Constraints Perceived by the Farmers of Himachal Pradesh in Organic Farming

Abstract

Organic farming is one among the broad spectrum of production methods that are supportive of the environment through minimizing the use of chemical inputs and through use of on-farm resources efficiently. The present study was conducted in all the four zones of Himachal Pradesh with one representative district from each zone. Three blocks from each district was selected and from each block 12 organic farmers were selected. Thus, a sample size of 144 organic farmers was selected from all the four agro-climatic zones of Himachal Pradesh. Pre-tested schedule was used to collect relevant information from the farmers. Garret ranking technique was employed to prioritize the imminent constraints like production, marketing and ecological constraints. Highly severe constraints that were being faced by the farmers-practicing organic farming in the study area were small land holding, decline in crop productivity, higher incidence of pests and diseases, non availability of market place, lack of minimum support prices for organic products, wild animals menace, less erratic monsoon, fluctuation in temperature and humidity. These factors highlight the weak links, which need to be strengthened for promoting organic farming widely.