A Diagnosis of Biophysical and Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Farmers' Choice to Adopt Organic or Conventional Farming Systems for Cotton Production.

Amritbir Riar,Lokendra S Mandloi,Gurbir S Bhullar,Monika M Messmer,Randhir S Poswal

doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.01289

Abstract

Organic agriculture is one of the most widely known alternative production systems advocated for its benefits to soil, environment, health and economic well-being of farming communities. Rapid increase in the market demand for organic products presents a remarkable opportunity for expansion of organic agriculture. A thorough understanding of the context specific motivations of farmers for adoption of organic farming systems is important so that appropriate policy measures are put in place. With an aim of understanding the social and biophysical motivations of organic and conventional cotton farmers for following their respective farming practices, a detailed farm survey was conducted in Nimar valley of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The study area was chosen for being an important region for cotton production, where established organic and conventional farms operate under comparable circumstances. We found considerable variation among organic and conventional farmers for their social and biophysical motivations. Organic farmers were motivated by the sustainability of cotton production and growing safer food without pesticides, whereas conventional farmers were sensitive about their reputation in community. Organic farmers with larger holdings were more concerned about closed nutrient cycles and reducing their dependence on external inputs, whereas medium and small holding organic farmers were clearly motivated by the premium price of organic cotton. Higher productivity was the only important motivation for conventional farmers with larger land holdings. We also found considerable yield gaps among different farms, both under conventional and organic management, that need to be addressed through extension and training. Our findings suggest that research and policy measures need to be directed toward strengthening of extension services, local capacity building, enhancing availability of suitable inputs and market access for organic farmers.

Highlights

Global population is projected to reach 11 billion by the end of 21st century (Alexandratos and Bruinsma, 2012) further escalating the multifaceted challenges ahead of modern agricultural systems
This has led to stronger calls for transformation of our agricultural system using holistic farming practices based on ecological principles
Survey results show that farming is a means of livelihood in Nimar valley area and predominantly a male dominant profession as 86% of the total farm units surveyed were led by male farmers (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Global population is projected to reach 11 billion by the end of 21st century (Alexandratos and Bruinsma, 2012) further escalating the multifaceted challenges ahead of modern agricultural systems. Most of the additional land will come from developing countries mainly in the tropics, which will inhabit more than half of the world’s population by the middle of this century (Edelman et al, 2014) This makes further intensification of agro-ecosystems imminent, which needs to be brought in such a way that ecological balance of our planet is maintained (Andres and Bhullar, 2016). Global food system has increasingly faced the impacts of escalating intensity of climatic extremes (Nelson et al, 2009) as well as economic uncertainties (Kastner et al, 2012) This has led to stronger calls for transformation of our agricultural system using holistic farming practices based on ecological principles. Organic agriculture is one of the most widely known alternative agricultural production systems advocated for its benefits to soil, environment, health and economic condition of farming communities (Mäder et al, 2002; Badgley et al, 2007; Forster et al, 2013)

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Results