Cultivated Organic Food
Organic food is cultivated by farmers who emphasize the use of natural resources, conservation of soil and water to improve ecological environs for future generations. Organic farming involves zero use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Before a product can be claimed as organic, a government-approved laboratory certifies it by performing numerous tests.
As per different studies, it is observed that many farmers use all the organic farming techniques to grow their crops yet their final yield turns out to be infected with different chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides. It is mainly due to the polluted groundwater (Groundwater can be polluted due to other local farmers or close by water bodies like rivers, lakes, and canals due to industrial waste) which plants naturally absorb, and the final product, unfortunately, fails in the organic certification process.
Recent farming practices include massive exploitation and exposure of chemicals and hazardous substances to crops. But we still hesitate paying those extra bucks for organic food and are ready to intake harmful chemicals that can add up causing life-threatening diseases. Let’s dive into this blog and understand why organic food is so expensive.
Why so expensive?
Numerous factors contribute to the slightly higher price for organic-certified produce. Keep reading to know how these factors ultimately become the leading cause of expensive organic food.
Certification
Organic cultivators are required to pay a high fee for registration, accreditation, and certification. These certifications are quite costly and time-consuming for farmers. Many small-scale farmers are unable to afford such expenses and rather rely on chemical-based farming which is quick and easy to go.
Many farmers don’t have adequate knowledge and understanding of the certification process and feel like an additional burden. Even though government willingly helps them in all the processes but they prefer the hustle-free procedure and directly sell their chemical-infused produce in local mandis.
One of the major drawbacks for the farmers is if they grow two different crops on their land, they have to apply for two separate certificates for both crops making the proses even more expensive. Moreover, farmers have to renew their certificate every year making it even more hectic and adding up to the final cost of the product.
Skyrocketing production cost
Every product’s final cost depends on its production price. Production costs for organic fruits and vegetables are generally high due to intensive labor input and per unit yield. It is comparatively dependent on the type of nutrition and care are given to the plant, which requires regular inspection of the crop, adding up to the final cost.
High shipping cost
After the crop is harvested, handling small quantities of yield usually requires more money as it is essential to separate conventional and organic food. Moreover, the storage cost is also higher in the case of organic products as they are more likely to get rotten in comparison to chemical food products. This complete procedure increases the cost for the final buyer.
Education
To head start with organic farming, the farmer has to have some basic knowledge. Organic farmers have to spend a fair share of their time educating and understanding the fundamentals of farming. Policies for organic farming keep on changing from time to time, apart from self-education farmers also have to keep their workers updated on changing guidelines. Also, many different skill sets are required in organic farming, which is not applicable in chemical-based farming. This entire education and keeping the entire team updated is quite time-consuming and leads to an additional cost surge for organic food.
Demand V.S Supply
Economics of scale also duly apply to organic farming. Supply and demand are major issues in the agriculture industry, as the more people demand, the producers willingly produce more, but more production results in the downfall of price. Although organic food is gaining a lot of traction, its end sales are no way near to chemical food products. If more people demand organic food eventually we may see a reducing final cost.
Management
Growing organic food is not an easy task and requires specialized resources and facilities. Many factors like soil health, irrigation process, storage facilities, fungal or viral attacks, and type of natural fertilizer make up to how much final yield can be harvested. Any stone unturned can result in a devastating final outcome, leading to major crop failure and a huge loss. Farmers are constantly battling every day until their produce is harvested and reached the final consumer. This constant uncertainty requires intensive management to ensure good returns and ultimately it also adds up to the final product cost.
So now you may have landed on the common grounds that why are organic food products so expensive.