Path Dependency In Indian Agriculture: How Conventional Farming Practices Impede The Adoption Of Organic Farming

Abstract

India's agricultural system was significantly impacted by the Green Revolution, which encouraged monoculture and chemical-intensive farming. Although this change improved national food security, it also created enduring structural dependencies that still affect farmers' choices today. The adoption of organic farming in India remains uneven and limited, despite growing policy support, rising consumer demand for organic products, and increased environmental awareness. Using path dependency theory, this study examines this paradox and argues that the shift to organic systems is hampered by self-reinforcing technological, institutional, market, and sociocultural lock-ins created by past agricultural practices. Using a mixed-methods approach that includes policy analysis and comparative case studies of Indian states, the study identifies key barriers, including subsidies favouring conventional inputs, procurement biases, extension systems aligned with chemical agriculture, and deeply ingrained farmer norms. Path dependency is not irreversible, as shown by the divergent experiences of Sikkim and the Green Revolution states of Punjab and Haryana. Long-standing feedback loops can be broken and space created for new models through coordinated institutional reforms and consistent policy frameworks. Sustainable agricultural transformation in India requires long-term systemic reforms that prioritise incentive restructuring, institutional reform, and strengthened social learning over isolated policy interventions.