Economics of organic farming

I promised to write about the economics of organic farming.

And I know that many people are curiously waiting for it.

I also know that many people will be disappointed to read this and a few others will be (gleefully) delighted!

My standard disclaimer: For me, "organic farming" is an umbrella term for organic/natural/forest/biodynamic/permaculture etc. I consider all of them different ways of organic farming. After all, it is about not using chemicals for farming. I don't believe in being a "militant" in pushing any particular kind of organic farming and being judgmental. Each of them have their own advantages and it should be left to the discretion and convenience of the individual farmer based on several parameters. I follow a mix of all of the above organic farming methods. (I have also written earlier about Organic v/s Natural farming).

First thing first. I will keep the emotional/philosophical/intangible aspects aside while busting the myth. There is no money in organic farming, much like any other kind of farming. I have already written in detail earlier about why organic food is expensive. Obviously it doesn't lead to more money in the farmer's pocket. There could be some spikes some time due to unexpected reasons and that most probably gets wiped out in the next season before you finish your celebrations. However in the long run (which is not less than 10 years) there are several benefits (and money), provided you are in a position to sustain that long and put in your efforts to "productize" your produce and sell it directly to the end customer. There are quite a few people known to me who have demonstrated this possibility and they have literally taken decades and slogged it out to reach there. There are also some "community farming" approaches and collaborating with other similar farmers to make it work for our own better, which again is a long drawn process.

Note: The above statement is applicable only if you are starting on empty land or in a farm which was following conventional farming which needs to be converted to organic. The durations can be shortened if you start off with an organic farm.

Then what is it that drives people like us and keeps us motivated to start/continue organic farming? It is purely the lure of growing our own healthy food. It may or may not lead to "better life", depending on your perspective on better life and your reference point for the same. This is one of the intangible aspects of organic farming. It is also based on the hope that there will be a day when there will be more people doing organic farming, which can lead to synergy with the nature and ecosystem. You can also have the satisfaction of leaving the land in a better shape that what it was a few years before.

The biggest, yet somewhat intangible benefit of organic farming comes only if you are carrying it out in a land owned by you (not in a leased/rented land). That is the appreciation of the land price, which for sure will continue to happen as long as you take care of your land properly and make it more fertile over the years through organic means. In the worst case if you want to run away from all the struggle, you will be able to sell the land off for a handsome money.

To summarize, organic farming is a long-term game and you should be prepared to play it for the rest of your life to make its economics work for you. Till then, keep digging into your savings!

Six years as full-time farmer

As on Dec 2020, I have completed six "glorious" years as a full-time farmer. Of course, completing six years in this itself makes it "glorious", having known quite a few people who had moved to farming, only to get back to corporate life after a few years of struggle.

Before starting this article, let me state this clearly one more time. For me, "organic farming" is an umbrella term for organic/natural/forest/biodynamic/permaculture etc. I consider all of them different ways of organic farming. After all, it is about not using chemicals for farming. I don't believe in being a "militant" in pushing any particular kind of organic farming and being judgmental. Each of them have their own advantages and it should be left to the discretion and convenience of the individual farmer based on several parameters. I follow a mix of all of the above organic farming methods.

When I set off to do organic farming, there were very few inspiring examples to look up to. There were many people who kept on conducting classroom trainings/lectures on organic farming, including those wanted to sell their "organic" products. Unfortunately many of them were not hands-on and they didn't have any successful ventures to show in organic farming. There were other successful farms, which were not open to outsiders. For most of the farmers, seeing is believing, irrespective of any amount of powerpoint slides you show. This is when I decided that we should setup a farm which other farmers can see and emulate. I visited different farms to understand and emulate (if possible) their good practices over the past few year in the quest to adjust our farming practices. Even now I make it a point to regularly visit farms across the state and the country to see their practices and interact with the practitioners. 

What do we have now to show and explain to other farmers based on our experiments and experiences? All there may not be visible throughout the year, but we do have these systems working in the farm.

Transition from chemical farming was the toughest part of the journey. It took us more than four years to complete the transition. We suffered significant losses due to reduced yield in the first three years. But we persisted and able to see the impact now. Classic example is with banana. From average 35kgs bunch (G9 variety) to we went down to 15kgs and now back to 25kgs average, with significant reduction in the input cost.

A full-fledged "Food Forest" spread across two acres, with more than 40 varieties of fruit trees, many of them already fruiting.

Interestingly we are now able to demonstrate the impact of Food Forest on the overall scheme of things. Less pest attack on our commercial crops noticed this year, despite excess and unseasonal rains.

