Organic Farming

1. 1. Understand organic farming

   Learn the principles and the rules before you commit an acre — what is allowed, what is banned, and what the market actually pays for.

2. 2. Prepare the soil

   Build organic matter with compost and green manure, and get a soil health card. Weak soil is why most first-year conversions fail.

3. 3. Choose organic seed

   Use untreated, preferably desi or open-pollinated seed. Chemically treated seed disqualifies the plot.

4. 4. Apply organic fertilisers

   Replace urea and DAP with FYM, vermicompost, jeevamrit and biofertilisers, timed to the crop’s stages.

5. 5. Natural pest control

   Set traps, encourage natural enemies, and spray neem or botanicals only when scouting says to.

6. 6. Get certified

   Register under PGS-India or a NPOP agency, pass inspection, and complete the 2–3 year conversion period.

7. 7. Sell your produce

   Use the organic label to reach a buyer who pays the premium — a FPO, an organic retailer, or a direct customer.

• TomatoFast cycles and a clear premium at local markets.
• Bajra (Pearl Millet)Hardy, low-input and already close to organic.
• Gram (Chana)Fixes its own nitrogen — a natural fit.
• TurmericHigh value per acre with a strong export premium.
• CottonOrganic cotton has a strong export premium.
• BananaA perennial that rewards the patience conversion needs.
• Paddy (Rice)SRI and organic rice pair well in the east.
• MustardA low-input oilseed that suits organic systems well.

• Cow dung / FYMThe base of every organic system — well-rotted, never fresh.
• VermicompostEarthworm compost; the most bankable on-farm input.
• JeevamritA fermented microbial brew of dung, urine, gram flour and jaggery.
• BeejamritA seed treatment that protects young roots from soil pathogens.
• PanchagavyaA five-cow-product tonic used as a foliar growth promoter.
• BiofertilisersRhizobium, PSB and Azotobacter — living cultures that fix nitrogen and unlock phosphorus.
• NADEP compostAerobic compost made in a brick tank from farm waste.
• Neem cakeOilseed cake that feeds the crop and suppresses nematodes.
• Mustard cakeA quick-release nitrogen source for vegetables.
• Bone mealA slow phosphorus source for fruit and flowering crops.
• Green manureDhaincha or sunhemp ploughed in to build nitrogen and organic matter.

• Neem oil sprayThe workhorse botanical — repels and disrupts most soft-bodied pests.
• TrichodermaA biofungicide that colonises roots and blocks soil-borne disease.
• Pheromone trapsLure and count male moths to time control and cut egg-laying.
• Yellow sticky trapsCatch whitefly, aphids and leaf miner; also an early-warning tool.
• Garlic–chilli sprayA home-made repellent for aphids and small caterpillars.
• Cow urine sprayA dilute foliar spray used as a mild repellent and tonic.
• Wood ashDusted on leaves against soft-bodied pests and as a potash source.

1. Register / apply

   Enrol on jaivikkheti.in for PGS-India (as a group), or apply to an APEDA-accredited agency for NPOP.

2. Inspection

   A peer group (PGS) or a third-party inspector (NPOP) verifies your fields, inputs and records.

3. Conversion period

   Farm fully organic for 2 years (PGS) or up to 3 years (NPOP) while records are maintained.

4. Certification

   On passing, you receive a PGS-India green certificate or an NPOP scope certificate.

5. Organic label

   Use the Jaivik Bharat / India Organic mark on produce sold to buyers who pay the premium.

What certification involves

• DocumentsLand records, a field history, an input diary and a farm map. Group members also need an enrolment form.
• CostPGS-India charges no certification fee. NPOP third-party certification is a recurring cost that scales with area and group size.
• AgenciesPGS-India is run through regional councils on jaivikkheti.in. NPOP is issued by APEDA-accredited certification bodies.
• RenewalBoth routes require an annual inspection and renewal — organic status is maintained, not earned once.

• PKVYParamparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana — cluster-based support for conversion, PGS certification and marketing.
• NMNFNational Mission on Natural Farming — ₹4,000/acre/year for 2 years to switch to zero-external-input natural farming using jeevamrit and beejamrit, a step stricter than PKVY.
• MOVCDNERMission Organic Value Chain Development for the North Eastern Region — end-to-end value-chain funding for NE states.
• National Mission on Sustainable AgricultureNMSA promotes soil health, INM and climate-resilient practices that underpin organic systems.
• State organic schemesSeveral states (Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and others) run their own organic and natural-farming programmes.

