(Letter to Editor) Vol 7-2025-16-19

Journal: i TECH MAG (Research Review)
Author: Pratibha Ghimire
DOI: 10.26480/itechmag.07.2025.16.19

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Organic farming has gained increasing attention as a sustainable agricultural practice, offering ecological,economic, and social benefits. In Nepal, the organic farming sector is experiencing growth, with the cultivatedarea expanding significantly from 2,448 hectares in 2021 to 25,776 hectares in 2022. This review criticallyexamines the current practices, challenges, and market trends in organic farming in Nepal. Key crops such ascoffee, tea, and large cardamom dominate the organic market, while traditional mountain crops remainunderutilized and primarily self-labeled as organic. Despite Nepal’s potential, the sector faces challenges,including low productivity, limited certification systems, high costs of inputs, inadequate governmentsupport, and underdeveloped market structures. Domestic consumers are price-sensitive, and thecertification process adds to the premium cost of organic products, limiting affordability. However,opportunities lie in Nepal’s diverse agro-ecological zones, growing consumer awareness, and increasingglobal demand for organic produce. This review provides insights into the sector’s strengths and weaknessesand offers actionable recommendations, including policy reforms, investment in certification systems,subsidies for organic inputs, and the promotion of Nepalese organic products in global markets. Thesefindings highlight the potential of organic farming to contribute to sustainable agriculture, biodiversityconservation, and economic development in Nepal.