Organic Farming Practice and Revision

Unit 2 is easiest to revise as one connected chain: living soil, recycling, certification, support systems, kitchen gardening, markets, and rural economy.

Unit sequence

Move through the unit in this order:

1. begin with the meaning of organic farming and the idea of living soil
2. connect that idea with principles such as recycling, ecological balance, and long-term fertility
3. revise certification and schemes as the organised support behind organic farming
4. use kitchen gardening as the household-level example
5. end with markets, exports, and the rural economy

If you can explain that sequence aloud in two minutes, the unit is already well organized in memory.

Core concept revision

• Organic farming = farming based mainly on natural, biological, and local resources with minimum dependence on synthetic inputs.
• Certification = the verification system that gives trust to organic claims.
• Kitchen garden = a planned home garden that supplies vegetables and demonstrates organic principles in a small space.
• Organic market = a system in which production, records, certification, packing, transport, and price realisation all matter.

Quick objective check

1. Organic farming mainly tries to protect:
   • soil life, ecological balance, and long-term sustainability
2. One major reason for renewed interest in organic farming is:
   • declining soil health and rising cost of chemical-intensive farming
3. Sikkim is remembered in this unit as:
   • India’s first organic state
4. A country often remembered for large area under organic farming is:
   • Australia
5. Organic certification is important mainly because it:
   • builds market trust and supports premium-price recognition
6. A key institutional support centre mentioned in the unit is:
   • National Centre of Organic Farming, Ghaziabad
7. Biofertilizers linked with organic and soil-health programmes include:
   • Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, and phosphate-solubilising bacteria
8. Kitchen gardening is mainly done to:
   • provide fresh vegetables to the family throughout the year
9. Climbers such as cucurbits and beans in a kitchen garden are best:
   • trained on the border or fence
10. Root crops such as radish and carrot are preferably grown:

• on ridges

Fill in the blanks

1. Organic farming treats the soil as a __________ entity. Answer cue: living
2. Concern for organic farming increased after the long-term side effects of the __________ Revolution became visible. Answer cue: Green
3. The first organic state of India mentioned in this unit is __________. Answer cue: Sikkim
4. One of the major export groups in Indian organic trade is __________. Answer cue: oilseeds
5. The scheme NPOF supports units for biofertilizer, biopesticide, and __________ production. Answer cue: compost
6. In kitchen gardening, a compost pit should be kept in one __________ of the garden. Answer cue: corner
7. Proper __________ should be followed in selecting vegetable crops in the kitchen garden. Answer cue: crop rotation
8. Under fruit trees, shade-tolerant crops like ginger and __________ can be grown. Answer cue: turmeric
9. The term organic farming was coined by __________. Answer cue: Lord Northbourne
10. The father of organic farming is __________. Answer cue: Albert Howard

Match the following

Column A	Column B
Organic threshold standards	define accepted organic practice
Certification	verifies compliance
Market network	connects produce with buyers
Kitchen garden	family nutrition and fresh vegetables
ICAR support	research and technology packages

Short-answer practice

• Define organic farming in your own words.
• Explain why organic farming is considered a present need.
• State any two principles of organic farming.
• Why is soil called a living entity in this chapter?
• Why is certification necessary in organic produce marketing?
• Mention any two government supports for organic farming.
• What is the purpose of kitchen gardening?
• Why are fruit plants placed on the north side of a kitchen garden?
• How can organic farming help the rural economy?
• Why does transition to organic farming sometimes become difficult for farmers?

Long-answer practice

1. Explain the concept, history, and present need of organic farming in India.
2. Discuss the principles and present status of organic farming.
3. Explain the importance of certification and government schemes in promoting organic farming.
4. Describe the layout, planning principles, and benefits of a kitchen garden.
5. Discuss the role of organic products, markets, and exports in the rural economy.

Caselet practice

Caselet 1: soil and recycling

A farmer notices that the soil has become hard and water does not enter easily. The farmer begins adding compost, returning residues, growing legumes in rotation, and reducing unnecessary chemical inputs.