Question : Organic Farming

(a) the current position of organic farming across the country, State/UT-wise;

(b) whether 22 lakh hectares of land are under organic farming in the country at present which is the largest in the world but the country is lagging behind in terms of value addition of organic produce and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether there is a need to link organic produce to e-Mandis and develop a separate supply chain and marketing for value addition of organic produce and if so, the policy measures taken/being taken by the Government in this regard;

(d) whether the prices of organic produce in the country are higher in comparison to that of non-organic produce and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and

(e) whether the Government proposes to intervene and support the production and marketing of organic produce in the country to reduce their costs and prices and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

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(a) to (c): The current position of organic farming w.r.t. area covered across the country is 23.02 lakh hectares under the schemes Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) and National Programme of Organic Production (NPOP). The details are given at Annexure I.

Under PKVY and MOVCDNER schemes enough assistance is provided to Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs)/ entrepreneurs for development of value chains/ marketing of organic produce. The guidelines for providing assistance for various post harvest management/ value chain development activities including infrastructure development, branding, marketing are given at Annexure-II.
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(d) & (e): Cost of organic agriculture largely depends on on-farm generation of inputs. When on-farm organic inputs are used, cost of production per unit area is less by 13 % under organic agriculture than inorganic management. However, if organic inputs from outside the farm are purchased and utilized, the cost of production increases by about 15-20 % depending on the nature of inputs used. Integrated Organic Farming System (IOFS) models being developed under NPOF promises to meet 70-80 % of organic inputs within the farm thus reducing the market input cost considerably. During the conversion period of initial two to three years, yield levels are expected to be low till soil system regains to respond to organic production system especially in the intensive agriculture areas.

Government of India under the schemes- PKVY & MOVCDNER is supporting the production and marketing of organic produce in the country to reduce their costs and prices. Use of organic inputs like PROM, vermicompost, organic/bio-fertilizers, city compost, waste decomposer have been promoted under these schemes which will further reduce the costs of production in organic farming. The details of the schemes PKVY and MOVCDNER is given at Annexure-III & IV.