Lok Sabha Question No. 55 (STARRED), answered on 2019-06-25
Subject: Promotion of Organic Farming
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Hibi Eden, Umesh G. Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 55

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE   25 TH  JUNE, 2019

## PROMOTION OF ORGANIC FARMING

- *55.       SHRI HIBI EDEN: DR. UMESH G. JADHAV:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that most of the farmers who are producing organic produce are struggling due to poor policy measures, rising input costs and limited market and if so, the details of the measures taken by the Government to promote organic farming in the country;
- (b) whether the Government has any special package for farmers who are doing organic farming  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  steps  taken  by  the Government to encourage organic farming in the country;
- (c) the details of directions if any, to State Governments for encouraging organic farming among  the  rural  farmers  and  awareness  camps  organised  in  this  regard,  State-wise including Karnataka;
- (d) whether the Government has an effective mechanism to control the balanced use of pesticides/toxic chemicals in production of agricultural produce including fruits and vegetables and if so, the necessary steps taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (e) whether the Government has decided to review the organic farming sector and if so, the action plan of the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी

(SHRI NARENDRA  SINGH TOMAR)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.  55  DUE FOR REPLY ON 25 TH  JUNE, 2019.

(a)  &  (b):          The  Policy  of  Ministry  of  Agriculture  on  organic  farming  seeks  to  promote technically sound, economically viable, environmentally non-degrading, and socially acceptable use of natural resources in favour of organic agriculture. It aims at sustaining soil fertility,  conserving  bio-resources,  strengthening  rural  economy,  promoting  value  addition, accelerating  the  growth  of  agro-business  and  securing  a  fair  standard  of  living  for  the farmers and agricultural workers and their families.

Based  on  the  policy  directives,  Government  of  India  has  been  promoting  Organic farming  in  the  states  through  dedicated  schemes  namely  Mission  Organic  Value  Chain Development North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) since 2015-16. Both the schemes aim at promotion of cluster/ Farmers Producer Organisation  (FPO)  based  chemical  free,  low  input  cost  sustainable  organic  farming  and support farmers from input procurement to market linkages.

-  Under PKVY,   assistance of RS 50,000 per hectare/ 3 years is allowed out of which Rs.  31,000  (61%)  is  provided  to  farmer      directly  through  DBT      for  input (biofertilisers, biopesticides, vermicompost, botanical extracts etc) production/ procurement, creation of post harvest infrastructure,   marketing etc.
-  Under MOVCDNER , assistance is provided to the farmers in a value chain mode starting from formation of Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs), on/off farm input production, supply of seeds/ planting materials, post harvest infrastructure including collection,  sorting,  grading  facilities,  establishment  of  integrated  processing  unit, refrigerated transportation, pre-cooling/ cold stores chamber, branding, labelling and packaging, etc .

-2-

-  Organic Farming has also been supported under other schemes viz Rashtriya Krishi Vikas  Yojana  (RKVY)  and  Mission  for  Integrated  Development  of  Horticulture (MIDH), Network Project on Organic Farming under ICAR. Third party certification of organic farming is promoted by Agriculture Processed Food and Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce.
-  Farmers   adopt   low cost Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) of certification for domestic  markets  under  PKVY,  where  as  third  party  certified  organic  farming  is encouraged under MOVCDNER for export of niche crops.
-  The  major  thrust  of  the  Government  has  shifted  from  production  orientation  to marketing 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  portalJaivikkheti.inhas  also  been  created  to  connect  farmers involved in organic farming with consumers directly for better prices.

(c): The Department has been focusing on creating awareness and educating the farmers about organic farming practices in the areas where clusters are formed. There is a provision of  Rs.  80,000  per  cluster  financial  assistance  allocated  for  10,000  clusters  under  PKVY scheme for the mobilization of farmers. The National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF), Ghaziabad, a subordinate office of DAC&FW undertakes extension and publicity activities through  print  and  electronic  media.  It  organizes  30  days  certificate  course  on  organic farming, 10 days Refresher course for analysts under Fertilizer Control Order (FCO), etc. Farmers' Training and Field Demonstration (FTFD) programmes have been conducted since 2015-16 under 'Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana' (SAGY).

-3-

Handholding of the farmers beginning with  formation of cluster/ Farmers Producer Organisation  and  ensuring      their  capacity  building/  awareness  generation  for  taking  up organic farming are integral components of these schemes.

The  number of  capacity  building  trainings  conducted for  the farmers  in  each  state including the state of Karnataka is given at Annexure -I.

(d): Government  of  India  through  its  35  Central  Integrated  Pest  Management  (IPM) centres is continuously  working to  educate the farmers and State Extension functionaries about safe and judicious use of pesticides and need based application of pesticides as per recommendation  of  Central  Insecticide  Board  &  Registration  Committee  (CIB&RC)  by conducting Farmers Field Schools and 2 days Human Resource Development programmes. Farmers are being encouraged to adopt alternate pest management practices like cultural, mechanical and biological with chemicals only as a measure of last resort. The IPM centres are  emphasizing  to  prevent  a  pest  problem  by  conserving  the  natural  eco-system, augmenting and conserving the bio-control agents and popularizing the cultural as well as mechanical practices for pest management.

