Organic Agriculture: Global challenges and environmental impacts

Abstract

For decades, agricultural intensification is practiced to ensure food security for the increased global population in developing countries. Conventional approaches , in particular, extensive and inefficient use of N fertilizer result in enhanced crop production costs and environmental pollution such as greenhouse gas emissions, ammonium volatilization, groundwater contamination, etc. In long term, intensive agricultural practice causes depletion of soil productivity by limiting its functions such as biomass production, carbon sequestration, etc which may threaten our sustenance. In this crisis scenario, for sustainable intensification, organic agriculture has been proposed as a one-stop solution with enormous benefits. Many researchers have proved that organic fertilizer application in agriculture improves soil health by enhancing biogeochemical properties. Moreover, organic agriculture has been claimed as climate-smart agriculture. Despite having all these positive aspects, at present only 1.5% of total agricultural land is under organic farming. This chapter will focus on the present global scenario of organic agriculture, advancement, the associated scopes, drawbacks, and its impacts on the environment.