Cow based Natural Farming with Desi cows. Jeevamrutha and vermicompost used extensively.

Multi cropping, Inter cropping, companion planting, agro-forestry

Multi-layer farming (three to six layers)

Mulching - green and dry mulch, resulting in less water requirement and less tilling.

Different types of traps - pheromone, solar and sticky - to control pests naturally.

Rain water harvesting mainly focused on ground water recharging. Ponds and percolation pits. We already saw one borewell becoming functional after being defunct for four years.

Rain-fed field crops. Varieties of crops like ragi, foxtail millet, mustard, sesame, niger seeds, jowar, toordal, green gram/moong dal, black gram/urad dal, alasande/karamani/lobia, avarekai/hyacinth beans, horse gram. This has resulted in less amount of Parthenium weeds.

Bio diversity improving over the years. Now we can see many more birds and many more varieties. Also more butterflies and honeybees and fireflies. And many more insects like ladybugs, spiders, etc and reptiles like lizards and snakes.

Visible improvement in the soil carbon/humus. Confirmed with soil testing. 0.3% in 2016 to 1.2% in 2019.

Very minimal inputs from outside. (Only neem cake is brought from outside). No outside feed for cows too. We grow our own feed - dry grass/hay from ragi and green grass

I know that I am painting a very rosy picture and it doesn't reflect reality. For most of the people, the only indicator of this "rosy picture" is whether we are able to make money. I will write more about that in another post. All I can say now is that it is a very long journey, which you should be able to sustain and pursue with passion and dedication and the efforts will start yielding better result and money in the long run. But the progress we have made confirms that we are in the right direction and situation is improving over the years, both for ourselves and for the surroundings. There are many other non-tangible benefits (like health) and some virtual benefits (like appreciating land price, etc).

When is the "Best Time" to visit Chiguru Farm?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions and I find it quite amusing!

There are different kind of visitors to Chiguru Farm.

1. Those who want to understand and/or learn about organic farming.

2. Those who want to know how their food is grown

3. Those who want to pluck and taste fresh seasonal fruits/vegetables directly from the trees/plants

4. Those who want to experience authentic, local, farm-fresh food

5. Those who just want to get away from the city and breath fresh air

6. Those who want to enjoy and explore the night sky without light pollution.

7. Those who want to spend time with the farm animals/pets and observe the flora and fauna in the surroundings

8. Those who want to get outdoors exploring unknown hikes or go on long cycling trails.

9. Those who want to get hands-on experience with farming

10. School children who want to see and experience whatever they have studied in the school as part of their syllabus.

11. Families who want to relive their childhood memories and also expose their children to rural experiences.

12. People who want to get away from the hustle-bustle of the city life, get away from their gadgets and soak into the nature.

13. Get together with their loved ones simply chit-chatting, gossiping and giggling over homely food!

14. Those who want to learn cooking local food.

15. Those who want to do whatever they feel like OR just do NOTHING!

Many of our guests fall into one or more of the above categories. With this, the answer to this frequently asked question is quite obvious!

Nevertheless, let me try to elaborate a bit.

Being a Natural Farm with a thriving "Food Forest" in the middle of the farm, we will always have some or the other fruit/vegetable to pluck and eat directly from the trees/plants. Of course most of the crops are seasonal although the seasons can keep changing. (For example, jackfruits season starts in May in this area, but we have them almost ready in Feb 2021!). 

Summers (Apr-Jun) generally will have more fruits like mangoes, water apple, cashew, etc, but the outdoors can be quite sunny and hot. And the dryness is noticeable. There will be occasional rain cooling down the earth for couple of days.

Monsoons (Jun-Sep) will have less number of fruits and veggies, but there will be more greenery all around. Nature will be at its best during this time. This is also the time of preparing the soil and sowing seeds of our staple food. It is also fun to just sit and watch the rain!

Autumn/Winter (Oct-Jan) is the season for staple/field crops like grains (ragi/millets) and pulses (toordal, avarekayi, grams, etc). Apart from experiencing the fresh produce directly from the plants, this is also a good time to watch how they are harvested and processed. Days remain pleasant and nights quite cold, with mostly clear, magical skies.

Spring (Feb-Mar) is the flowering season for many summer fruits and the aroma in the air can be intoxicating! Day starts to get hotter and sky continues to be clear and suitable for star gazing at night.

In summary, it all depends on what is your objective of visiting Chiguru Farm and what interests you. My opinion is that each season/month is different and there is always something new/interesting to explore.