ORGANIC FARMING - GEOGRAPHY
News: T.N.
CM Stalin releases organic farming policy
What's in the news?
● The
Tamil Nadu Organic Farming Policy 2023
aims at conserving and protecting soil health, agro ecology and biodiversity,
and seeks to provide safe, healthy and environment-friendly food.
Key takeaways:
● The
organic farming policy will help to ensure, upscale and support chemical-free organic agriculture in
Tamil Nadu and provide safe food for the people.
● The
policy aims at conserving and protecting
soil health, agro ecology and biodiversity, and seeks to provide safe,
healthy and environment-friendly food, besides creating awareness about organic
farming and extending organic farming practices.
● Accreditation
given by the Tamil Nadu Organic
Certification Department (TNOCD) to farm produce, will now also be extended
to livestock and poultry products, beekeeping/apiculture, aqua culture,
mushroom cultivation and poly greenhouse production.
● It
provides for a single-window system
to be implemented to simplify the certification procedure.
● A
State gene/germplasm bank will also
be set up to preserve traditional cultivar seeds of all crops.
● The
policy said the necessity for an environmentally-safe
food supply system has necessitated the framing of the organic farming
policy.
● It
also aims to strengthen certification
systems and residue testing protocols, to promote ‘on farm’ or
locally-produced inputs like farmyard manure, vermicompost, etc.
● Creating
market advisories and certification advisories, promoting exports and
increasing the revenue of farmers, organic farming in education and research,
are among the policy’s objectives.
Organic Farming:
● Organic
farming is a production system which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers,
pesticides, growth regulators, genetically modified organisms and livestock
food additives.
● Organic
farming which is a holistic production management system that promotes and
enhances agro ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and
soil biological activity is hence important.
Need for Organic Farming:
● With
the increase in population, we would
be compelled not only to stabilize agricultural production, but also to
increase it in a sustainable manner.
● Scientists
have recognized that the 'Green Revolution,' with its high input use, has
reached a plateau and is now being sustained with a diminishing return of falling dividends.
● Thus,
a natural balance must be maintained at
all costs in order for life and property to exist.
● The
source of many health issues world-wide was “found to be the residues of agro
chemicals used” and that it has been “proven that pesticide residues enter the food chain causing many health hazards to
humans and animals”.
Types of Organic Farming:
Organic
farming is divided into two types, namely:
● Pure
organic farming
● Integrated
organic farming
Pure Organic Farming:
● Pure
organic farming means avoiding all
unnatural chemicals. In this process of farming, all the fertilizers and
pesticides are obtained from natural sources such as bone meal or blood meal.
Integrated Organic Farming:
● Integrated
organic farming includes the integration
of pest management and nutrients management to achieve ecological
requirements and demands.
Advantages of Organic Farming:
● It
helps to maintain environmental health
by reducing the level of pollution.
● It
reduces human and animal health hazards
by reducing the level of residues in the product.
● It
helps in keeping agricultural production at a sustainable level.
● It
reduces the cost of agricultural
production and also improves soil health.
● It
ensures optimum utilization of natural
resources for short-term benefit and helps in conserving them for future
generation.
Limitations and Implications of Organic Farming:
● Organic manure is not
abundantly available and on a plant nutrient
basis it may be more expensive than chemical fertilizers if organic inputs are
purchased.
● Production in organic
farming declines especially during the first few years,
so the farmer should be given premium prices for organic produce.
● The
guidelines for organic production, processing, transportation and certification etc are beyond the
understanding of ordinary Indian farmers.
Organic Farming in India:
● Sikkim
became the world's first fully organic state in 2016.
● North East India
has traditionally been organic, with far lower chemical consumption than the
rest of the country.
● Similarly,
tribal and island territories have traditionally practiced organic farming.
● India's
major organic exports have been flax seeds, sesame, soybeans, tea, medicinal
plants, rice, and pulses.
● Organic
exports increased by nearly 50% in 2018-19, totaling Rs. 5151crore.
● Exports
from Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland have begun, demonstrating the potential
by increasing volumes and expanding to new destinations as the demand for
health foods grows.
Government Initiatives to Promote Organic Farming:
1. Mission Organic Value Chain Development in the
North-East Region (MOVCD-NER):
● MOVCD-NER
is a Central Sector Scheme and a sub-mission of the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
● It
was launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for
implementation in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura.
● The
scheme aims to develop certified organic production in a value chain mode,
connecting growers with consumers and supporting the development of the entire
value chain.
2. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY):
● The
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, which was launched in 2015, is an elaborated
component of the major project National
Mission of Sustainable Agriculture's Soil Health Management (NMSA-SHM).
● Organic
farming is promoted under PKVY through the cluster approach to organic villages
and the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification.
3. Schemes for Certification:
● The
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is the country's food regulator, and it is also in charge of
organic food regulation in the domestic market and imports.
● Participatory
Guarantee System (PGS) is a process
of certifying organic products to ensure that they are produced in accordance
with quality standards.
● PGS
Green is applied to chemical-free produce during the three-year transition to
"organic." It is primarily used for domestic purposes.
● National
Program for Organic Production (NPOP)
provides organic farming certification through a third-party certification
process for export purposes.
4. Agri-export Policy:
● The
emphasis on clusters, as well as marketing and promotion of "Produce of India," have had a
positive impact on organic farming in India.
5. One District - One Product (ODOP):
● The
programme aims to increase the visibility and sale of indigenous and specialized
products/crafts from Uttar Pradesh, thereby creating jobs at the district
level.
● Aggregators
are required to achieve economies of scale for small and marginal farmers.
6. PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing
Enterprises (PM FME):
● The
Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) launched the PM FME scheme as
part of the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat
Abhiyan.'
● It
aims to bring in new technology, as well as affordable credit, to assist small
entrepreneurs in entering new markets.
7. Zero Budget Natural Farming:
● Zero
Budget Natural farming is a chemical-free agriculture method based on traditional Indian practices.
WAY FORWARD:
● Natural
farming is not a new concept in India, with farmers having tilled their land
without the use of chemicals - largely relying on organic residues, cow dung,
composts, etc. since time immemorial.
● This
is also in sync with the Sustainable
Development Goal 2 targeting ‘end hunger, achieve food security and
improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’.
● Hence
with greater awareness and capacity
building of the producers in compliance with international standards,
Indian organic farmers will soon be reinforcing their rightful place in global
agri trade.