Organic Farming Politics Pitch

Govt provided financial support to farmers to encourage organic farming

"Organic Farming promotion by Government"

According to Union Agriculture minister, ‘to encourage the organic farming in the country, the Union government has provided financial support to farmers through programmes such as the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and the Mission Organic Value Chain Development in the North-East Region (MOVCDNER).’

Tomar stated in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Friday that farmers receive financial support of ₹31,000 per hectare for three years under PKVY and ₹32,500 per hectare for three years under MOVCDNER for organic inputs such as seeds, bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, organic manure, farmyard manure, vermi-compost, botanical extracts, and so on.

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Support is also provided for the formation of farmer producers’ organizations (FPOs), as well as training, certification, value-addition, and marketing of their organic produce.

To increase organic production in the country, the government has also included organic cultivation on both sides of the Ganga, natural farming, large area certification, and support for individual farmers under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY), he said.

Natural agriculture is being promoted

In response to a separate question in the Lok Sabha on August 3, Singh stated that natural farming has been encouraged and promoted since 2020-21 under Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati (BPKP), a sub-scheme of PKVY.

It emphasises chemical-free agriculture with a focus on biomass mulching, the use of cow dung-urine preparations, plant-based formulations, and soil aeration on a regular basis.

Under Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati Sheme, financial support of ₹12,200 per hectare is provided for capacity building, cluster formation, certification, soil residue analysis and continuous hand-holding by trained staff, over a three-year period.

This scheme has covered an area of 4.09 lakh hectares across eight states. Organic/natural farming can be practised on any cultivable land.

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He believes that rain-fed, hilly, remote areas with few or no chemical inputs are preferable because the impact of organic cultivation on soil improvement is more visible as a result of organic inputs.

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