ORGANIC FARMING
   •  Organic  farming  endorses  the  concept  that  the  soil,  plants, 
      animals  and  human  beings  are  linked.  In  philosophical  terms 
      organic farming means “farming in sprits of organic relationship”.
   •  In  this  system  everything  is  connected  with  everything  else. 
      Therefore,  its  goal  is  to  create  an  integrated,  environmentally 
      sound, safe and economically sustainable agriculture production 
      system. 
   •  The  farmer  manages  self-regulating  ecological  and  biological 
      processes for sustainable and economic production of products. 
   •  Organic farming systems are based on development of biological 
      diversity  and  the  maintenance  and  Replenishment  of  soil 
      productivity. The soil in this system is a living entity. 
   •  It conserves soil fertility and soil erosion through implementation 
      of appropriate conservation practices. 
   • Meeting crop need of nitrogen through nitrogen fixation by leguminous crops in 
    the  cropping  systems  and  recycling  of  farm  organic  materials  including  crop 
    residues and livestock wastes, Importance of crop rotation, natural predators, 
    resistance  varieties  and  other  agronomic  manipulations  of  plant  protection 
    including  weed  management,  and  Biodiversity  management,  soil  and 
    environmental health. 
   • The  natural  ecosystems  neither  use  any  input  nor  demands  unreasonable 
    quantities of water. 
   • The art of organic farming is to make the best use of ecological principles and 
    processes. 
   • The nutrients go back to the soil when leaves fall or plants die. Part of the 
    biomass is eaten by various animals (including insects), and their excrements 
    return the nutrients to the soil. 
   • In the soil, a huge number of soil organisms are involved in the decomposition of 
    organic material which makes nutrients available to the plant roots again. 
   • Organic nutrient management is based on biodegradable material, i.e. plant and 
    animal residues which can be decomposed. Nutrient cycles are closed with the 
    help of composting, mulching, green manuring, crop rotation etc.
  • Processors  constitute  the  main  users  of  contracts,  as  the 
   guaranteed supply enables them to maximize utilization of their 
   processing capacity. 
  • Contracts  with  farmers  can  also  reduce  risk  from  disease  or 
   weather  and  facilitate  certification,  which  is  being  increasingly 
   demanded by advanced markets. 
  • There  are  also  potential  benefits  for  national  economies  as 
   contract farming leads to economies of scale, bound to provide for 
   a more dynamic agricultural sector.
  • become attractive to many farmers because the arrangement can 
   offer both an assured market and access to production support. 
  • Effective linkages between companies and thousands of farmers 
   often  require  the  involvement  of  formal  farmer  associations  or 
   cooperatives or, at least, informal farmer groups. 
                        HILL FARMING 
   • It is an      extensive         farming in upland areas, 
     primarily  rearing  sheep  and  goat,  however 
     poultry, cattle, yak and Mithun are often reared 
     extensively in upland areas of north east India.
   • Fell farming is the farming of fells, a fell being an 
     area  of  uncultivated  high  ground  used  as 
     common grazing.  It  is  a  term  commonly  used 
     in Northern  England,  especially  in  the Lake 
     District and the Pennine hills. 
   • Elsewhere,  the  terms hill  farming or pastoral 
     farming are more commonly used.
     •    Cattle farming in the hills is usually restricted by a scarcity of winter fodder, and 
          hill   sheep,  grazing  at  about  two hectares per  head,  are  often  taken 
          to lowland areas for fattening.
     •    Modern hill farming is often heavily dependent on state subsidy, for example in 
          the United Kingdom it receives support from the European Union's Common 
          Agricultural  Policy.  Improved,  sown pasture and  drained moorland can  be 
          stocked more heavily, at approximately one sheep per 0.25 hectares.
     •    Sheep farms and mixed sheep and cattle farms constitute approximately 1/4th 
          of  the  agricultural  land  in  India.  These  areas  have  a  harsh  climate,  short 
          growing seasons, relatively poor quality of soil and long winters. Therefore, 
          these areas are considered to be disadvantaged and the animals raised there 
          are generally less productive and farmers will often send them down to the 
          lowlands to be fattened up. Upland areas are not traditionally favorable for 
          agricultural practices. 
     •    The majority of Hill farming land in England is classified as Less Favoured Area 
          (LFA), and the LFA constitutes 17% of land farmed in England.The LFA is further 
          divided  into  Severely  Disadvantaged  Areas  (SDAs)  and  Disadvantaged  Areas 
          (DAs), which make up 67% and 33% of the LFA respectively. These areas are 
          classified as such on account of poor climate, soils, and terrain which cause 
          higher costs in production and transportation as well as lower yields and less 
          productivity. The LFA is significant in England's farming on a whole despite