27.77 lakh hectares covered under organic farming in country : Tomar

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi  : A total area of 27.77 lakh hectares is covered under organic farming in the country under Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) and 3rd party certification.

The Government of India has been encouraging organic farming in the country through dedicated schemes namely Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY- Centrally Sponsored scheme, in all states & UTs) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development of North East Region (MOVCDNER -Central Sector scheme for North Eastern Region). Both the schemes aim at promotion of cluster/ Farmers Producer Organization (FPO) based chemical free, low input cost, sustainable organic farming and support farmers from input procurement to market linkages.

Organic Farming has also been supported under other schemes viz. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), and Network Project on Organic Farming under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Third party certification of organic farming is promoted by Agriculture Processed Food and Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce, according to a PIB release.

Management Agricultural National Institute of Extension (MANAGE), Hyderabad, conducted impact study for the scheme Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) during 2017. It is reported that there was 10-20% reduction in cost of cultivation (cost saving) and 20-50% increase in net returns to organic farmers. Price premium( up to 30%) was also observed in some clusters, which were nearer to large cities and had good linkages with large markets.

In the last 3 years, 1,15,314 and 2,050 number of capacity building trainings/ workshops were conducted for the farmers in the country under PKVY and MOVCDNER scheme respectively, while the number of  farmers participating at the workshops were  14.93 lakh and 82,294 respectively. In UP, 2,300 workshops were conducted and 31,000 farmers participated.

Under protected cultivation component of MIDH, assistance is also provided for creation of polyhouses which protect the plants from adverse climatic conditions and provides an appropriate amount of light, temperature, humidity, carbon-dioxide etc. to achieve optimum yield with excellent quality. This information was given in a written reply by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in Lok Sabha on November 19, 2019.