Lecture 14.
Organic farming; Promotional activities; role of government and NGO’s - action plan -
policy considerations
Promotion of organic farming
The policy of Ministry of Agriculture on organic farming is to promote technically
viable, economically feasible, environmentally non-degrading and socially acceptable use of
natural resources in favour of organic agriculture. The Policy seeks to actualize the area and
crop potential for organic farming, sustaining soil fertility, conserving bio-resources,
strengthening rural economy, promoting value-addition for accelerating the growth of agro-
business and securing a fair standard of living for the farmers and agricultural workers and
the families.
Government is promoting organic farming through various schemes / programmes
viz., National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas
Yojana (PKVY), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Mission for Integrated
Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm
(NMOOP), Network Project on Organic Farming (NPOF) of Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR) and National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) of Agricultural
and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Agricultural and
Processed Food Products Export Development Authority was established by the Government
of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
Act passed by the Parliament in December, 1985.
National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF)
Under National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture, the National Centre for Organic
Farming (NCOF), Ghaziabad is conducting various extension and publicity activities like
Exhibitions, Radio Talks, TV programmes, distribution of literature on organic inputs and
organic farming to educate the farmers. NCOF is also publishing Bio-fertilizer Newsletter as
well as Organic Farming Newsletter, biannually and quarterly respectively. In addition,
various books on production and use of bio fertilizers have been published in various
languages for distribution to the farming community. National Centre for Organic Farming is
also organizing the training programmes for farmers in Saansad Adarsh Grams (SAGs) from
2015-16 onwards.
National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP)
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 states of Kerala, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram have been promoting organic
farming through this scheme. 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 recognized by European Commission and Switzerland as well as
USDA.
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
This is a cluster based programme for organic farming. Fifty or more farmers will
form a cluster with 50 acre land to carry out organic farming under this scheme. In three
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 Rs.20,000 per acre in three years from seed to harvesting of crops and
transport of produce to the market. Organic farming will also be promoted through traditional
resources as part of the scheme. Linkages will be formed between organic producers and the
market as per the scheme. This scheme will also increase domestic production and
certification of organic produce through the medium of farmers. An amount of Rs.300 crore
has been sanctioned for this scheme in 2015-16.
Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati (BPKP)
Promotion of natural farming under BPKP of PKVY has been initiated to encourage
use of natural on-farm inputs for chemical free farming. Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have
taken up one lakh hectare and 0.8 lakh hectare area respectively for promotion of natural
farming under BPKP. Similarly, continuous area certification and support for individual
farmers for certification have also been initiated during 2020-21 to bring in default organic
areas and willing individual farmers under the fold of organic farming
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
This scheme works towards making organic farming sustainable, remunerative and
climate resilient. 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 co-ordination for deliverables under the scheme. It will work
towards development of know-how and R&D for organic farmers. The mission specifically
involves Soil Health Management (SHM) through residue management and organic farming
practices by [Link] and linking of soil fertility maps with macro and micro nutrient
management, 2. Relevant land use based on land use capability, 3. Judicious application of
fertilizers, 4. Minimization of soil erosion / degradation. This scheme is implemented by state
governments, National centre for organic farming, Central fertilizer quality control and
training Institute as well as Soil and land use survey of India.
Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER)
The scheme promotes third party certified organic farming of niche crops of north
east region through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) with focus on exports. Farmers
are given assistance of Rs 25,000 per hectare for three years for organic inputs including
organic manure and bio-fertilisers among other inputs. Support for formation of FPOs,
capacity building, post-harvest infrastructure up to Rs 2 crore are also provided in the
scheme.
State agencies, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Farmer Producer
Organisations (FPOs), entrepreneurs among others can avail loans for setting up of post-
harvest infrastructure for value addition to organic produce under 1 lakh crore Agriculture
Infrastructure Fund (AIF) of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
As per international resource data from Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
(FiBL) and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)
Statistics 2020, India stands at 9th position in terms of certified agricultural land with 1.94
million hectare (2018-19).
Comparative data in regard to organic cultivation with other countries
Sl. No. State Position Area under organic certification (m ha.)
rd
1 China 3 3.14
th
2 USA 7 2.02
th
3 India 9 1.94
4 Brazil 12th 1.18
