Compatibility of animal husbandry practices of registered organic farmers with organic animal husbandry standards (OAHS): an assessment in Uttarakhand

Summary

Organic fanning is increasingly being seen as one sustainable option to farmers, among the alternatives to conventional input intensive farming systems. Uttarakhand in India is promoting organic agriculture state state through registering the farmers and providing them necessary support including marketing in crop sector. However, these registered organic farmers, who maintain two or more than two livestock species under crop-livestock mixed farming systems, not yet geared to organic livestock production per se. As 'organic' is a process claim rather than a product claim, the study on the compatibility of animal husbandry practices of registered organic farmers with the recommended organic livestock production standards, may provide an idea of the existing situation to the stakeholders of organic farming, to explore possibility of organic livestock production in the state. Hence, this study was carried out with 180 registered organic fanners selected from 3 districts of Uttarakhand. Majority of the animal husbandry practices followed by the farmers were favorable to or closer to the recommended organic livestock production standards. Besides, the Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) of registered organic farmers, if scientifically validated, may be further useful towards promoting organic animal husbandry in the state.