MSc

Following the widely reported issues of ‘endosulfan’ victims in Kasaragod and in view of the increasing concerns on the impact of indiscriminate use of pesticides, the Government of Kerala has banned the use of chemical inputs for plant protection in
Kasaragod district, as a pilot initiative and declared it as ‘organic district’ in 2012.While activists and a section of farmers supported the ban and conversion to organic agriculture, a considerable section of the farming community and extension personnel were apprehensive of the functional difficulties involved in conversion. The present study attempted to characterise the process of transition to organic agriculture in
Kasaragod District and find out the nature and extent of institutional support available for this transition. The study also explored the perception of major stakeholders about organic farming, impact of the ban and the functional constraints.
The sample included 90 farmers drawn at the rate of 30 farmers each of three major crops viz. Coconut, Banana and Rice. Multistage random sampling method was employed to select farmers from the six panchayats which were selected from the six blocks in the district. The sample also included 40 extension personnel from the department of agriculture. Data were collected by using structured interview schedules,
questionnaires and consultative discussions.A historical review showed that organic policy of the state and the pilot project
evolved from the recommendations of various committees and commissions that had examined the reports on congenital malformations and diseases reported widely from
Kasaragod since 1979. A detailed analysis of the special programme on organic farming implemented by the Department of Agriculture from 2012-13 to 2016-17 indicated that
the interventions to sustain the ban and promote organic agriculture had not been uniform. Moreover, majority of the farmers (67.8%) and extension personnel (75%) had
unfavourable perception about the ban on chemical inputs. However, 96.7 per cent of farmers and 77.5 per cent of extension personnel were found to perceive the dimensions
of sustainability of organic agriculture favourably.
While the costs of production of paddy and coconut were found to increase in organic methods, no significant increase was observed in banana. However, both paddy and banana were registered reduction in yield by 21 per cent and 26.4 per cent
respectively, on adopting organic agriculture. No significant difference could be obtained in the yield of coconut after conversion. As much as 56.6 per cent of the farmers had low levels of adoption of organic practices. Mulching, incorporation of residues, application of FYM etc., were found to be adopted invariably across different crops.Institutional support was found to be inadequate as majority of the farmers (88.8%) had not availed institutional support in terms of subsidy for organic manure production. However, training programmes had been widely conducted in several places. Among the different socio economic and psychological variables, ‘attitude’ was
found to have significant role in transforming adoption level from low to medium. ‘Contact with extension agency’ and ‘availability of organic inputs’ were found to transform adoption levels from medium to high. Poor quality of organic inputs, lack of
availability of alternate plant protection materials, unavailability of organic inputs in time, high incidence of pest, disease and weeds, high cost of production and low market
price were found to be the major constraints identified by farmers. For extension personnel, lack of effective alternative organic pesticide to replace inorganic pesticide, high incidence of pest, disease and weeds, unavailability of organic inputs in time, poor quality of the available organic inputs etc., were the major constraints. The constraints faced by the farming community calls for monetary compensation for the losses during the transition period, establishment of organic manure production units, adequate mechanisms for quality assurance of organic inputs, integration of various farming components, establishment of a network of markets exclusively for
organic products, institution of minimum support price etc. Extensive conversion into organic farming would not be sustainable unless institutional support is strengthened.