Vol. 10, Special Issue 5 (2021)

Author(s):
B Simhachalam Naidu and B Subrahmanyeswari

Abstract:
Organic livestock farming involves a strong principle of high food quality and good animal welfare with emphasis on natural behaviour of the animals. Organic crop products are available in the market in the recent times, whereas, in case of livestock products it's not certain. To meet the increasing demand for organic livestock products, farmers’ favorableness to organic livestock farming is a must. In this context, a study was undertaken in Andhra Pradesh among 60 dairy farmers with organic crop cultivation to study farm characteristics, marketing channels and also to assess farmers’ perception towards organic dairy standards. Nearly three-fourth of the farmers were middle aged and about one-third were graduates. Majority farmers were with more than five acres of land with cultivation of paddy, vegetables and fruits and had small herd size. The average experience in organic farming was 5.16 years. All the dairy farmers were having accessibility to information on organic crop farming, however, more than half of the farmers were in need of information regarding marketing of organic produce and more than three fourth in need of organic livestock farming practices and standards. Farmers could market organic produce directly to consumers and about three fourth without certification itself. Most of the farmers mentioned that consumers were willing to pay higher prices for organic produce and consumers were from educated, heath conscious and high-income category and could get a price premium up to twenty per cent.