Trends of organic farming in India

• India’s organic farming sector has witnessed remarkable growth in under a decade, as seen in the increase in area, production, and exports. 
• Achieving global recognition in organic farming, securing the world’s second-largest cultivable organic area and the highest number of organic farmers — 55 per cent of the total organic producers worldwide.
• In 2015, India’s organic farming area stood at just 4.72 million hectares. By 2023, this figure had increased to 10.17 million hectares, representing 2.6 per cent of the country’s total agricultural land. 
• Similarly, organic production rose to 2.9 million metric tonnes by 2023.
• The leading states in organic cultivation — Madhya Pradesh (26 percent), Maharashtra (22 percent), Gujarat (15 percent) and Rajasthan (13 percent) — have played a crucial role in India’s organic agricultural transformation.

Link between organic farming and tribal community

• Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan account for 76 per cent of the country’s total organic farming area. 
• These states, along with Odisha, are home to 73.7 per cent of India’s tribal population.
• Tribal communities have practiced sustainable farming for centuries, long before modern organic methods were recognised. 
• Currently, 8.6 per cent of India’s population is tribal, with nearly 90 percent living in rural areas, primarily engaged in agriculture as farmers or labourers.
• Their traditional farming methods, rooted in biodiversity conservation, have played a crucial role in shaping India’s organic farming success.
• Tribal communities have not only cultivated the land but also safeguarded it, ensuring its fertility for generations.

Persistent barriers

• A study by the Centre for Science and Environment highlighted that tribal farmers who follow traditional methods such as agroforestry, mixed cropping, and maintaining sacred groves may not always comply with Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification protocols, despite their farming being organic in essence.
• Over 50 percent of organic farmers in tribal regions of Madhya Pradesh and Odisha faced certification challenges due to the rigidity of national frameworks.
• According to the UNDP, while organic certification through PGS has increased market access for some farmers, it has also led to a shift toward cash crops like soybeans and cotton in tribal regions, pushing out traditional crops like millets and sorghum.
• For instance, harvesting foxnut (makhana) requires specialised skills possessed by tribal communities. If they are pressured to cultivate crops that do not align with their traditional practices, it could erode their knowledge and experience honed over generations. 
• This may unintentionally sideline traditional farming methods and disrupt their agricultural autonomy.
• The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, where policies and initiatives are implemented without considering the unique and diverse agricultural systems of these communities, as this could threaten their cultural integrity.

Wayforward

• The Government must acknowledge the diversity of agricultural-tribal systems rather than impose a standardised framework.
• Any intervention must build on their traditions rather than replace them with rigid certification requirements or market-driven approaches that do not align with their way of life.
• Utilizing cooperatives to assist farmers in aggregating their produce, accessing markets, and securing fair prices.
• For example, small-scale tribal farmers in Thailand have successfully organised cooperatives to sell organic jasmine rice. By working collectively, they have bypassed exploitative middlemen and secured fairer prices for their produce.
• Leveraging digital platforms, e-commerce and direct farm-to-consumer models, can connect tribal farmers with buyers who value sustainable and ethical products, ensuring better prices and market reach. This approach would help ensure fair compensation for tribal producers while maintaining their agricultural autonomy.
• Policies and initiatives must be community-led, culturally sensitive, and uphold the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent. 
• The decision-making must involve active consultation with tribal communities, respecting their traditional agricultural knowledge and giving them control over how organic farming initiatives are implemented.

Conclusion

• By shaping policies that respect and empower tribal communities, India can strengthen and preserve agro-tribal diversity, promote sustainable land use, and ensure that economic benefits flow directly to the indigenous farmers who have safeguarded these practices for generations.