By Muhammad Mudassar ISLAMABAD, Feb. 02 (INP-WealthPK): In Pakistan, organic farming practices are gaining popularity rapidly. Countries are increasingly focusing on increasing their food production organically. According to Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2019, a registered charity in the United Kingdom to promote the circular economy, the one dollar that is spent on food makes people spend two dollars in return for their health, environmental and economic costs. Like other sectors, the agriculture sector has also improved its productivity steeply through increased use of technology, pesticides, and fertilizers, but at the cost of damage to soil fertility (depletion of nutrients) and depletion of underground water sources. Moreover, such farming is proving to be harmful to human health as it is giving rise to different fatal diseases. This phenomenon has made people more sensitive about their health, and as a result, they are now increasingly using organic products. Worldwide, around three million farmers manage almost 72 million hectares of area organically, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2019. The total sale of organic products has reached 106 billion euros. However, the organic farming production is far lower than its counterpart, though the organic farmers earn higher incomes than the conventional farmers due to the high price of organic products, lower health and input costs. The price of organic products is three times higher than the inorganic ones. According to the United Nations, the growth in the agriculture sector is two times more effective to reduce poverty compared to other sectors as around 52 countries have reduced poverty by adopting organic farming. Borgen, a US-based nonprofit organization that is working towards ending poverty and hunger, has forecasted that in the next five years, the organic food sale will increase by 20%. Moreover, organic farming improves soil fertility, environmental and ecological sustainability to deal with climate change, production and consumption of safe food, saves the cost of expensive pesticide and fertilizer inputs, ensures rural development, and addresses the food security issue. As far as Pakistan is concerned, organic farming was done at about 64,885 hectares in 2019, accounting for only 0.2% of the total agricultural land, according to the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), which works in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and France. Pakistan ranks 8th in terms of organic cultivation area in Asia. Globally, 19 countries have certified 418,935 hectares of land under organic cotton. In 2018-19, Pakistan had joined these countries by getting the first harvest of certified production of cotton. The country is producing almost 0.17% of cotton of the total 19 certified organic cotton-producing countries (FiBL, 2021). Pakistan had the highest land conversion in 2018-19 with 17,632 hectares and it is one of the major exporters of organic rice globally. To improve organic productivity, the government’s intervention is very important, as there is currently no mechanism in place to check or certify whether the product is cultivated through an organic process or not. The draft Punjab Organic Farming Act, 2017, is yet to see the light of the day, and the provincial government needs to ensure its early passage to give the organic farming official patronage and put it on modern lines. Though the use of organic fertilizer does not give the crop yield as the inorganic methods, various organizations are working on ways to enhance production. They are asking the farmers to adopt innovative methods that enhance production. These include the use of biopesticides, crop rotation, bioherbicides, biofertilizer, and cover cropping. There is also a need to promote home gardening, which is an important source of getting fresh vegetables and fruits. The government needs to educate farmers about the side effects of pesticides and fertilizers and should support the farmers in producing organic products. It should also establish special markets for organic products like those in developed countries.