Economics of Organic Farming Systems and Policy Options in South Asia

Agriculture is predominately the main sector of South Asia, which employs about 60% of the labor force and contributes 22% of the regional GDP. Most of the farmers are smallholders who are facing the high cost of production incurred mainly on pesticides and fertilizers. The transition from traditional to Green Revolution agriculture, led to mono-cropping patterns, loss of farm biodiversity and dependence on capital. On the other side, organic agriculture was a possible option for the farmers. The book in your hands assessed the profitability of organic production systems in comparison with conventional systems in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal by measuring profit efficiency. The readers will also learn about different socioeconomic factors affecting the profit efficiency of organic and conventional farmers and agriculture policy analysis related to organic agriculture. Since organic agriculture occupies small percentage of total cultivated area in these countries, policymakers and other stakeholders give little attention to it. Thus it will be a good addition to available study material in relation to organic agriculture.