Organic Farming will save us all

Due to social awareness and emphasis on human health, Organic farming is an increasingly important part of the agricultural production. Its environmental and economic benefits have captured the attention of many countries. Decreasing Government support and subsidies to agricultural inputs offers an opportunity for the conversion of low-input agricultural systems into more productive organic farming. Bio-diversification that is brought by organic systems increases agro-ecosystem’s stability and protects against environmental stress, which in turn improves resilience of farm economies. Consumer demand for organically produced food and fibre products and society's demand for more sustainable development with minimum degradation of environment provide new opportunities for farmers and businesses around the world.

Microbial biopesticides and biofertilizers are environment friendly organic farming inputs, which have gained popularity in their applications in the field of agriculture. These are bacterial or fungal preparations capable of arresting growth of plant pests & pathogens. They also help in growth promotion by providing NPK, growth promoters and growth hormones and other micronutrients.

Chemical pesticides and fertilizers are not environment friendly. Moreover, they require repeated applications during the crop cultivation period, which creates lots of soil and environment pollution. Due to non-environment friendly nature, use of the chemical pesticides and fertilizers are being discouraged. It may not be surprising that their use will be banned altogether by the increasingly environment conscious becoming government.

Biopesticides and biofertilizers are naturally occurring living organisms found in the soil and its environment. Due to the constant use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers their population is dwindling. The concept is to increase the population of these beneficial microorganisms in the environment by introducing them in large numbers. This is possible by fermentation technology, which has been till date used earlier for the production of antibiotics and industrial enzymes and other produces.