ASSOCHAM roadmap to convert Madhya Pradesh into organic state by 2015

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 Delhi:

ASSOCHAM has offered its co-operation to promote organic farming in Madhya Pradesh (MP) which according to a study undertaken by the apex industry body can lead to wealth accumulation of Rs 23,000 crore, generate exports worth Rs 600 crore and create nearly 60 lakh employment opportunities across the state during the course of next five years.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) study titled ‘Madhya Pradesh: Inching towards Organic Farming’ was released by Mr D.S. Rawat, national secretary general of ASSOCHAM along with other senior officials here in Bhopal today.

About 20 lakh additional jobs can also be generated if on-farm storing, processing, value addition, packaging and marketing facilities are included, considering organic farms provide more than 30 per cent more jobs per hectare as against non-organic farms.

“Adoption of organic farming will bring down the expenditure on input costs and will fetch premium pricing up to 50 per cent higher than normal price and about 100 per cent in retail market,” according to the ASSOCHAM study. “Thus, it can increase net per capita income of a farmer in the state by a whopping 250 per cent i.e. from current level of about Rs 4,200 to over Rs 10,600 per month in next five years thereby, arresting the migration of people from Madhya Pradesh to other states in search of jobs”.

At least 45 per cent of cultivable land can be converted into organic farms, in next five years, thereby converting seven per cent cultivable land annually into organic farming.

“The state government must emphasise on organic farming in their agriculture policy to overcome constraints like unproductive plantation, low crop productivity, poor crop management, high degree of pests and diseases,” said Mr Rawat. “It is imperative to adopt modern practices, technologies and scientific management in agri sector.”

Considering rising health consciousness and growing awareness among people, the demand for organic food products is likely to increase rapidly, thus ASSOCHAM calls for setting up organic farming clusters across the state.

With about 45 per cent of total area under certified organic farming in India, MP has the potential to take India’s global share in organic exports from less than one per cent to about 2.5 per cent by 2015.

Growing at a robust annual growth rate of over five billion dollars, the global organic market currently stands at about 65 billion dollars. The organic agriculture is practiced in over 150 countries with a total area of 35 million hectares in about 14 million organic farms and accounts for less than one percent of world's total agricultural land.

Besides, demand for organic food is steadily increasing globally at an annual average growth rate of about 25 per cent.

Growing at a steady annual rate of about 40 per cent, the total turnover of organic farming (including exports) in India is likely to be worth Rs 10,000 crore by 2015 from current levels of about Rs 2,500 crore. Nearly 4.5 million hectares area is currently under certified organic farms, points out the ASSOCHAM study. Besides, tie-ups with modern retail chains and IT firms will also give a boost to the sector.

Demand for organic food alone in India is about Rs 600 crore. Currently, India exports about 86 products worth over 100 million dollars to the world certified organic market registering a growth of over 30 per cent.

Certified organic products including all varieties of food products namely basmati rice, pulses, honey, tea, spices, coffee, oil seeds, fruits, processed food, cereals, herbal medicines and their value added products are produced in India. Apart from edible sector, organic cotton fiber, garments, cosmetics, functional food products and body care products are also produced.

Banana, pomegranates, pineapple, grapes, amaranth, ginger, large cardamom, sweet fennel, peanut, onion, sugar/jaggery are other commodities which will emerge as significant organic commodities produced in India in the next two to three years.

Although, organic farming is picking up pace in India but the sector has been jostling with lack of awareness, knowledge and confidence about organic farming, food products among both farmers and consumers.

Organic agriculture should be recognised and integrated in main policies of the central government like those on agriculture, food, health and environment. This will ensure that all needs of organic sector are properly addressed and considered in government programmes and budgetary allocations.

Considering the questions being raised on quality of Chinese organic products, more emphasis must be laid on maintaining quality control while promoting exports of domestically produced organic products, said the chamber study.

ASSOCHAM has proposed formation of a National Commission for Organic Agriculture with participation of all stakeholders including private sector. Besides, an Organic Food Council can also be set up to institutionalise policy dialogue between the government and the organic sector.

Highlighting the role of Madhya Pradesh government, the study says that mapping the status of organic farming and certification along with agro-climatic zones must be carried out to tap the potential of organic crops and understand micro level production potential. Interventions must be carried out to raise production levels.

The area under crops may be increased through cluster approach to generate marketable surplus and provide economy of scale in marketing the production.

Regional action plans should be developed for organic farming stating direction and target for adoption and combination of specific measures including direct income support, marketing and processing support, certification support, consumer education and infrastructure support.

The state government should promote a concept to set up an organic village in each district to encourage usage of organic fertilisers to protect land from residual affect of chemical fertilisers, said ASSOCHAM.

A niche market of organic products be developed to exploit advantage and tap the potential of organic farming. This will help strengthen domestic market and support export of organic food.

Organic certification is imperative for adding value to default organic system and enable farms to explore domestic and export markets for fetching better prices.

ASSOCHAM suggests formation of a state organic institution for training, certification, production, packaging, processing and marketing through PPP model for setting up a value chain and consultations especially with bodies like Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). Many recommendations on organic certification are also mentioned in the study.

To further facilitate expansion of organic farming sector and to increase its production capacity, information related to new technologies must be imparted to farmers.

State government must provide rural credit through co-operatives, commercial, regional rural banks thereby playing a proactive role in providing institutional credit to enhance adoption of organic farming in the state.

ASSOCHAM will work along with farmers to promote organic farming at different levels by adopting potential clusters and will convert them into organic farms.

The chamber will organise development programmes to nurture entrepreneurial skills of farmers and will help linking them with certification agencies, markets both domestic and international.

ASSOCHAM also plans to organise product fairs and buyer-seller meetings to enable farmers to get premium pricing for their produce.