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Abstract
The present study has assessed the economic viability of organic wheat cultivation in Punjab by collecting
primary data from 85 organic growers and 75 inorganic growers spread over 30 villages in the districts of
Patiala and Faridkot for the period 2008-09. The area under organic farming has been found about 27 per
cent of the total operational area in rabi season for the sample organic growers. The major share of organic
area has been found under wheat crop, which accounted for 15 per cent of the total operational area of
sample organic growers. The total variable cost on per acre basis for the cultivation of organic wheat has
been found less as compared to inorganic wheat. The net returns over variable cost of organic and
inorganic wheat have been observed as ` 21895/acre and ` 16700/acre for organic growers. The lower crop
yield in organic wheat (6.7q/acre less) was well compensated by the higher price it fetched in the market. A
wider varietal distribution has been observed for organic than inorganic wheat cultivation. The regression
analysis has revealed that with one per cent increase in expenditure on farmyard manure + jeev amrit ,
biodynamic and machine labour, the organic wheat productivity would increase by 0.114 per cent, 0.703 per
cent, 0.556 per cent, respectively, showing significant impact on value productivity. The study has observed
that though organic wheat cultivation has been found more profitable for the growers in the study area, the
significant reduction in its productivity level poses a serious challenge in term of food security for the
nation.