With organic food increasing in demand due to health and environmental benefits, several questions remain unanswered. Do organic farmers generate higher profits? Will the cost of cultivation reduce to compensate for low yields? Can farmers practise as per the organic agriculture protocols and obtain certification? A recent paper co-funded by SHOWCASE and published in the Sustainability journal set out to find the answers to these questions. 

According to the World Organic Agriculture Report 2018, India is home to the most significant number of organic farmers globally, representing nearly 30 per cent of the total 2.7 million certified organic farmers. Since 2015, the Indian government has promoted organic agriculture through its pan-India scheme called Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY). In their paper titled “Economic Impact of Organic Agriculture: Evidence from a Pan-India Survey”, researchers assessed the implementation process of that scheme and its impact at the farmer level using the Difference-in-Difference approach.

Discover what they found out and read the full paper here.

Photo: Theoretical rationale of organic agriculture and unanswered questions in red.