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Food security of small holding farmers: comparing organic and conventional systems in India

Panneerselvam, P.; Hermansen, John E. and Halberg, Niels (2011) Food security of small holding farmers: comparing organic and conventional systems in India. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 35 (1), pp. 48-68.

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Summary

This study compared farm production, crop yield, input cost, and income in organic and conventional farming systems in three states of India: Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The results showed that organic farming reduced the input cost without affecting the net margin in all three states. Total food production was found to be comparable for the two systems in two of three states. While yield of rice and wheat generally was lower under the organic systems, yield from intercropping food crops was generally higher. The number of agro-ecological methods and percentage of farms practicing different agro-ecological methods were higher under organic systems than conventional systems. These results suggest that organic farming has the potential to improve food security of small farmers by reducing indebtedness due to the lower cost of production without affecting total farm production and farm income.


EPrint Type:Journal paper
Keywords:Food security; organic farming; conventional farming; smallholding farmers; food security dimensions; India
Subjects: Farming Systems > Farm economics
Food systems > Food security, food quality and human health
Farming Systems > Social aspects
Research affiliation: Denmark > DARCOF III (2005-2010) > GLOBALORG - Sustainability of organic farming in a global food chains perspective
ISSN:1540-7578
DOI:10.1080/10440046.2011.530506
Deposited By: peramaiyan, panneer selvam
ID Code:18125
Deposited On:14 Dec 2010 12:18
Last Modified:21 Feb 2013 10:05
Document Language:English
Status:Published
Refereed:Peer-reviewed and accepted

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