Sustainability of Farming System: An Overview

Abstract

The term sustainability is gaining popularity worldwide across various entities, and farming remains no exception. Responsibility to feed the growing population has brought remarkable changes in the way we produce food. The green revolution, also known as conventional farming system, although is known to produce more, is criticized for its high energy and input use, disregard for the environment and health of living beings, and disparity of its benefits across the world. This has now questioned the sustainability of such practice. This chapter discusses about the social, economic, and environmental aspect of organic farming in the light of sustainability of a farming system. Based on literature review, it shows how organic farming can achieve these three dimensions of sustainability, which mostly has to do with the local context. The global scenario shows that organic farming is indeed in a growing trend. While South Asian countries’ organic sector is mostly export oriented, its local market also seems to be on rise given increasing purchasing power and awareness of health impact of food residues among consumers.