Keralahas seen considerable fluctuation in its organic Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture (OA) policy and this has resulted in concurrent high levels of entry into and exit from the agriculture sector, says a study by a group of international researchers with support from Kerala agriculture scientists.
The case study was done with farmer interviews, focus groups and experts, focusing on Thrissur andWayanaddistricts. The researchers developed a typology of organic farmers and formed them into three core groups wealthy hobby farmers, poorer non-certified farmers, and middle class export farmers.
The experience of Organic Wayanad NGO (formerly the largest organic Marketing agency in Kerala) is similar: of the 2,000 new members in Wayanad in 2004, only 350 remained in 2013. Most members left because they did not receive the expected financial benefits, as yield losses were not compensated by organic premiums.