Schemes to promote organic farming in India - Features
Schemes to promote organic farming in India - Features
Question - Organic farming has undergone a positive transformation in recent times. Briefly discuss the features of some of the schemes for promoting organic farming in India.
Schemes for Boosting Organic Farming: Features
National Programme for Organic Production:
• This was implemented in the year 2001
It involves the following:
• Accreditation programmes for certification agencies
• Norms for organic production
• Promotion of organic farming
The following states have been promoting organic farming through this scheme:
• Kerala, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram, have been promoting organic farming.
• This programme provides information on organic production standards , criteria and procedures for accreditation of inspection and certification bodies
• Standards and procedures have been involved in line with global standards like codex
• NPOP is administered under AGMARK by Ministry of Agriculture
• NPOP standards for production and accreditation have been recognised by European Commission and Switzerland as well as USDA
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana
• This is a cluster based programme for promotion of organic farming
• 50 or more farmers will form a cluster with 50 acre land to carry out organic farming under this scheme
• In 3 years, around 10,000 clusters will form covering 5 lakh acre area under organic farming; farmers will have no liability for expenditure on certification
• As per the scheme , each farmer will be given INR 20,000 per acre in three years for seed to harvesting of crops and transport of produce to the market
• Organic farming will also be promoted via traditional resources as part of the scheme
• Linkages will be formed between organic products and the market as per this scheme
• The scheme will also increase domestic production and certification of organic produce through the medium of farmers
• Amount of INR 300 crore has been sanctioned for this scheme in 2015-2016
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
• This scheme works towards making organic farming sustainable, remunerative and climate resistant
• Efforts are also on to develop natural resources and promote efficient water use of “more crop per drop” for organic farmers
• The scheme also works to develop the capacity of organic farmers and stakeholders in conjunction with other missions
• It will also leverage other schemes such as MGNREA, IWMP and RKVY
• It will also establish departmental/ministerial coordination for deliverables under the scheme
• It will work towards development of know-how and R&D for organic farmers
The Mission specifically involves SHM or Soil Health Management through:
- Residue management
- Organic farming practices
• These are through:
- Creation and linking of soil fertility maps with macro and micro nutrient management
- Relevant land use based on land use capability
- Judicious application of fertilisers
- Minimisation of soil erosion/degradation
• The scheme will be implemented by State Government, National Centre of Organic Farming , Central Fertiliser Quality Control and Training Institute as well as Soil and Land Use Survey of India
Facts and Stats
• Area under cultivation of certified organic farming has grown 17 fold in the past one
decade from 42,000 ha in 2003-2004 to 7.23 lakh ha in 2013-2014
• GoI has also implemented several other programmes and schemes for boosting organic farming such as:
- Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY),
- Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH),
- National Mission on Oilseeds & Oil Palm (NMOOP),
- Network Project on Organic Farming of ICAR.
• Area under organic certification in 2013-2014 according to an ASSOCHAM report was 4.72 m ha
• Cultivated area was 0.72 ma and forest area was 4.00 m ha
• Organic certified production amounted to 1.24 million MT of which cultivable production was 1.23 m MT and wild collection was 0.01 m MT
• In 2013-2014, as per ASSOCHAM report, quantity exported was 194087 MT of which food was 177765MT and textiles was 16322 MT. This signifies an increase of 17.4% and exports valued at INR 2428 crore rupees
• Food exports were to the tune of INR 1328 crores and textiles were INR 1100 crore
• This is an increase of 15.28% from the previous year
• India’s total export of organic agricultural products in 2013-2014 was IUSD 220.47
• It share in the organic global food market was 0.35%
• Top 10 export destinations were the US, the EU, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Bangladesh, UAE, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand
• Organic certification is intended to provide quality assurance and prevent fraud
