Advantage and Disadvantage Of Organic Farming

Organic farming is the application of agriculture that prioritizes health and sustainability to the natural surroundings.

Advantage

A. Increasing Plant Resistance to Pest Attacks

Provision of organic fertilizer in plants makes root and plant stem more robust, reducing pest attacks such as needle nematode roots. Organic fertilizers also make tomato and rice plants more resistant to pest attacks.

B. Increase organism activity

The use of organic fertilizers can encourage populations of beneficial microorganisms for plants such as rhizobium, and mycorrhiza. It can also increase the population and activity of antagonistic microorganisms such as Trichoderma sp. In suppressing the growth of white root fungus that often attacks plantation crops.

C. Preventing Erosion

The use of organic fertilizers helps to reduce erosion levels on soils that are easily eroded by water and the wind. The addition of organic matter will help the growth of fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes.

D. Improve taste

The use of organic substances in rice plants will make the rice tastier. While on cassava plants will make a soft texture. And on the fruit will make it taste sweeter.

E. Increase the nutritional content

From experiments conducted in New South Wales, and Western, Australia that the application of organic fertilizer will increase the protein content of nuts by 14%.

Disadvantage

Among its advantages, organic farming also has a weakness that becomes remedies for everyone to overcome. These deficiencies can be seen from the activities of the marketing activities of the product.

A. Land conversion from conventional to organic farming takes a long time

Basically, all the land can be developed into organic agriculture land. However, if the land used comes from the former conventional agricultural cultivation (using chemical fertilizers and pesticides), it is necessary to land conversion first. Land conversion is an effort that aims to minimize the remnants of chemical substances found in the soil and restore the fauna and soil microorganisms. The duration of the conversion depends on the intensity of the use of chemical inputs and previous plant species (vegetables, rice or perennials).
The conversion period can be extended/shortened depending on the history of the land. When the conversion period has passed, the land is an organic land. If less than that, then the land is still a land conversion to organic.

B. The input costs are expensive

The need for organic materials as fertilizers or pesticides in organic farming requires more quantities than fertilizers and chemical pesticides. The difficulty of obtaining input with large amounts of this makes the cost to be incurred is also higher in the use of synthetic chemicals. In fact, the use of organic materials has good long-term benefits.

C. Less production

The yield of organic farming is still below the average of conventional farming. In fact, to meet the needs of people who continue to grow population is required high production. It is certainly a tough task for organic agricultural researchers to create technologies that can make the production of organic farms higher.

D. The price of organic agricultural products is more expensive

The high price of an agricultural product will indeed give its own advantages for farmers. But on the other hand, the high price will have a decline in demand in the market. Expensive prices will make consumers will think twice or even switch to the replacement product, or the same product but the price is cheaper.
Although organic farming products promise long-term heal but the price is still difficult to reach by the bottom community. This will make organic farming products difficult to market in traditional markets. Whereas some Indonesian people more often seek their needs in traditional markets.

E. Information is still limited

Information from the development of organic farming is still difficult to access by the community, especially farmers. Moreover, some farmers have very low education, so they need a companion from certain parties such as extension workers, in giving information and guiding farmers in applying organic farming. For example by giving directions about the use of chemical fertilizers that must be in line with organic fertilizer for efficient use of chemical fertilizers, as well as maintaining soil fertility.

F. The input effect is slow

Although the use of organic fertilizers and pesticides has a good long-term effect, the effects of organic fertilizers or pesticides tend to be slow. Yet from the results reported in the United States, the use of organic fertilizer as much as 14 tons in units of land area for 8 years is still felt 40 years after the last fertilizer. This shows that organic fertilizer provides a role in the formation of nutrients in the soil.

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