When it comes to opting for an organic lifestyle, one of the prevalent concerns is the cost. We all know organic food is costlier compared to conventional food. 

Since organic food is produced without the use of industrial chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides, shouldn’t it be cheaper? 

Moreover, there is also the cost of scalability of organic farming to be considered. Most often than not, organic farmers make use of small farms to grow food, which means fewer resources must come into employment. 

Well, in order to understand the added cost, we will first have to understand what makes organic food organic.

Natural farming practices and the exclusion of chemicals are indeed essential parts of organic farming. Nevertheless, what cements the authenticity of organic food is the certificate provided by the government confirming the same.

The majority of the countries have their own standards for identifying organic food. In India, organic food is labeled by National Program for Organic Production, Participatory Guarantee System, and Javik Bharat.

NPOP and PSG programs are independent of each other, and products certified under one program can not be processed under another. NPOP certified products can be traded in export and in domestic markets. PSG-India-certified products can only be traded in the domestic market. 

So what we are saying is that these certifications play an important role in the high cost of organic food. 

Organic farmers are required to pay high amounts of money for registration, accreditation, and certification. 

Besides the first-time accreditation, organic farmers also need to renew the certificates, educate other growers, settle on suitable organic land, find organic seeds and special processing equipment.

Let’s break some of these factors down for a clearer view:

High production cost

Did we mention production for organic farmers should be easier and cost-effective? Well, if you look at it one way, it appears to be. Nevertheless, organic food also requires greater labor input per unit of output. Since organic farming is not produced with modern farming methods, farmers have to pay special attention to the yield to grow evenly without any growth enhancers or hormones. Not to mention, crop rotation on small-scale operations can be costly.

High shipping cost 

Handling of organic food also plays into its cost. Since organic food is separate from conventional food, especially during processing and transportation, its cost rises higher.

Organic food is more likely to spoil if not taken proper care of. What does taking proper care entail? Everything from processing to packaging and storing. Since there are no chemicals involved in organic Producing, the harvest tends to spoil quickly, and that’s why farmers have to be extra careful while delivering organic food from their farms to our homes, as It contains a lot of challenges in delivering organic food.

Education

Organic farming requires education. Businessmen and enthusiasts spend a significant amount of time and money to understand the basics of organic farming. The education does not end at the fundamentals of farming but goes on to cover the latest changes in policies that are being made. 

In order to be up to date with such information, organic farmers spend time and resources. Moreover, organic farmers also have to educate their fellow employees and acquire a range of skills that are required to grow and process organic food.

Supply-demand gap

Organic food is not prevalent, at least not yet. When a product is bought more, it is produced more, and eventually, its prices go lower. 

Organic food is a long way from being prevalent, which means supply and demand are issues that need to be tackled. While organic food is gaining traction in society, it is not even close to conventional food sales. 

This issue is something that we can all tackle together. We need to choose organic food and make it an essential part of our lives. Only then will organic food be prevalent, and its prices will slide.

Special amenities

There are a lot of special factors that go into the production of organic food. Organic farmers need to find land or facility before they can produce food. The land costs more than conventional farmland as it has to check a lot of requirements. 

Organic farmers also invest money in special equipment and training, which adds up to their overall expenses.