Organic Products Worth ₹ 5,150 Crore Exported in 2018-19, Web Portal for Farmers

New Delhi: The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, said yesterday the Government of India has been promoting organic farming in the country through dedicated schemes viz. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) since 2015-16. Both 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.

The Minister shared the quantity of organic product produced during 2018-19 under Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), India, and National Program on Organic Production (NPOP) of Agriculture Processed Food and Export Development Authority (APEDA). The total value of organic products exported from India in 2018-19 is Rs 5,150.99 crore (for 6,14,089.614 MT).

Assistance of Rs 50,000 per hectare is provided every 3 years, out of which Rs 31,000 (62%) is directly given to the farmer through the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for inputs (bio-fertilizers, biopesticides, vermicompost, botanical extracts etc) production/procurement, post harvest management and more under the PKVY scheme. Farmers adopt low cost Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) of certification for domestic markets.

Assistance of Rs 25,000 per hectare per 3 years is provided to farmers for both on-farm & off-farm organic inputs, and seeds and planting material under MOVCDNER, and third party certified organic farming is encouraged for the export of niche crops.

Organic Farming has also been supported under other schemes viz. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), and the Network Project on Organic Farming under ICAR.

The major thrust of the Government has shifted from production-centric to market linked production so that farmers can get better returns for their produce including organic produce. To further boost production of organic produce, a dedicated web portal has also been created to connect farmers involved in organic farming with consumers directly for better prices.

This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, in Lok Sabha on 3 December.

Source: ID

Image Courtesy: Triblive