific approach that involved synthetic methods of farming, including the use of machines, technologies, chemicals, pesticides, etc. This method of agriculture is known as scientific farming or scientific agriculture. cbse schools in dehradun gives lessons to their students about agriculture.
But, scientific agriculture had several negative impacts on the environment. This led to the discovery of organic farming, an eco-friendly method of farming. The word ‘organic’ refers to the organic matter obtained from dead plants, compost, and plants matter. It is also known as humus farming, which aims to improve the humus content of the soil and thus, to improve its quality. Organic farming is a mixture of the traditional method and the scientific method of farming.
The main ways through which it is carried out are:
Vermicompost
Manures
Crop Rotation
Animal Husbandry
Biofertilizers
Biological Management
Greenleaf Measures
Scientific farming deteriorated the soil quality in the long-run, caused pollution, and also harmed the quality of food. On the other hand, Organic farming is much healthier than other farming methods as it is good for the soil as well as the food. The microorganisms and creatures like earthworms help in the growth of the quality of the soil. It is a system of agriculture that enhances soil fertility, sustains its quality for a longer time, and maintains the quality of food. Pesticides and chemicals are avoided in this farming, while other methods like plant matter, animal matter, and other organic waste are used for agriculture. There is no involvement of any chemicals, and therefore, there is no harm caused to the final product.
Here are some of the advantages of organic farming:
● It is proved that there is more amount of nutrients present in organic produce compared to others.
● Organic fruits and vegetables consist of a meagre amount of toxic elements because there is no involvement of chemicals during farming.
● Organic farming is eco-friendly and has several benefits to nature, while scientific farming causes pollution and also harms the environment.
● The use of livestock in organic farming increases the number of fatty acids present in its products which is beneficial for our health. For example – Omega-3 is present in organic meats, dairy, and eggs in a more significant amount than compared to the ones artificially grown.
All these reasons make organic food much costlier than that of conventionally grown food. The market for organic food has increased in recent times and to support organic farming, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements was established to train and certify farmers in this field. Today, many farmers apply this method in their cultivation, but not all of them are accredited. It is also assumed that organic farming can prove to be equally productive and economically competitive with other methods of farming.