Organic agriculture: Why Modi's 'advise' overlooks disastrous Sri Lankan experience

By NS Venkataraman*
Addressing a conclave virtually in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the farmers to adopt natural farming (organic farming) to protect the soil from the harmful impact of chemicals. Further, the Prime Minister said that crop produced from a chemical free process will fetch higher prices in the international market due to the growing demand for organic products.
The Prime minister pointed out that 90,000 clusters have been created all over India under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and the target is to cover 10 lakh hectares under the scheme for organic farming.
The above statement of the Prime Minister clearly indicates his target and hope to promote organic farming in a massive way in India . All the information that he gave are factually correct.
However, a careful study of the ground conditions and considering the need to sustain and promote the production of food grains in a massive way and the agricultural productivity issues in organic farming, one has to keep the fingers crossed as to whether large scale organic farming would happen at any time in the near future.
The recent experience of Sri Lanka in suspending the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides and opting for organic farming and consequent fall in the agricultural production is fresh in memory. As a matter of fact, due to the total switch over to organic farming in Sri Lanka, the production of tea, paddy and other agricultural products declined steeply , driving Sri Lanka into a state of severe food crisis.
The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board has said that Sri Lanka is now focusing on intensified application of synthetic fertilizer and synthetic pesticide, which is creating hope of increasing the production of tea to make up on the earlier year’s losses due to organic farming.

As it is well known, in organic farming, inputs like vermi compost, green manure, bio-pesticides, oil cakes and bio-digester liquids, bio-fertilisers are used , instead of synthetic fertilisers and synthetic pesticides.

In the use of bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides, there are also practical issues due to low shelf life

In the use of bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides, there are also practical issues due to low shelf life, need for controlled temperature conditions etc.
The arguments in favour of organic farming is that it is eco-friendly, saves Mother Earth by protecting the quality of the soil and fetch higher price in the market compared to the product produced using synthetic material.
The question is about the agricultural productivity and yield in organic farming. While some organic farms operated under ideal conditions by researchers and investigators are said to have given yield comparable to the yield using synthetic material, the farmers are not convinced that yield in organic farming would be on par with that of the farming done, using synthetic material in commercial agricultural operations , also due to various factors like different climatic conditions, soil conditions in different locations.
The ground reality is that nowhere in the world, there are takers for 100% organic farming based agricultural operations. Obviously, organic farming is good enough for selected crops in less acreage to cater to the requirement of consumers willing to pay higher price for organically produced products.
In such situation, considering that organic farming should be considered the be all and end all of agricultural operations is misleading and is likely to be counter productive.
The disastrous Sri Lanka experiment with total organic farming can be ignored only at the risk of facing national food shortage.
---
*Trustee, Nandini Voice For The Deprived, Chennai

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog