State of Organic farming in India

Facts:

• Organic Farming: It is a method of farming which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic inputs (such as fertilizers, pesticides, hormones) and relies upon crop rotations, animal manures, off-farm organic waste and biological system of nutrient mobilization and plant protection.
• Organic Farming in India:
  • India ranks first in number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming.
  • Sikkim became the first State in the world to become fully organic and other States including Tripura and Uttarakhand have set similar targets.
  • North East India has traditionally been organic and the consumption of chemicals is far less than the rest of the country.
  • The major organic exports from India have been flax seeds, sesame, soybean, tea, medicinal plants, rice and pulses.

Initiatives to Promote Organic Farming:

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY): It was launched in 2015 with the aim to support and promote organic farming which in turn results in improvement of soil health.
• Participatory Guarantee System(PGS): It is a process of certifying organic products which ensures that their production takes place in accordance with laid-down quality standards.
• Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD-NER): It is a Central Sector Scheme which aims at development of organic value chains in the North East Region of India
  • Coverage: It is implemented in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
• Jaivik Kheti portal: It is a one stop solution for facilitating organic farmers to sell their organic produce and promoting organic farming and its benefits.This portal caters various stakeholders like local groups, individual farmers, buyers and input suppliers.