Inputs in Organic Farming: Are They Factual in Plain and Hill Regions of Uttarakhand

Agriculture sector contributes a major portion in gross production of India. In spite of this, agriculture today is finding itself in increasing difficulties. The adverse impact of agriculture based on synthetic fertilizers and herbicides is visible in the degradation of soil fertility, quality of food, taste of food and so on. Organic agriculture may prove to be a boon to curb these adverse effects. There is dearth of information on inputs of organic farming in Uttarakhand in general, and in the plain and hill regions of Uttarakhand in specific. Hence, the present exploratory study was conceived with the broad objective of building authentic data based on input aspect used in organic farming by farmers in Uttarakhand. Purposive random sampling was adopted to select districts, blocks and villages. A sampling frame was prepared after conducting census survey. A sample of 72 farmers pursuing organic farming was selected randomly for the study. The study was conducted in plain and hill regions of Uttarakhand. It was evident from the present research that local sources of information such as Sarpanch, Gram-sabha members and so on lacked to facilitate farmers, pursuing organic farming. No farmer used certified organic seed. It was observed in present investigation that instead of different types of composts, DAP and Urea were also used by good number of farmers, which were not allowed in NPOP guidelines. Farmers in the hill faced more irrigation problems as compared to plain farmers. It can be concluded from the research that farmers were not following NPOP guidelines stringently. To encourage organic farming, its awareness should be increased among farmers. To promote organic farming government should make policies and plan training and educational modules for farmers.