Elucidating economic sustainability of organic vis-a-vis conventional vegetable production in North Western Himalayas

Conventional farming has significant contribution to India’s food production, but its limited effects have become apparent, leading to the need for an alternative agriculture method/technology, which can sustainably operate in a healthy ecosystem while maintaining and increasing quality and productivity. The present study was conducted to elucidate the economic viability of organic vis-a-vis conventional crop production and shows the picture to optimize the resource use efficiency for sustainable crop production in the North Western Himalayas region. The findings showed that organic products had higher output–input ratios for tomato (2.65) and potato (2.56). However, ineffective resource management in terms of over-utilization of organic potato seed and under-utilization of fertilizer, labour and plant protection for organic tomato caused lower productivity. Thus, the optimal level of resource allocation and their effective management are the two basic requirements to minimize costs, and consequently, maximize net income in organic crops.