Gujarat becomes 9th Indian state to declare organic farming policy, plans to set up implementation cell
Gujarat government will set up a cell to implement its new organic farming policy with a view to promote non-conventional method of farming over the use of chemical fertilisers, a senior official said Saturday.
Gujarat, after declaring its organic farming policy last month and has become the ninth state to do so, after Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland. The state government had launched the organic policy on April 10 and this seminar was held to discuss on how to implement policy in phase-wise manner.
“The state government is committed to promote organic farming and has allocated Rs 10 crore in the current fiscal for this purpose,” B R Shah, Director of the state’s Horticulture department, said at a seminar held at Gujarat Vidyapith at Ahmedabad.
“We will initially focus on tribal areas and help farmers with certification, marketing and brand building as well. An organic cell will be created under the Department of Agriculture to implement the policy and Gujarat organic farming committee will be consulted to monitor implementation of the policy,” Shah said.
According to PTI, state Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on May 1 had announced in Vyara town of Tapi district that her government will give subsidy to encourage more and more farmers to take up organic farming.
“As Chief Minister of Gujarat demonstrated a political will by introducing organic policy the state is likely to emerge as a roll model for the rest of the country. We will take the concept of organic farming in phase -wise manner in villages and blocks of Gujarat and we believe that Gujarat can fully achieve organic farming methods in next ten years and it can show the way to country like the Gujarat model of development,” agriculture policy analyst Devinder Sharma said.
“I have met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal few days back, he wants to provide organic food to the people of Delhi and he is also eager to take policy initiative in this regard. If the Arvind Kejriwal-led government will implement it in Delhi, then the country will follow that model. Because what happens in Delhi, it will reflect in entire country. We have to accept that agriculture is only culprit behind our country’s problems of environment, GDP, human health and climate change. Because, agriculture has 41 per cent of share in green house gases an now the time has come to shift towards organic farming because you are not left with any option. We have to encourage organic farming and agriculture universities should become part of it via promoting research of organic farming. Earlier farmers were told to use chemical fertilisers same way now there is a strong need to tell them to use organic ways of farming,” Sharma added.
According to him, economic policy should be framed to reduce the loss of farmers, who are adopting organic farming. “Prime Minister will also agree with that. After all every PM works for the country. If Indira Gandhi can bring green revolution and if Lal Bahadur Shastri can bring milk revolution. Modiji will mark his name in history as this (organic farming) is the only solution for many problems like environment, global warming and human health. Production can be done with a sustainable way, every body in the country will be healthy,” he added.
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