A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending a conference on Enabling Sustainable Food Systems through Natural Farming at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry (YSPUHF) in Nauni, Himachal Pradesh. I was invited to the conference by Gram Disha Trust, who I had been in contact with regarding my PhD research. As someone studying the market aspects of organic and natural farming in India, it was incredibly inspiring to spend two days in the beautiful Himalayan foothills with researchers, policymakers, farmers, and other food system practitioners working in this space.
The role of natural farming in addressing challenges in conventional agriculture
Many presentations focused on the challenges stemming from intensive, chemical-based agriculture, which became widespread during the Green Revolution in India in the 1960s. Speakers highlighted a crisis of declining soil health, plateauing yields, ecological degradation, and environmental and human exposure to toxic chemicals. For small and marginal farmers in particular, the rising cost of chemical inputs has led to increasing debt and lower profits, making this mode of agriculture unsustainable.
Natural farming, by contrast, was framed as a hopeful alternative to these challenges, particularly for small farmers. Several presentations emphasised the benefits of using locally available inputs – such as cow dung and urine – and non-chemical pest management methods at reducing input costs and enhancing soil health and biodiversity. While these presentations validated the environmental and socioeconomic benefits of natural farming, what stood out to me most were the discussions that placed these farming practices within the context of broader food systems transformation.
The need for transformation rather than transition
One of the presentations that resonated most with me was by Professor Allison Loconto from the French National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE), who emphasised a critical distinction: we don’t just need a transition; we need a transformation. This goes beyond simply shifting production methods to encompass deeper changes to the entire food system.
Currently, global agri-food value chains are dominated by a small number of large corporations, with consumers and producers growing increasingly powerless and disconnected. Professor Loconto highlighted the need to (re)establish direct relationships between producers, consumers, and intermediaries based on trust and mutual benefit. She pointed to participatory research, increased public investment, and political empowerment as key mechanisms for achieving this.
One interesting example of this type of innovation highlighted at the conference was the Sustainable Food Systems Platform for Natural Farming (SuSPNF), which is a collaborative initiative between the Himachal Pradesh state government, YSPUHF, and farmer producer companies. This initiative includes a new certification approach, the Certified Evaluation Tool for Agriculture Resource Analysis – Natural Farming (CETARA-NF), as well as initiatives to shorten supply chains by opening natural farming retail outlets, including one on the university campus. This recognition of the importance of linking changes in farming practices to broader interventions to ensure markets for these products is a promising step towards more transformational food systems change.
My introduction to the CETARA-NF system
I had the opportunity to speak with some of the team responsible for developing and evaluating CETARA-NF: Professor Subhash Sharma and PhD student Rohit Kumar Vashishat from YSPUHF. They explained that one of the key benefits of the program is that there is no cost to the farmer for obtaining the certificate, compared to organic certification schemes which are often cost-prohibitive. This is achieved through a self-evaluation model, with peer review and government officers validating the self-assessment. Additionally, even farmers without the full set of natural farming practices are able to register and achieve a lower star-rating without any conversion period, allowing customers to discern (via QR code on the packaging) what level of rating they are willing to accept.
Using the QR code, customers can trace the product back to the individual farmer and view the length of time they have engaged with natural farming, as well as the specific practices they employ, which aims to foster a higher level of trust between consumer and producer. I was astounded that such a detailed level of traceability was possible given that in most organic and conventional supply chains, produce is typically aggregated post-harvest, preventing individual traceability. When I asked the team about this, they highlighted that processing of these products is done in small local facilities (e.g., local atta flour mills), so individual farmer segregation and traceability can be maintained.
I would be curious to see how this traceability would be maintained if CETARA-NF was applied in other regions, or to farmer cooperatives, where aggregation before processing may be a common cost-reduction practice. The team is currently working on a pilot to stack QR codes as aggregation and processing occurs, so it will be interesting to see how this works in practice. Regardless, it is exciting to see market-oriented interventions taking place through a multi-stakeholder collaboration, and I look forward to seeing further research on the impacts of CETARA-NF as its implementation unfolds.
Linking natural farmers with markets
As my PhD research focuses on the market dynamics of organic and natural farming, I was particularly encouraged by the increased attention to market-related issues at the conference. In my interviews with various groups involved with natural and organic farming over the past several years, some actors have been hesitant to discuss markets. They have (understandably) wanted to focus solely on farmers – ensuring they are able to decrease input costs and be self-sufficient.
This is undoubtedly of crucial importance. However, many of the farmers I’ve spoken with – who are producing sufficient volumes to have a marketable surplus – have expressed concerns about their ability to fetch higher prices for their sustainably grown products. Currently, many farmers practising natural or organic farming are forced to sell their goods at conventional prices because they lack access to premium markets. On the other hand, consumers I’ve spoken with are increasingly interested in these products, largely due to health concerns, but they often struggle to find them at affordable prices.
This disconnect between farmers and consumers highlights a significant gap in the current food system. We need to ensure that farmers are fairly compensated for their efforts in sustainable agriculture while also making safe, nutritious food accessible to all consumers. This is where a broader transformation of food systems becomes essential.
Presenting my research
During the conference, I had the opportunity to present some preliminary results from one of my PhD chapters, which surveys the availability and affordability of organic and natural food in urban India. The survey covered retail shops and mobile vendors in three neighbourhoods per city (representing higher-, middle-, and lower-income areas) across three cities: Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, and Latur.
My presentation is available for vieweing below. Please note that the results included in this presentation are a work in progress as part of an ongoing analysis; the figures included in the presentation are thus subject to change.
The final results will be published soon; in the meantime, the pre-registration (which will eventually contain the final publication link) can be viewed at the following link: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/CWTVJ
One of the key findings was that only 15% of vendors offered organic or natural food options. When beverages were included, this jumped to 32% due to the prevalence of a local milk brand called ‘Naturals’ and the popular ‘Natural Care’ tea by Red Label, which can be found even in small corner shops across India.
Interestingly, only 34% of these products were certified, which raises questions about the actual availability of genuine chemical-free products. This could either indicate that certification is prohibitively expensive for small producers, or that in some cases, trust-based relationships between farmers and consumers make formal certification unnecessary.
I also highlighted that organic and natural rice is significantly more expensive than conventional rice (median price of ₹86 vs ₹60 per kg), further underscoring the need for interventions that can link farmers with consumers while keeping products affordable.
Looking ahead
While I learned a lot from the presentations at the conference, I was particularly encouraged by the opportunity to connect with colleagues who are all working towards a common goal of building more sustainable food systems.
It was particularly inspiring to meet many of the Masters and PhD students at YSPUHF, who are working on an impressive array of topics related to natural farming and sustainable food systems. Many of them manage their own research plots and work on topics ranging from deeply detailed studies of microbiology to state-level analyses of the potential of leveraging carbon credits as a source of income for natural farmers.
I look forward to collaborating with many of the researchers, practitioners and policy-makers I met at the conference, and to seeing their exciting initiatives unfold.