(e):                The  Government  reviewed  the  Organic  Farming  scheme,  and  the guidelines of PKVY were  revised  in    October,  2018.  As  per  the  new  guidelines  the  farmers  will  have option to adopt any form of organic farming in compliance with PGS-India Standards. While adopting a system it must be ensured that the system adopted is compatible to the area and crop and assures optimum yield and provide adequate measures to manage nutrients, pest and diseases. Farmers will also have the flexibility to use appropriate package of practice(s) best suited to their situations.

## Annexure-I

| Details of no. of capacity building/ training conducted under PKVY & MOVCDNER schemes during 2015-16 to 2018-19   | Details of no. of capacity building/ training conducted under PKVY & MOVCDNER schemes during 2015-16 to 2018-19   | Details of no. of capacity building/ training conducted under PKVY & MOVCDNER schemes during 2015-16 to 2018-19   | Details of no. of capacity building/ training conducted under PKVY & MOVCDNER schemes during 2015-16 to 2018-19   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                                                                   | Name of the State                                                                                                 | Total no. of training/awareness/capacity building programs under PKVY Scheme                                      | Total no. of training/awareness/capacity building programs under MOVCDNER* Scheme                                 |
| 1                                                                                                                 | Andhra Pradesh                                                                                                    | 26500                                                                                                             | -                                                                                                                 |
| 2                                                                                                                 | Bihar                                                                                                             | 2135                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 3                                                                                                                 | Chhattisgarh                                                                                                      | 6000                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 4                                                                                                                 | Gujarat                                                                                                           | 500                                                                                                               | -                                                                                                                 |
| 5                                                                                                                 | Goa                                                                                                               | 2520                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 6                                                                                                                 | Haryana                                                                                                           | 100                                                                                                               | -                                                                                                                 |
| 7                                                                                                                 | Jharkhand                                                                                                         | 1250                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 8                                                                                                                 | Karnataka                                                                                                         | 2725                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 9                                                                                                                 | Kerala                                                                                                            | 3095                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 10                                                                                                                | Madhya Pradesh                                                                                                    | 19140                                                                                                             | -                                                                                                                 |
| 11                                                                                                                | Maharashtra                                                                                                       | 6290                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 12                                                                                                                | Odisha                                                                                                            | 5200                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 13                                                                                                                | Punjab                                                                                                            | 1250                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 14                                                                                                                | Rajasthan                                                                                                         | 30750                                                                                                             | -                                                                                                                 |
| 15                                                                                                                | Tamil Nadu                                                                                                        | 1560                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 16                                                                                                                | Telangana                                                                                                         | 3450                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 17                                                                                                                | Uttar Pradesh                                                                                                     | 3100                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 18                                                                                                                | West Bengal                                                                                                       | 600                                                                                                               | -                                                                                                                 |
| 19                                                                                                                | Assam                                                                                                             | 1100                                                                                                              | 220                                                                                                               |
| 20                                                                                                                | Arunachal Pradesh                                                                                                 | 95                                                                                                                | 260                                                                                                               |
| 21                                                                                                                | Mizoram                                                                                                           | 170                                                                                                               | 170                                                                                                               |
| 22                                                                                                                | Manipur                                                                                                           | 150                                                                                                               | 265                                                                                                               |
| 23                                                                                                                | Nagaland                                                                                                          | 120                                                                                                               | 640                                                                                                               |
| 24                                                                                                                | Sikkim                                                                                                            | 750                                                                                                               | 400                                                                                                               |
| 25                                                                                                                | Tripura                                                                                                           | 250                                                                                                               | 80                                                                                                                |
| 26                                                                                                                | Meghalaya                                                                                                         | 225                                                                                                               | 35                                                                                                                |
| 27                                                                                                                | Himachal Pradesh                                                                                                  | 1050                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 28                                                                                                                | Jammu &Kashmir                                                                                                    | 140                                                                                                               | -                                                                                                                 |
| 29                                                                                                                | Uttarakhand                                                                                                       | 22425                                                                                                             | -                                                                                                                 |
| 30                                                                                                                | Andman &Nicobar                                                                                                   | 340                                                                                                               | -                                                                                                                 |
| 31                                                                                                                | Daman &Diu                                                                                                        | 275                                                                                                               | -                                                                                                                 |
| 32                                                                                                                | Dadar &Nagar                                                                                                      | 2500                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 33                                                                                                                | Delhi                                                                                                             | 2500                                                                                                              | -                                                                                                                 |
| 34                                                                                                                | Puducherry                                                                                                        | 40                                                                                                                | -                                                                                                                 |
| 35                                                                                                                | Chandigarh                                                                                                        | 325                                                                                                               | -                                                                                                                 |
| 36                                                                                                                | Lakshadweep                                                                                                       | 675                                                                                                               | -                                                                                                                 |
| Total 149295 2070 *MOVCDNER Scheme is implemented in North-Eastern States only                                    | Total 149295 2070 *MOVCDNER Scheme is implemented in North-Eastern States only                                    | Total 149295 2070 *MOVCDNER Scheme is implemented in North-Eastern States only                                    | Total 149295 2070 *MOVCDNER Scheme is implemented in North-Eastern States only                                    |

****