Scheme rates and windows change by year and state. Confirm the current terms on the official portal before you plan around a number.

1. Year 1

   Highest expense and the deepest yield dip. Costs of building soil and inputs land before any premium.

2. Year 2

   Soil biology recovers and yield begins to stabilise. Still selling at conventional rates.

3. Year 3

   Conversion completes and certification comes through. The first certified-organic harvest.

4. Year 4 onward

   Full premium on a recovered yield — where organic finally earns more than conventional.

• Organic WheatRabi cereal; FYM plus a green-manure previous crop.
• Organic RicePairs with SRI to cut water and inputs.
• Organic PotatoHeavy compost feeder; watch late blight organically.
• Organic TomatoNeem and traps carry the pest load.
• Organic OnionStores well; a strong local organic premium.
• Organic CottonThe clearest export premium of the lot.
• Organic SugarcaneLong duration; trash mulch and pressmud compost.
• Organic MaizeResponsive to compost; rotate with a legume.
• Organic MustardLow-input oilseed that suits organic systems.

• PGS-India portal (jaivikkheti.in)Register and certify under the free group route
• NPOP standards — APEDANational Programme for Organic Production standards and accredited agencies
• PKVY guidelines — DA&FWParamparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana operational guidelines

What is organic farming?

Farming that grows crops without synthetic fertilisers or chemical pesticides, relying instead on compost, biofertilisers, botanical sprays, rotation and biological pest control to keep soil and crops healthy.

How many years does organic certification take?

The conversion period is 2 years under PGS-India and up to 3 years under NPOP. You must farm organically and keep records through the whole window before produce can be sold as certified organic.

Is organic farming profitable in India?

It can be, but only once you are through conversion and have a buyer who pays the premium. Expect lower income during the 2–3 year switch, then a 20–40% price premium on a recovered yield.

Which crop is best for organic farming?

Pulses, millets, spices and vegetables convert most easily — pulses fix their own nitrogen, millets are already low-input, and vegetables and spices earn a clear premium per acre.

Can organic farming be done on 1 acre?

Yes. A single acre is enough, and PGS-India is designed for small holdings — though you certify as part of a local group of at least five farmers rather than individually.

Can I switch from chemical to organic farming?

Yes, through the conversion process: stop synthetic inputs, build soil with compost and green manure, and complete the 2–3 year conversion window while maintaining records for certification.

What are the disadvantages of organic farming?

A yield dip during conversion, higher labour, the need for a premium buyer to make the economics work, and stricter record-keeping. Without a market lined up, the premium never materialises.

How much compost is required per acre?

As a general guide, 2–4 tonnes of well-rotted FYM or 2–2.5 tonnes of vermicompost per acre per season, adjusted to the crop and your soil health card. Vegetables need more than cereals.

Which government schemes support organic farming?

PKVY (cluster conversion and PGS certification), MOVCDNER (for the North East), the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture, and various state organic and natural-farming schemes.

Can I sell organic produce without certification?

You can sell it as ordinary produce, but you cannot legally label or market it as "organic" without PGS-India or NPOP certification — and it is the label that earns the premium.

• PKVY

  Cluster-based assistance to convert to certified organic farming — a group of 20+ farmers on 20 hectares gets support for inputs, PGS-India peer certification and marketing over 3 years. Recent PIB figures put per-hectare assistance at ₹31,500 over that period.

  View scheme

• Soil Health Card

  A free soil test report with crop-wise fertiliser recommendations. Acting on the card typically cuts urea use by 8–10% with no yield penalty, because most Indian soils are short of potash and sulphur, not nitrogen.

  View scheme

• PM-RKVY

  The Centre’s umbrella "cafeteria" scheme for agriculture development, run through the States — covering micro-irrigation, organic farming, soil health, mechanization and more, with each State funding the components its farmers need most.

  View scheme

• 10,000 FPOs Scheme

  A ₹6,865-crore central scheme that funds the formation of Farmer Producer Organisations — companies owned by farmers themselves — with a matching equity grant, a collateral-free credit guarantee, and five years of professional handholding through a CBBO. The support goes to the FPO, not to any one farmer's account.

  View scheme