Organic For Less ?

[venkata]

eFarm's Weekly Digest :

Organic Produce For Less ???? But, where ? How ?

Though most people are aware of the benefits of organically grown
produce and would prefer it over chemically grown produce, what
usually stumps people is the cost. Organic produce is often available
only in very boutique shops, and at such high prices that it has
almost become synonymous as a privelege of elite, upper class . There
are several reasons attributed to this higher 'premium' costs - such
as cost of production, less yield, certification etc., But reality is
quite different.

1)
Organic cultivation is cheaper than inorganic becuase typically costs
of chemical fertilisers & pesticides are over 70% of farmer's expense.
As organic manure is typically sourced from within the village itslef
(cow dung, agri-waste, compost) they arent impacted by rising costs of
fertilisers & black marketing of such items.

2)
It is also a myth that yield in organic cultivation is low. The agro-
chemical industry's claims of increased yield usually last only for
first 1-2 years. After that farmers are reporting significant drop,
and even completely destroying soil quality by 4-5th year. Whereas,
organic farmers in same area have had sustained harvest at near about
same levels.

3)
But owing to extensive marketing by fertiliser companies, and even
tying in finances/subsidies with usage of such chemicals, farmers have
been 'converted' out of their normal practises. So ironically, today
villages dont have enough cows to produce cow dung and have to buy
even organic manure only from companies !!

4)
Certification is an expensive proposition, and is often done only by
foreign agencies for export specific needs. Besides, there are over
1500 minerals & nutrients which have to be analysed, and curently
India doesnt have such advanced spectrometry devices available.So even
if a farmer is genuinely organic, he doesnt have means to proove it.

5)
So organic producers and buyers have been reduced to a minority.
Buyers in city dont know where to source it from. Farmers in villages
dont know how to reach out to the city stores. But inspite of that die-
hard organic fans have ventured out and either run their own farms or
source out of this small,dwinding network of organic only farmers to
procure and sell (often in informal , weekend stores).

6)
So, can organic produce be cheap ? Can it be made mass market ? The
answer lies in better marketing and bringing down the transportation
costs.Since the suppliers are scattered across, and buyers are
predominantly in city, and volumes are not known , currently these
items are shipped in very rustic conditions like buses & trains
further damaging the quality & impacting cost.

By aggregating the demand & supply , we can reduce costs of
transportation.A simple analogy :
If you drive to a place by car, it would cost you the entire fuel
expense . If you take a bus, your net expense comes lower. If you take
a train, the ticket charges may be even smaller as more and more
people share the travel costs.

What can YOU do ?

- Support your neighbourhood organic stores . Buy organic, even if iys
a little expensive to start with. As more people start 'riding' the
train, the costs will come down.
- Spread the word around that organic produce CAN be cheap and Good.
- Educate farmers in your vicinity about the need to sustain organic
production.

(For more such interesting insights and tips on agri industry, visit
www.efarm.in)

References :
1. Talk by (late)Mr. Ramar, organic banana farmer, Theni
2. http://ecoworld.com/features/2004/06/26/organic-farming-in-india/
3. http://ne.icrindia.org/2008/10/08/abnormal-rise-in-fertilizer-pesticide-prices-hits-farmers-hard/


This week at eFarm :
- Venkat delivered a lecture on Service Marketing in Agri Industry at
ICFAI Business School, Chennai
- Vinoth & Paramesh, interns frm Thiagaraja school of management
working with eFarm made it to the final round of Anna University' s
business plan contest (Kurukshetra 09)
- Students from MOP Vaishnava womens college would be doing industrial
visit all of next week at eFarm