Government calls for higher focus on organic farming at launch of organic industry association
As the world gears up for a long and arduous fight against the Corona pandemic, there is a surge in demand for organic food that help develop immunity and can be produced in a sustainable manner. The government plans to increase coverage of land under organic farming to 0.7 million hectares which will be associated with more than 1.5 million farmers.
Shri Parshottambhai Rupala, Minister of State, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, at the launch of the website of Association of Indian Organic Industry (AIOI) along with its first newsletter, stressed that this is a timely and much needed initiative of bringing together stakeholder, industry experts, commodity boards and farmers together in taking India forward as the main organic products hub for the global market. He congratulated AIOI members for taking this lead and expressed support to the organic industry to enable the Association build develop capacity for strengthening the organic food sector in India. He echoed the vision of the Prime Minister to double farmer income and export of agricultural products. He informed that a scientific research institution had been set in Sikkim to encourage work in the organic foods sector.
In his keynote address, Padme Shri Dr. M H Mehta, Chairman, National Working Group on Eco-Agriculture highlighted the fact that product Integrity, consumer trust and branding will further elevate the potential of organic output.
In her opening remarks Dr. P V S M Gouri, CEO of AIOI highlighted the importance of the website. Mr Raj Seelam Reddy, Chairman, AIOI, in his welcome address, informed that India had the potential to increase business in organic products from one billion dollars to 10 billion dollars and added that the Association would work with the Government, farmers and stakeholders.
Alongside launch, the virtual meeting saw insightful panel discussion amongst eminent experts. The panelists noted that there was a need for associating farmers in the policy making process to ensure fair income for farmers and growth in the organic sector. It was highlighted that integrity of organic foods was critical for consumer trust and hence the credibility of the organic certification system needed to be strengthened through training programmes. It was also pointed out that engaging at the international level to improve the standards would help enhance bilateral trade in organic products. It was noted that the Quality Council of India (QCI) was a member of the International Accreditation Forum having a peer-reviewed Multi-Lateral Agreement and was in discussion with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to set up a mechanism for certification of organic products for the domestic market including for imported products.
With respect to promoting exports from India, it was felt that an India Organic branding was necessary to create a niche. A panelist also mentioned that the foreign trade policy should have specific incentives for organic product exports and since organic farming helps protect the environment and promote public health, the incentives would be WTO compatible. This move can help boost organic farm products. Dr S K Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner of India, stressed on implementation of Good Agriculture Practices as enunciated by the QCI under the acronym of INDGAP was extremely important to support organic farming and added that its benchmarking with Global GAP should be expedited. He said that organisations like APEDA and Spices Board should support QCI in this process.
Shri S M Acharya, former Secretary to Government, in his concluding remarks, expressed the view that credibility of the organic production system and certification was the key to growth. He cautioned against multiple regulatory system for organic certification and added that use of technology for assessing the organic production should be explored to ease the process of certification.
The e-interactive session had around 150 participants from different ministries, state government, commodity boards, academia, farmer associations, exporters, certification bodies and food experts from India and abroad.
