(a) the States in the country where organic farming is done in large scale during the last three years;
(b) whether the State of Sikkim has emerged as a leader in organic farming in recent past;
(c) whether the Union Government proposes to popularize organic farming in the country especially in North-Eastern States;
(d) if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard;
(e) the notable achievements made by agricultural universities during the last one year for promotion of organic farming in the country; and
(f) the estimated number of farmers in each State/UT practicing organic farming in the country? |
| ANSWER |
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
‡ãðŠãäÓã ??? ????? ?????? ½ãâ¨ããÊã¾ã ½ãñâ À㕾㠽ãâ¨ããè ( SHRI MOHANBHAI KUNDARIYA )
(a): The States where organic farming is done in large scale under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha and Sikkim as per information provided by the accredited certification bodies under NPOP on Tracenet.
(b): As per data under NPOP on Tracenet, Sikkim is one of the largest State in terms of area under organic certification.
(c) to (e): Government is promoting organic farming through various schemes/programmes under the National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and such as “Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region”.
(i) The Annual Action Plan of 7 North-Eastern have been approved with total outlay of Rs.3487.6 lakhs to develop 527 clusters. Rs.1275.32 lakhs has been released to the North-Eastern States till 31.01.2016.
(ii) Realizing the potential of organic farming in the North Eastern Region of the country Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has launched a Central Sector Scheme entitled “Mission Organic Value Chain Development of North Eastern Region” for implementation in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura during 2015-16 to 2017-18.
(iii) In order to provide research and technological backstopping to organic farming in the country in general and NEH Region in particular, ICAR – National Organic Farming Research Institute (NOFRI) at Gangtok, Sikkim is established. The institute will undertake basic, strategic and adaptive research on efficient, economically viable and environmentally sustainable organic farming systems for improving productivity, resource use efficiencies and quality of produce. Besides, it will impart vocational and advanced training to stakeholders for promotion of organic farming in the country.
(iv) Presently, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research through its Plan Schemes “Network Project on Organic Farming” (NPOF) and “Soil Biodiversity-Biofertilizers” is undertaking research to provide technological backstopping to organic farming in the country involving SAUs and ICAR institutes. The notable achievements made by these institutions are:-
1. Developed location specific organic farming package of practices for crops and cropping systems.
2. Developed technologies to prepare various types of organic manures such as phosphor-compost, vermin-compost, bio-enriched compost, municipal solid waste compost, etc. from various organic wastes.
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3. Developed efficient and improved strains of bio-fertilizers specific to different crops and soil types.
4. Liquid Bio-fertilizer technology with higher shelf life has also been developed.
5. These organic fertilizers have been tested on different soils using various crops and found useful in improving soil health and crop productivity.
6. All these technologies are being popularized among the farmers through Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs), farmer’s trainings, publishing extension materials in local languages.
(f): (i) Under the PKVY the approx.26350 farmers are practicing organic farming (527x50).
(ii) The number of registered farmers in States/UT practicing organic farming is 1467 under NPOP for 2014-15.
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