Impact of organic farming on soil health and nutritional quality of crops

Abstract

Agriculture is a primary sector which plays an important role in the global economy. Global value added (GVA) generated by agriculture and its allied activities like fisheries and forestry contributed 3.5 trillion dollars from 2000 to 2019 and grew by 73%. Along with this, agriculture provided employment for 874 million people in 2020 which is 27% of the total global workforce according to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation). Global production of primary crops (Wheat, rice, sugarcane and maize) commodities reached 9.5 billion tonnes in 2021 increasing by 54% since 2000. Agriculture can be practiced using a variety of methods including organic farming, intercropping, relay intercropping, permaculture, and traditional farming. In organic farming, biofertilizer usage is prioritized over chemical fertilizers utilized in conventional farming. The association between organic farming practices and product quality is going to be the primary focus of this analysis. In addition to this, many other considerations are associated with organic systems, such as the quality of the soil, the nutritional content of the produce, methods of disease and insect control, and biopesticides. Along with this, there is a comparison between organic and conventional types of farming systems in terms of yield, quantity, product quality, economic performance, and soil quality. This article presents an analysis of the current state of knowledge concerning the market worth of a variety of organic products, as well as the economics associated with organic farming, there ought to be an increase in the amount of money invested in organic agricultural systems. The quality of the many different biopesticides that are already in use could be enhanced through additional research into farming practices. The next period will undoubtedly be the one with availability and viability of variety of organic items having numerous benefits leading to healthy life.

Keywords

• organic farming
• biopesticides
• intercropping
• soil quality
• conventional farming
• biofertilizer