Organic farming has many benefits associated with it both for people
who love organic food as well as for our environment. When we use the
term ''organic farming'' it is usually perceived that we are talking
about old and traditional methods of growing crops which were used
thousands of years ago but the truth is that with time the organic
farming concept has also evolved quite dramatically and it uses
scientific knowledge and modern science to yield good quality crops. It
is basically a mixture of using modern knowledge and traditional
methods. In this article let us find out more about organic farming and
see why it is becoming so popular amongst people all over the world.
The whole basic idea of organic farming is growing crops with the
help of natural resources and keeping all the natural resources intact
and pollution free. We are all aware that modern days agricultural
methods rely heavily on synthetic fertilizers, harmful pesticides and
genetic modification of plants and usage of such chemicals is causing
contamination in the food we eat leading to many harmful diseases like
cancer.
In organic farming we utilize methods of crop rotation, proper soil
cultivation, use composed crop waste and green legumes hence the crops
grown are completely healthy for consumption by humans as well as are
environment friendly in the long run.
For production of healthy organic crops, it is very important to
manage the quality of soil by working on improving its life, nutrient
value and the whole structure. Chemical fertilizers can only help in
short-term increase in nutritional value to crops but there prolonged
usage results in reduced fertility levels of the soil because there is
no organic matter being added to the soil but when natural organic
methods are used they increase the life and fertility of soil and it has
been found that organic farming can help in yielding a higher
percentage of crops after 2 or 3 crops as compared to the modern methods
of farming.
These days many countries are promoting organic farming in their own
country as they have realized that it is the best way to feed their
people over a long period of time. There are regulatory authorities like
USDA which have specified certain guidelines for growing organic food.
In order to get organic food label one has to follow a certain
criteria like the land should be free from any type of chemical
fertilizers and pesticides for at least three years, seeds should not be
genetically modified and no use of human sludge is allowed.