What is the deal with Organic?

This blog is in response to some very valid questions asked by one of our Facebook page users and consumers, Bhuvana Adishankar. We are certain that the questions she has asked do rear their heads in the mind of every consumer considering Pro Nature Organic as an option. So here are the answers:

Question: Who certifies and at what stages of cultivation/processing?

Answer: There are a host of organic certification bodies in India. You can find the list on http://www.apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/index.asp . Pro Nature is certified by IMO control, which is one of the leading certification bodies globally headquartered in Switzerland.

Pro Nature procures from only certified organic farms. These farms are regularly monitored and checked by their respective certification bodies to authenticate their organic status. Each of the transaction between Pro Nature and certified organic farms are monitored by IMO to preserve the organic status. Apart from that, IMO conducts annual audits with Pro Nature and the certificate is renewed only after due diligence and verification.

Question: How are farmers able to grow without chemicals/pesticides/fertilise​rs in this day of polluted environment and less immunity even for plants?

Answer: Organic farming was how farming was always meant to be. It is only after population explosion that the farmers had to increase the yield per harvest to meet the gap in the supply and the demand of food products. And using chemicals/pesticides would help them achieve that.

Coming back to organic farming, organic food products can be grown only in areas that are naturally suited for the crop. For example weather and soil condition in Kerala is the best for growing spices like cloves, cardamom, pepper etc. Thus the soil does not need additional treatment to yield the best of these.

For added authenticity any organic farm is required to have a buffer zone around it to stop cross contamination from the non-organic farms. Also for a farm to get an organic certification, it has to go through a minimum of 3 years of conversion period. These three years are required for the soil to recuperate from the chemical treatment, and lose all traces of chemicals. It is only after this that the farms are certified.

However, any farmer that grows organically is exposed to the natural risks involved in organic farming.

Question: What happens when any organically grown crop gets an attack of pests/insects, etc? How is it tackled?

Answer: The crop has to be discarded. Since the farmers cannot use chemicals to kill pests and insects they are extra vigilant to ensure that a pest/insect attack does not happen in the first place. This is also what makes organic farming very labour intensive.

Question: Why should organic food be expensive? Is it because of the lower volumes; higher profit; or is the cost of all input resources being higher?

Answer: This is the most frequently asked and the most relevant question. Organic food should not have to be expensive; it is expensive in the current scenario for a laundry list of reasons. In its journey from the farm to the store organic food gathers expenses in every step.

At the farm level: Organic farming is extremely labour intensive. As we have discussed earlier, a farmer cannot use chemical fertilizers/pesticides to increase crop productivity or to guard the crop from insect/pest attack. He has to manually; make compost for the soil, remove weed, control pest/insect infestation and even water the fields. This adds to the labour cost associated with the harvest. In addition to that the farmer is taking more risks. He is completely exposed and vulnerable to the forces of nature. And not to forget, the cost of the organic certification for the farm. Pro Nature pays a premium to the organic farmers for all these. That is the first level where organic food products get costlier than regular ones.

Storage: Chemical fumigation is not allowed for organic products. Organic food needs to be stored in cold storage or in vacuum to prevent infestations. These methods of storage are a lot more expensive than regular warehousing. That adds the second layer of cost.

During transport: Since the volume of organic food products is minuscule compared to regular food products the per unit cost of transportation is significantly higher. Pro Nature pays a higher cost per kilo of organic food transported. This is the third cost addition to organic food products.

At the retail outlet: Since the demand for organic is lower than regular food products, organic items tend to move out at a slower pace. This means more occupied shelf space for the retailer. The retailers thus ask for a higher margin to even keep Pro Nature products. This adds another layer to the final cost of the product.

These are the key elements that add to the overall cost of organic food. However, as the volumes for organic grow, these cost factors will reduce and we will be able to bridge the gap between the cost of organic and regular food.

We hope we have been able to answer all the questions. Please feel free to post as many questions as you want in the comment section or on our Facebook page.