Riar Amritbir, Mandloi Lokendra S, Poswal Randhir S, Messmer Monika M, Bhullar Gurbir S
Department of International Cooperation, Research Institute of Organic AgricultureFrick, Switzerland.
bioRe Association IndiaKhargone, India.
Front Plant Sci. 2017 Jul 19;8:1289. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.01289. eCollection 2017.
Organic agriculture is one of the most widely known alternative production systems advocated for its benefits to soil, environment, health and economic well-being of farming communities. Rapid increase in the market demand for organic products presents a remarkable opportunity for expansion of organic agriculture. A thorough understanding of the context specific motivations of farmers for adoption of organic farming systems is important so that appropriate policy measures are put in place. With an aim of understanding the social and biophysical motivations of organic and conventional cotton farmers for following their respective farming practices, a detailed farm survey was conducted in Nimar valley of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The study area was chosen for being an important region for cotton production, where established organic and conventional farms operate under comparable circumstances. We found considerable variation among organic and conventional farmers for their social and biophysical motivations. Organic farmers were motivated by the sustainability of cotton production and growing safer food without pesticides, whereas conventional farmers were sensitive about their reputation in community. Organic farmers with larger holdings were more concerned about closed nutrient cycles and reducing their dependence on external inputs, whereas medium and small holding organic farmers were clearly motivated by the premium price of organic cotton. Higher productivity was the only important motivation for conventional farmers with larger land holdings. We also found considerable yield gaps among different farms, both under conventional and organic management, that need to be addressed through extension and training. Our findings suggest that research and policy measures need to be directed toward strengthening of extension services, local capacity building, enhancing availability of suitable inputs and market access for organic farmers.
有机农业是最广为人知的替代生产系统之一，因其对土壤、环境、健康以及农业社区经济福祉有益而备受推崇。有机产品市场需求的迅速增长为有机农业的扩张提供了显著机遇。深入了解农民采用有机耕作系统的特定背景动机十分重要，以便制定适当的政策措施。为了解有机棉农和传统棉农采用各自耕作方式的社会及生物物理动机，在印度中部中央邦的尼马尔河谷进行了一项详细的农场调查。选择该研究区域是因为它是棉花生产的重要地区，有机农场和传统农场在类似条件下运营。我们发现，有机棉农和传统棉农在社会及生物物理动机方面存在相当大的差异。有机棉农受棉花生产可持续性以及生产无农药安全食品的激励，而传统棉农则对自己在社区中的声誉较为敏感。拥有较大种植面积的有机棉农更关注封闭的养分循环以及减少对外部投入的依赖，而中小种植面积的有机棉农显然受到有机棉高价的激励。较高的产量是拥有较大土地面积的传统棉农唯一重要的动机。我们还发现，在传统管理和有机管理下，不同农场之间都存在相当大的产量差距，需要通过推广和培训来解决。我们的研究结果表明，研究和政策措施应致力于加强推广服务、地方能力建设、增加合适投入品的供应以及为有机棉农提供市场准入机会。
