Growth of Organic Agriculture

Word ‘organic’ has gained huge importance today, this word when associated with produce or product itself symbolizes quality, health and sustainability, hence the concept of organic farming has been the talk globally and has gained huge acceptance, though it dates back to earliest agrarian practices of human civilization. As of 2018, total land area under organic farming by end of 2017 was estimated around 69.8 million hectares globally and showed twenty percent growth over 2016 numbers. Organic farming has become quite popular in India too, according to APEDA, area under certified organic farming in India rose from 42000 hectares in 2003-04 to nearly 3.56 million hectares in 2017-18. A huge paradigm shift has been observed in India and regions of the globe regarding rising demand of the organic products and its increased market size. Various factors have contributed to rise in organic farming:

After realizing the hazards of chemicals being served in plate, the consumers have shown huge bend towards organic food, which is free from hazardous chemicals residue such as pesticide, fungicide, chemical fertilizers etc. The increased awareness among public has catapulted consumer demand for healthier and safer alternative of food which has been organically produced, in other words free of chemical residues.

Today the concept of sustainable agriculture is being promoted all around the world, which utilizes complete ecosystem of natural alternatives for growing food so as to avoid using environmentally degrading chemicals and promote agroforestry, bio-fertilizers, biocontrol, Integrated organic pest management etc.

Growing market size:

As per statistics MRC, the global organic farming vas valued at $53.16 million and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.4% and according to report published by IMARC the India market size of organic food is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20% from 2018 ($704 million) to 2024 ($2091 million). Whereas as per Grand View Research report 2017, the global organic food and beverage industry is expected to reach $320.5 billion by 2025. The report cited that 37% of the entire global organic food market was dominated by fruits and vegetable and the highest growth rate for the organic market was expected in Asia-pacific region from 2016-2025.

The rising demand of horticulture produce (Organic & low residue) like vegetables and fruits has also been driving force organic farming. According to APEDA, year 2019 saw Indian farmers exports fruits and vegetables of worth INR 10236 crores.

Growing middle class and purchasing parity around the globe:

The major challenge for organic agriculture is deemed to be high cost of cultivation and the produce is majorly sold and procured at premium pricing. However, the rising income of people in India and world has help overcome this barrier and fueled the demand of organic food. Organic farming provides for huge opportunity for farmers to earn money. The Indian government has also taken huge steps and announced certain schemes to support organic farming:

Are prudent step to help farmers in this regard, however much has to be done with regards to certification, market assess, and extension along with role of industries to provide for the required inputs in organic farming.

Biofix contribution to sustainable organic future:

Biofix with its innovative biological products and organic alternatives has been contributing its effort to sustainable agriculture by servicing across India to lakhs of farmers, and significantly to the existing farmers holding 1.5 million hectares under organic farming. In its journey of 30 + year Biofix has kept farmer’s welfare as its main objective and hence the research & development and the company’s operations have all strived to meet the same.