Prospects and Challenges of Organic Farming with Special Reference to the State of Nagaland: India- A Review

Organic farming helps in maintaining environmental health, reduces human ensuring optimum utilization of natural resources and sustainable production in long run. Nagaland, known for its rich biodiversity and is gradually making its entry into the organic farming market and towards efforts are being made to promote organic farming in the state. Nagaland has potential for promotion of organic farming as farmers has been practicing traditional system of agricultural without the use of external inputs since its inception. Naga farmers adopt an age-old traditional cultivation system called shifting cultivation. The present agricultural practice of Nagaland is organic by default, as the state and the region did not make impact by the wave of green revolution across India. Nagaland state has very low consumption of agro chemical pesticides and fertilizers which is only about 1.5 kg per hectare. Owing to these facts the state has a comparative advantage to emerge as a center hub for development and promotion of organic cultivation. Thus, the needs to state take measures with appropriate policy measure to convert the "organic by default" areas into "organic by design".