Organic Agriculture

Organic farming is an alternative agricultural system that emerged in the early twentieth century as a reaction against the rapid changes taking place in mainstream farming practice. Rather than relying on synthetic inputs that can have harmful side-effects, it sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people by working with ecological processes, biological cycles and local biodiversity. India has produced several plant breeders whose work is central to this broader agricultural-improvement effort — for example, Dr M. S. Swaminathan, a pioneer mutation breeder; Sir T. S. Venkataraman, an eminent sugarcane breeder; Dr B. P. Pal, a wheat breeder who developed disease-resistant wheat varieties; Dr K. Ramiah, an eminent rice breeder; N. G. P. Rao, who developed the world's first sorghum hybrid (CSH-1); C. T. Patel, who developed the world's first cotton hybrid; and Choudhary Ram Dhan, known for the C-591 wheat variety that hel …