With the emerging global demand of organically produced food items, Pakistan has a variety of farms and farming practices, with great potential to avail the benefits accruing therefrom. Strangely enough, in organic farming agricultural commodities can be produced without the use of some of the traditional inputs, like chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides and genetically modified organisms (GMOS).
On the contrary, an organic enterprise is supplemented only by fertilisers and pesticides not liable to kill or reduce the activity of soil organisms. Using more labour and less capital, organic farming is characterised as "Low input and low output" said which is capable of producting quality items.
In organic farming, fertility is restored by putting crop residues back into the land and replacing chemical fertilisers by composite weeds and fish manures while controlling pests and diseases by observing the principle of rotation of crop and maintaining high standard of management on farms. In organic livestock breeding, stocks are kept mixed and fed preferably on home produced crops without using concentrated fees and artificial growth aids like harmonic implants also. The use of antibiotics is kept limited and adopted only when some severe out-break overcomes the natural immune system of the stock.
Faced with the havoc of madcow and foot and mouth, diseases, commonly associated to GMO technology, consumers in developed countries have been increasingly wary of the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides which are an integral part of modern farming.
To avoid the risk/exposure to chemicals, consumers in rich countries are increasingly switching to organic foods and fibre products. The survey report on organic food trends, published by the National Marketing Institute in co-operation with the Organic Trade Association mentioned that retail sales of organic products in the USA have grown steadily for the past ten years, showing compounded annual growth of 22.7 percent, helping growth at the conservative rate of 20 percent. The retail sales of organic foods are projected at $9.3 billion. In 2005, sales are projected to reach nearly $20 billion in view of the emerging demand.
The Dutch authorities have planned to transform their total cultivation to organic farming in the year 2005. The world trade in organic bananas increased markedly now and total exports are estimated at about 65,000 tonnes, 50 percent from their old level. This strong growth resulted from the co-ordination of both factors of supply and demand. On the supply side, output of organic bananas continued to increase in many countries that were previously in transition.
The high prices for organic bananas had given conventional banana growers incentives to convert their production areas to organic farms. On the demand side, sale of organic bananas benefited from the rapidly growing demand for organic foods in industrialised countries.
A great possibility to produce food and fibre crops organically exists in Pakistan which is basically an agricultural country. A beginning may be made by producing higher value exportable kitchen items followed by staple crops on the selected fields.
There also exist bright chances of adopting organic systems of cultivation. In fact farming practices at some places are very much close to the organic approach. Most of the irrigated lands with their intact biological conditions can better be utilised for undertaking organic enterprises, moreover, a number of farmers are already engaged in producing organic agricultural products for their own use.
Some other advantages that could lead to the option of organic farming, are:
a) Availability of labour at cheaper rates (b) availability of un-exploited resources of land and (c) the least exposure of agriculture to the GMOS.
Pakistan is already exporting a sizeable quality of fruits and vegetables to the Gulf states Europe and the Far East region. During the last financial year, $115.6 million were earned through the export of fruits and vegetables with the domestic environment being conducive for producing organic fruits, vegetables and certain items of livestock products. Pakistan can successfully be introduced as a competitive supplier of organic products by launching a forceful marketing campaign in the international market.