Organic farming – how far promotes sustainable agriculture?

After the Independence of India, an enormous effort has been paid to achieve self sufficiency in food grain production by promoting the agricultural production in the lines of conventional farming. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and intensive agriculture practice in the last few decades have affected the water, soil and air to a large extent. Since organic farming includes all those aspects of ecofriendly farm management tools, viz. bio fertilisers, green leaf manures, biological management, animal husbandry, crop rotation and vermicompost, it render a better option for restoring the environmental quality as well as sustainable growth of agricultural sector. The present paper is an attempt to present an overview of organic farming along with its fundamental role in maintaining sustainable agriculture practice in a country like India. Being endowed with diversified agroecological region and a healthy livestock population India bears immense potentialities to develop such type of agriculture practice. The study reveals some important aspects of organic farming including its constraints in Indian scenario and also suggests effective policy measures that can ensure balanced agricultural development by adopting the technique of organic farming.