Residue farming over Organic farming

Subject: Agriculture

Section: Types

Residue farming	Organic farming:
It entails the protection and growth improvement of seedlings and plants by using organically procured bio-fertilisers and biocides	It is an agricultural system that relies on pest controls and bio-fertilisers that are obtained from animal and plant waste.
Synthetic pesticides are applied at predetermined intervals conforming to the (MRL) Maximum Residue Level.	It involves the plantation of nitrogen-fixing cover crops.

Advantages of Residue farming over Organic farming:

Since Residue farming does not involve any toxin throughout the production process, the overall nutritional value and quality of fruits and vegetables produced is high. While there is no clear indicator that organic products are high in nutrition.
The yield capacity of organic farming is poor and the markup of organic products is as high as 40% due to expensive production, while Residue-free techniques are economical, and they do not hamper production quantity.
Though organic farming eradicates the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the cost of doing so is very high as the yield is insufficient. Residue-free practices entail minimal or no usage of chemicals, and it leaves no harmful traces behind.
Also, Developed countries encourage and promote residue-free crops, thus promoting them in India will boost Indian food exports.

Government efforts to promote Residue-free farming:

The ₹2,200-crore State of Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART) project plans to supply the urban population of Pune residue-free produce.
The Centre has launched the All India Network Project on Pesticide Residues (AINP-PR) to combat pesticide contamination in several food commodities.
FSSAI has introduced a list of crop contaminants and their acceptable levels.
To make indigenous produce more competitive in the export market, FSSAI has issued a set of MRLs for the compliance of domestic producers.