Organic Farming in India : Status, Issues and Way Forward

Globally, there is growing awareness of the adverse impact of chemical inputs on soil, environment and human health.

This has prompted both developed and developing countries to shift towards organic farming and organic food products.

The Government of India has been actively supporting organic farming through various polices and schemes.

India has an advantage of producing organic food products and is among the top 10 global exporters of such products.

The domestic market for organic food products is growing at a fast pace.

Given this background, the objective of this report is to: (a) understand recent trends and developments in organic farming globally and the scope for the development of organic farming in and export of organic food products from India, (b) identify global best practices in regulations on organic products, (c) examine the measures taken by the Indian government to support organic farming and organic food, (d) identify the issues faced by organic farmers and organic processed food producers, exporters, importers and other supply chain agents, (e) find the policy gaps, and (f) make policy recommendations to the government for the holistic growth of this sector based on global best practices and the country's own requirements.

The report is based on the first pan-India primary survey of companies and farmers following different organic certification processes.